Where are we?

If any of you have checked out our blog lately and wondered what we are up to, here is the answer.
Today: Sophie had the croup and it turned into a nasty ear infection which Meili seems to be getting. It has been one week of sickness, so we are starting to get cabin fever.
Yesterday: we had one of Scott's old roommates and best friends over, Nate Cox. We are so happy that he stopped by and caught up with us. We have a special place in our hearts for Nate because I feel that he had a huge hand in Scott and I getting together.
Last week: Meili started up preschool again after a 3 week break and she was SO excited.
Scott has also been busy applying for jobs now that he has graduated and we are anxious to see where that goes!
The week before: I can't remember that long ago. But Christmas and New Year's was awesome! Here are some pics!

Princess Mei

Minnie Mouse Soph

Euan loves Christmas!

Two of Scott's beautiful sisters, Ann and Kristi

Happy New Year! We DO LOVE to party!

Sophie is still going strong at Midnight

Mei, on the other hand, is struggling

The teenage cousins make every party more interesting (in a GREAT way)

The winners of the famous "cup" this year!!!!!!!

Disneyland!

Yes! Here are the promised pictures of our adventures in Disneyland! Our kids still talk about that magical place daily!



I have to admit that the beach was one of my favorite parts of the vaca (not a big shocker to anyone who knows me well)



I think that the 3 hours we spent in Princess Land was the girls' favorite!







Saying "Goodbye!"

And "Goodnight!"

PASSED! Disneyland! Crash...

PASSED! Yes! Scott passed! We will finally graduate. (Notice the "we").
DISNEYLAND! We had an awesome time at Disneyland, even though the first day was the Saturday of all the fires in SoCal, so it was raining ash and the air was pretty unbreathable. I will post all the pictures soon...
CRASH...The biggest news right now for us is that, on the way home from returning our rental for the Disneyland trip, we got in an accident on the freeway and we found out last night that our car is a total loss. It was a four-car crash which happened because of traffic. We barely hit the car in front of us either because of, or at the same time(we aren't sure)that a huge Ford truck rammed our trunk almost clear up to the back window. And then a fourth hit the truck behind us. Amazingly, our three kids who were in the back seat were totally fine, and Scott and I just have been a little sore. We feel so blessed! Looking back and seeing a huge truck feet away from my precious little ones and seeing that they were OK, I can't express how grateful I am! All the other cars drove away from the crash, but our little Nissan Altima which has been so good to us, protected us for the last time. Sad! But we continue to be blessed because the adjustor called us tonight to tell us that, even after our huge deductible is being taken out, we still are getting more than we paid for it 5 years ago (we knew we got a killer deal, Ann & Bob!).

Halloween!

So I have improved greatly since last year, when I posted my Halloween pictures in February (ha, ha, ha).
Here is our family night where we carved our Jack-o-Lantern. The girls thought it was pretty fun to scoop out all of the "guts".

Do I have something in my teeth like you do? (A nod to Angel, if you ever read this)

This is the worst picture ever. Unfortunately it is the only one with all of us in our costumes. Scott and Sophie are the Man in the Yellow Hat and Curious George (Sophie's idea, I must say), Meili and I are dancers (her idea), and Euan is a pumpking (a big, fat pumpkin).

More of the Man in the Yellow Hat and Curious George.

Meili, Sophie, and their BFF Katherine Loveless.

Our friends, Dave and Courtney Loveless, and their baby Euan look-a-like, Myron.

Here were our favorite costumes of the ward party we went to: Aang, Kitara, and Prince Zuko. You earn some serious bonus points if you can tell me what those characters are from and why they were our favorite costumes...

Our New Toy!

The girls LOVE their little brother. He is the best dolly that they've ever had! In one of the pictures they are trying to cheer him up with the best things they can think of, their teddys! (Euan doesn't think the teddys are as good as mommy!) They are so good with him, but sometimes they love him TOO much!
The last picture of the girls I just loved because they usually play VERY well together and seem to be best friends (with some exceptions, of course).

My fantastic husband!

This has been such an exciting week! We are so excited that Scott has a defense date set! It is this Tuesday, the 11th, and I am so proud of him! He has worked so hard at school, but has always put his family first and that is one of the reasons why I love him so much. Here we are on a night out for my birthday (in July) and then for Euan's blessing (August).

Thesis Defense Date!

So many of you know how long and arduous this Master's Degree journey has been for us. We have great news, though! Scott was given a Thesis defense date and time yesterday! It will be November 13th at 9:00 am. And then what are we going to do to celebrate? We are going to Disneyland! No, seriously, we really are! Scott's family is taking us to Disneyland on the 14th.
Thank you to all of you who have heard our sob stories through this process and have continued to love us, hope for us, and have faith in us. Yeah Scott! I am so proud of you and your sacrifices for our little family!