My little missy turns 7...

Little miss Krystian turned 7 years old on November 28th. Seriously? Seriously! Krystian chose to head off to the bowling ally for her family birthday party... she's quite the little bowler I must say! We shared the day with my brother Corey and his boys and Grandma Nette! Good times... p.s. Corey doesn't want anyone to know this, but I totally beat him! :)

The night before the big day... her last evening as a 6 year old!

Birthday Bowling Bash!

Props for mom! (or whatever the kids call it)

So, in honor of Thanksgiving I bowled a "turkey" at Krystian's family party! I knew no one would believe me, so I took a picture of it. A lot of good that did... you can barely tell whats happening in this picture, but there it is... 3 little X's all in a row. Yeah ME!!!

Thanksgiving at "The Dads"...

Can I just say that I LOVE my family! Thanksgiving with the family is never uneventful let's just say! So a few of the boys (the dad too) may be a little unconventional and downright loony at times, but I still love 'em anyway. :)

Thanksgiving at my dad's house was a blast... the house was full to the brim with chaos, but that's pretty normal these days! The food was great and the company even better... I would have to say that the highlight of my day was the 3 hour nap I got to take! Nette kept an eye on the girls for me and I slept until forever... It was blissful! After dinner the boys and Kayla played a game of basketball (I wish I had been awake to take a few pics and play a little too), apparently Kayla dominated the boys... my guess is that they were thinking that because she's a girl they shouldn't guard her... BIG MISTAKE!!! That girl made 9 three-pointers... go Kayla... that's my girl! After the big basketball game we stuffed ourselves full of pie (there were 7 to choose from... don't ask!) and started decorating for Christmas... all in all it was a great day!


My little brother Travis started this tradition a few years ago where everyone tells about something they are grateful for... I was a little surprised... a close family was at the top of everyones list (almost)... Bill is grateful for girls and snowboarding (no surprise there!). As for my girls, this is what they had to say...

*Kayla is grateful for her family (even Cammy), all of her friends and her artistic talents! hmmmm.
*Cammy is grateful for her mom (that's me btw!), her friends and her cousins.
*Krystian is grateful for Mom, Nette and Nana, Maggie too and puppies and kitties... oh and her sisters!


Pics of the joyous event follow...

Visit with Santa...

The girls and I went to the mall to do a little "pre-shopping" before Black Friday (I don't do the whole Black Friday thing...). Anyway, Krystian dragged her sisters in to see Santa. I of course forgot my camera, so I took this pic with Kayla's phone.... not the best choice, but it's still a cute pic!

So, what's on the wish lists this year?

Kayla wants clothes (of course!)

Cammy wants an iPod Nano chromatic (she must think that Santa is rich or something!)

Krystian asked for a Nintendo DS... a "white, shiney one" I think are the words she used!

As for me... I asked for a boyfriend.... Santa counter offered with a candy cane and a childrens' book... I shamefully accepted! ;)

We wish you all a fantabulous holiday... Merry Christmas!

Love the Garcia girls!

Never a dull moment...

November is always a busy month for my little family... with the kick-off to the holidays and several birthdays in the family, November tends to feel a little out of control at times!!! Cammy turned 11 a couple of weeks ago and Krystian (my baby) will turn 7 on Friday so we spent a Sunday evening with the family celebrating! For some reason smashing 17 people into my little apartment sounded like a good idea somehow!?
We ate pizza and cake, opened presents and watched the Colts/Chargers game... (happily the Colts won in the final 2 seconds of the game!)... With a family full of brothers, I had to bribe them (with football) to stay somehow! We always have great fun... family parties are never dull at my house... especially when all of the boys (my brothers) show up! Can I just say that I am so thankful to have a house full of girls... I am also VERY grateful for my step-mom, Nette and my sister-in-law, Liz and Christopher's girlfriend Mindy. Hopefully one day there will be more girls than boys in the family????? Wishful thinking I know!!!

Paper Bags and Christmas Fun...

For our Christmas service project this year we decided to make "paper bag scrapbooks" for FHE and donate them to The Festival of Trees to raise money for Primary Childrens' Medical Center...

My sweet Cammy found the idea in one of her craft books and headed up the project at home. She designed the books from cover to cover. We had a tun of fun creating and putting these books together. The girls had so much fun making these books that they've decided to make them as Christmas gifts for family and friends!

Cammy's Birthday!

My sweet little Camryn turned 11 on November 12th... every time one of my girls has a birthday I want to cry!!! My little family is growing up way too fast!

Camryn (aka Cammy) is my little sweetheart. She's so thoughtful and caring. When her and I get into little "disagreements" she ALWAYS writes me a little note saying "I'm sorry mommy... and I still love you!"

She just made me a card the other day that said:

"I like it when you say nice things to me and you also have always been there for me to make me laugh. This is just a thanks for being my mom. I love you! Love, Cammy"

Notes like this from her are a regular occurrence! I look forward to these little notes from her.

She treats all of her friends that same way too. I'm so proud to say that she's mine... ALL MINE!!! :)

I love you sweetheart and happy birthday!

Cake and Presents...

For Cammy's birthday dinner we went to Macaroni Grill (her choice). I just had to embarrass her of course by telling them that it was her birthday. They brought her some flowers, a big chunk of chocolate cake (complete with candles) and ice cream for everyone. They also sang happy birthday to her in Italian.

They made her feel like a million bucks!!!

I wish you all could have seen her face!

This is me...

The following are the words to a song by one of my favorite LDS artist, Jessie Clark~Funk. If I had to describe myself and the path my life has taken, there would be no better description. Enjoy...

The Station
I've been riding on this train so long trying to reach my destination. Holding out for the perfect place, hope I find it at the station. Restlessly I watch the hours waiting to pull in... feeling like I've wasted time on dreams lost to the wind.

I'm ready to live not only survive, I'm ready to dance like no one's watchin, climb a mountain kiss the sky, then do it all again. I'm ready to love like I've never been hurt, I'm ready to sing like no one's listenin... watch more sunsets, see the world... if not now, when?

I've told myself that it's alright to run without hesitation. Enjoy the ride and live my life, cuz now I know there is no station. No finer place where dreams come true, no better world than this. Just moments filled with joy and tears, where hopes and fears exist.

I'm ready to live not only survive, I'm ready to dance like no one's watchin, climb a mountain kiss the sky, then do it all again. I'm ready to love like I've never been hurt, I'm ready to sing like no one's listenin... watch more sunsets, see the world... if not now, when?

Halloween...

Oh I so wish I had something incredibly exciting to say about Halloween...

Actually this is the first year EVER that I haven't spent Halloween with my girls. No trick-or-treating, no making costumes, ... none of it! I'm not going to lie... not having to stand in the freezing cold, pretending to be a pack-mule as I carry everyones bags was rather relaxing! I also missed out on the mother load of Halloween candy that usually makes it way into my house with my girls... my hips are ever so grateful! :)

I do have to say though that I missed my girls. I went out with some friends to "play", but it was short lived... all I wanted to do was be at home cuddled up watching Young Frankenstein sipping a chai tea... so that's exactly what I did. Aaaahhhh ~ Good times!!!

Anyway, here are some of my favorite pics from all of the festivities... enjoy!

My baby girls... getting ready to go trick-or-treating!

Beautiful Cammy the geisha girl...
Cammy and her best friends Zarina and Alecea... 5th grade classroom party.
Krystian the "mean" witch... seriously, don't tell her she looks cute, and definately don't tell her she looks like a "nice" witch... she was very insistent on being "mean".

Honestly she's too darn cute to be mean!

Krystian getting all "wrapped up" in the mummy game. 1st grade classroom party.

My "Minnie", my beautiful 13 year old Kayla that wasn't too old to dress up!!! Happy day!!!

Fall Fun...

An afternoon spent at Thanksgiving Point...

Haunted hayrides, pumpkin patches and a corn maze shaped like David Archuleta (Cammy was so excited)... the weather was perfect for a fun little fall outing!

If Krystian could have taken home every pumpkin she would have! "Oh mom, this is the cutest little pumpkin I have ever seen... no wait... mom, this is the cutest little pumpkin I have ever seen... no wait..." (you get the picture)!

Getting lost in the corn maze... but not for long!

My sweet baby girls... Kayla is MIA... she chose to go to the mall with her friends instead... yes, I should have expected that from a teenager!!! Cammy was quite the navigator... she got us out of this thing in about 12 minutes! So worth the $15 a person! hehe...

Mom and Krystian on a haunted hayride...

Where's Heather???

Hi friends....
I'm still alive I promise!!! I'm not sure where time is going, but I woke up yesterday only to realize that the month of October is almost already over. When did that happen?

Anyway, thank you to everyone for your kind thoughts and inquiries as to my whereabouts lately! The girls and I have been incredibly busy. I left my home yesterday morning at 7:30 and didn't come home again until well after 9 that evening... every day seems to be the same story! whew...

Well, we are all doing well... busy, but well. The girls are all very excited for Halloween. We've been making and decorating sugar cookies, carving pumpkins, visiting the witches at Gardner Village and getting lost in corn mazes... pictures will be coming soon I promise!
Cammy auditioned for the school musical and was casted as one of the main characters in the musical Newsies. The performance is scheduled for December 11th.
I recently headed off on a new adventure and partnered with a few friends from design school... we are currently in the process of getting our design business up and running. We hope to have everything set up and ready to go by the middle of November. We all have the same desire... we have a love and passion for design, but want to be able to balance family life with our design career. I think we've achieved that! I am so excited to watch our new business take off.
Well, that's whats new in the Garcia home. We hope all of our friends and family are doing well! Love you!

Lil Missy... Fashion Diva

So tonight I asked Krystian to get ready for bed and get some clothes picked out for school tomorrow...

I got a good laugh when I walked into my room to find her outfit neatly "displayed" on my bed!
Not only did she pick out something that relatively matches, but I LOVE the added touch of the belt looped around the shirt. That's SO Krystian!

~10 points for matching and a perfect 10 for display technique~

Hiking, Hiking and more... yep you guessed it Hiking!

Now that fall is just around the corner, the girls and I have been heading out into the moutains for some fun filled hiking... it has been so nice to just get out of the valley!

Krystian and I went hiking with one of my good friends up to Twin Lakes, just above Brighton ski resort. The hike was a short 1 mile hike... straight up the mountain! I wish I were kidding, but no, straight up is an accurate description! Krystian was practically running up the trail the entire time... she kept telling me to go faster! Little did she know, I was about to pass out at any moment! :)

The girls and I also went up to Silver Lake with my brother Jason and his family. My sister-in-law and I had decided to take family pictures while we were up there. Apparently we were the only ones that thought this was a good idea! We were the only ones taking it seriously anyway! Taking pictures of the kids should have been farely simple, but then I remembered that my brother was with us and taking things serisouly isn't well, his style sometimes! The kids spent more time laughing at him than smiling for the camera! You gotta love him though... he really is one funny guy... oh, and a huge goofball!

Lots and lots of pictures...

Let The Fun Begin...

Wow... a lot has happened in just the past few days! The girls went back to school on Monday. I'm not gonna lie... I'm excited, but a bit sad too. This was the first summer, since I can remember, when I have been able to be home with my family all day. I LOVED it! We had a great time! I am especially glad because I got to spend precious time with my girls... when they all went back to school this week I realized that life is passing by way too fast and they are growing up even faster!

Kayla is starting the 8th grade... she literally grew up over night! She is so incredibly beautiful with her long dark hair, green eyes and no-nonsense attitude... I swear if the boys don't stop calling I just might lock her up somewhere! ;)
She's trying out for the soccer team and the school play/musical this year. She is taking dance and cheer and after 4 years of playing the violin, has decided to move on to playing the cello! She is so incredibly outgoing! Kayla also is a morning person... she gets herself out of bed every morning at 5:30.. and NO, I'm not kidding! Not too many teenagers would ever think of doing that, especially on their own!
Kayla is quite the entrepreneur too... for a year now she has been kind of running her own babysitting business and doing really well. She pretty much pays for what she wants all on her own... I've tried to buy things for her, but she INSISTS on paying for things herself! I am so incredibly proud of her... and so lucky to have such a great kid!

Cammy is starting the 5th grade this year... she's going back to school looking like a completely different girl. After 10 years she finally gave up the "all one length hair" and let me give her some "long swoopy bangs" as she calls them. She also got glasses over the summer which made her look older instantly!
She's beginning the flute this year and is already planning her art project for the reflections contest. Cam is an AMAZING artist! She is really into Anime Profiles and all sorts of Japanese cartooning... I won't be surprised if she becomes a very successful cartoonist someday.
Cammy is my mellow child... she's completely happy drawing or reading a book or conquering Monkey Ball on her DS... She is such a sweet girl!

Krystian just started 1st grade... I am SO sad!!! I've been home alone for 3 days now and while I've been busy, it just isn't the same at home without her! She is one sassy little girl! Apparently all of the girls in her class fought over sitting at the desk next to her!
Krystian is taking dance and of course wants to be a cheerleader someday. I really don't know how I ended up with all of these girlie~girls! She lives in her pjs... it is a tun of work to convince her to actually wear clothes to school... and the first thing she does when she gets home... yep, you guessed it! She changes right back into her pjs! Her goal in life right now is to grow up and "be a mom just like my mom"... she melts my heart every times she says that! :)

As for me... well, after a five month search for a job I FINALLY got one! Funny thing is that it wasn't what I expected... meaning I wasn't really looking for it! I had been applying to design firms all over the valley and with the market being so bad, no one has any work to do and therefore isn't hiring! I had been going back and forth about returning to school and getting my teaching degree when an actual teaching job fell right into my lap! I'll be working at an elementary school in Murray... I'll be working mostly with children in the lower grades as a reading specialists, and also tutoring in math in the upper grades. Honestly I couldn't have asked for a better job! Obviously I'll be working school hours, so I'll be able to be home when my girls are home! I really feel so blessed and so lucky! I start on the 8th of September... I meet with the teachers, then start planning my curriculum for the year. If anyone would have told me a month ago that I would be doing this... I would have told them that they were crazy!!! I can't tell you how excited I am though... after such a long job search and feeling so defeated... I really feel like this is where I'm suppose to be!

Sometimes things happen exactly as they should!

This is what life is all about!

Today seemed like just another Sunday, but I am going to bed truly grateful for the good things I have in life.
A couple of priesthood holders in our ward came over this evening to give the girls each a priesthood blessing to begin the school year with. This has been something that I have done for my girls since they started school... I've always "recruited" a few of my friends to come over and do this for my girls... but with everything being so crazy the past few weeks I kind of let it slip thru the cracks this year... so imagine my surprise when 2 good friends of mine showed up on my doorstep this evening.
It was such a wonderful surprise and I was so happy that even though I hadn't made the time to ask, these two friends took it upon themselves to act. They said they "just had a feeling."
I am SO grateful!
All 3 of the girls were so excited! There is just something so sweet about watching your children light up when it's their turn. Krystian was especially fun to watch... she's 6 years old and all over the place at times, but the moment it was her turn... she hopped up onto the chair with a huge smile on her face and sat so still, arms folded, eyes closed and that huge smile... well, it never left her face... it was quite endearing!
I am one lucky mom!

Bridal Veil Falls

Family outing to the falls in Provo Canyon...

We enjoyed a picnic, hiked and played in the falls.

This was our last weekend together before school starts up again!

Bridal Veil Falls... the water was FREEEEZING!
Kayla practicing dance poses?
Us girls... just hangin out...
Lil Peanut...

Cammy chillin...

Oh I so needed a laugh!

So, I took the girls down to Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon this morning. We were all just playing in the water having a good time when this guy walks up and starts talking to me...

The following is a conversation I had with my 13 year old daughter:
After he finally leaves, Kayla says...
"mom, you are just so cute... that guy was totally hitting on you!"
Okay... whatever Kayla!
"No mom... he thought you were hot... I could totally tell. I KNOW what I'm talking about mom! I mean it's not like you are the typical boring, old mom... for all he knows, you really are our nanny or something."
No wait... it's gets better!
"You're kind of out there some times, in a good way... you look really young for your age, even though you are kind of old, oh and you always dress really cute too... kind of hip and stuff. Seriously mom... you are really cool sometimes."

K, are you rolling on the floor laughing yet!? Seriously???

btw... his name was Jacob and cute Jacob was 21 years old people... info he offered up all on his own... oh, and he really did ask if I was the girls nanny....
Yes, you all should be peeing your pants right about now!!!

I dont' know whats more embarrassing...
the conversation with my daughter or the part where I admit to being completely clueless to whats going on!

Best Friends...

Krystian and Maggie... the best of friends!

These two go everywhere together...

Krystian decided to crawl into Maggie's kennel with her...

she said that Maggie looked lonely and sad, so Krystian wanted to keep her company!

Starvation Reservoir...

The girls and I took a trip with the family to Starvation Reservoir... and yes, the name is a perfect description of the place! If I had to guess I'd say that anything that comes within 10 miles of this place DIES of either heat stroke or starvation! Starvation Reservoir is about 2 hours outside of Salt Lake City, just east of Heber. To the north is the High Uintas and to the south is Strawberry Reservoir (which is bear country)... so how this barren, desert landscape found it's way to this part of Utah is a mystery!

We had a blast though! We went with my dad, his wife Nette and their son Travis, as well as my brother Corey, his wife Rachel and their boys, Nathan and Jacob. We camped out, fished, swam in the lake and relaxed on the surprisingly tranquil beach.

Good times...

Girls day at the beach...

Me, my sis-in-law Rachel and my step-mom Nette.

Every girl should spend a day at the beach with their girlfriends...

we had a tun of fun relaxing in the shade and watching the kids play in the lake.