OH, What a night!

Prom....need I say more. One of the big rites of passage. It was a fun experience from beginning to end. Beginning: Dallin and Jace put a note on Melissa's car telling her to go home and change, she was at a YW broadcast at the church. When she got home, she went up to her room, but was already changed. She came out of her room confused.....and thats when the boys, with shirts around their heads to hide their identity, grabbed her. A mighty scream shook the house. They took her to Jaces house were she was sent on a scavenger hunt. The clues led her to a big dirt pile with the instructions to look under the bucket for the next clued. Dallin had burried himself in the dirt and had his head under the bucket. When she lifted off the bucket, he asked her to prom. We were so happy, because we had already bought the dress 2 months earlier. YAHOO!
Dinner was at the Tilleys with about 8 other couples and then off to the indoor soccer complex where the dance was being held. We totally scored.....her shoes were wedges so she didn't have to take them off during the dance.
Melissa you looked so beautiful, I loved dressing you up as a little girls and I especially love dressing you up now.




I love my relationship with my daughter. We go looking for jewelry together and she even asked me to do her hair....which by the way turned out gorgeous


The previous week, we made a trip to the mall and found these fantastic red shoes. She was tall... good thing Dallin is taller
I was out running errands and happened to see this super fundress at the mall. I took Melissa back that night and she loved it. I was so glad that we didn't have to run do endless stores!


We took a paint chip that matched her shoes to Dallin so he could coordinate with the right shade of red. Nice job


Dinner at the Tilleys, Olive Garden, before the dance.

This was the groups of kids that she went to the Mormon prom with.

OH, What a night!

Mazatlan...a great place to kick back

Mazatlan has been a favorite place for our family to vacation. We love the ocean and boogie boarding, Blake loves speaking the language, we love the weather, and of course we love it when our spring break overlaps with our Colorado cousins! This year we were able to spend 4 days with just our family, and then a week with cousins. It was so much fun. We loved trying to grocery shop at Mega, making tons of guacamole and salsa. Corrine and I chopped endless amounts of avocados and tomatoes. Blake was a great chef for the whole week. Some of his specialities included: carnee asada, marlin tacos....104lb marlin caught by Blake and Devo, scrambled eggs with this great sausage, tacos, and then cutting all the peppers for the salsa.

Melissa and Brooke have learned Spanish at school, so they were great at trying to speak it. They had a lot of fun trying to take to their new friend FRANSISCO. He came with his family to watch Justin get baptized in the ocean.

Here are a few highlights of our trip.

Riding in the peso bus is always fun, this own was totally blinged out with spinners on the wheels. Our favorite thing to ride is the pulmonea, kind of a blinged out golf cart. The girls loved singing to the 70's music that always seemed to be playing.
Pueblo Bonita was a great restaurant for the whole family. We gave the kids a budget and they were so good, we were able to do dessert. Melissa, Corrine and Danielle were brave and tried the squid

A trip to the marcado is always fun but a bit smelly. Some of the fine meats included whole pig and cow heads. There was even a half side of beef on the butchers table, just skinned......yummo

These girls just loved posing. They were the best of friends and just loved being together. It was so funny, 5 girls in one room having to share one mirror.

The pool was a bit on the green side at first, but with the addition of about 30 chlorine pucks it cleared up. With such warm weather, the pool was quite pleasant to swim in.

We spent a day going to deer island. We took this trimaran, kind of a huge sailboat, out to the island. Then we snorkeled, used kayaks, and went on a banana boat ride. I was kind of bummed because the water was a bit murky so it was hard to see. I had everyone bring their snorkel gear to Mexico, and we only used it this one time!

So many iguanas. The kids tried to get close, but were thankfully cautious. I guess they don't have teeth but can grab onto hands if threatened.

Yummo, anyone for OCTOPUS

Spy poses were big this trip.

Devon and I made a dolphin, sea horse, and a cute crocodile in the sand

Its HALLOWEEN! No just $18 worth of Mexican candy from Justin's 8th birthday pinata. We just tried to avoid the chili coated candies that surprised us the last time.

Melissa demonstrated a yoga move to her dad. We loved going for early morning walks on the beach. That's my kind of exercising. I never felt like I was in danger as so many visitors did their morning walks out on the beach.

The kids all wanted to do horseback riding this year. Danielle and Brooke had great horses. Blake and Devon's horse bucked them off, no one was injured thankful, but a guide had to hold the reigns after that. Mike, Corrine, Melissa and I opted not to go. Melissa and I decided that we would rather spend our money on Jewelery.

Cute braids, kept their hair our of their eyes the whole time....thanks Orturo, he was a speed braider and very good.

I loved walking with Blake, boogie boarding and just chatting while we watched the kids play in the water. It was so nice not having work or any distractions. What a great 12 days!!!!

Mazatlan sunset

chef Blake was so helpful. Makes me sad that he is too busy to help cook at home.....he is so good at it!

The waves were so fun to ride. We just had to be careful not to get pulled beyond the furthest waves coming in.

The kids spent hours boogie boarding every day, then would rest on the sand and build creatures or do SUDOKU.

C

Aren't Boys Great

We love our Devon and the energy he brings to our family. He still says and does some pretty cute things even though he is getting so big......SADNESS. Here are some things I've enjoyed this past month.

I always love the 100th day of school celebration. This year, he brought in 100 pieces of lego to do a class activity.
Arent' boys great....Devon brushes his teeth in our bathroom. One night I came up to get ready for bed and found this at the top of our mirror.

Dev was waiting for me to come up and tuck him in.....awwwwww

His friend showed up late, so I got to be his dance partner at the sock hop......he was NOT impressed. When his friend did show up, all they did was run around the gym. Such heart breakers!

This was a kick. They always have a hula contest, per grade, at our sock hop. Dev got right up there and proceeded to swing the hoop around his ARM.....what is that about.

Starting Christmas Vacation Right

The Christmas break started off right for these girls. Winter formal was the day after school got out and the girls were so excited to go. I must hand it to Melissa's and her friends, when they want something to happen, they make it happen. The high school decided not to have Winter Formal this year...not very well attended in the past. So, the girls that still wanted to have one got together and found a place to have one, at a golf and country club. It was sweet because they included decorations and a meal. They also were able to find a DJ for the evening. Then, these smart ladies had a dress exchange so that they wouldn't all have to buy new dresses. Kind of like, bring a dress and take a different one home to use. So much fun. Melissa really felt like a princess in this one. Grandma and Grandpa Korella were in town, so it was so fun to have them see all the primping and excitement. I think Grandpa embarrassed the girls a bit when he told the boys they were very lucky to be taking such beauties to the dance.

Better Late than Never Thanksgiving Memories

It has been our tradition, since moving here 10yrs ago, to have Thanksgiving with my cousins. Its great spreading the cooking burden, and we get so many yummy dishes....I look forward to this every year. However, I must say that I do prefer the October Canadian Thanksgiving to this November business. It seems like I just finish making a huge meal, and then I'm doing it again 4 weeks later. Oh well, good thing I love turkey. Michelle and family were suppose to join us, but some had the flu so they bailed.....thank you for not sharing. We did however get to see my uncle from Canada which I really enjoyed.
I asked Blake if he could be in charge of the pies. He jumped at the opportunity to dust off his pie making skills. He learned how to make pies in YM growing up....who says those boys don't pay attention! He even took the time to teach the girls how to make one.

Kicking back on the couch waiting for the finishing touches in the kitchen....smells yummy!

Danny, Uncle Trev, and Blake.....come and get it!
Chantelle decided that she wanted to have a piece of only 4 of the desserts.....the chocolate pie was her favorite....my kind of girl

A great meal for those we love. Thanks for all the help! And we don't really look that worn out.
A little after dinner playtime...Dev just can't stop wrestling.