Saying goodbye to Delia

With the passing of Grandma Mary, we had the opportunity to go and see Delia -- Mary's long time caretaker of 10 plus years. Mary considered her to be like a daughter and we will truly miss her. With many tears shed, we said goodbye and wished her well. Grandma Mary was famous for always having a See's Candy stash in the house, which Brock ultimately found and he managed to take home some lollipops. He enjoyed it so much I had to put him in his highchair to contain him, then straight to the bathtub.

I SINNED IN VEGAS...well that's what the t-shirt says!

We went to Las Vegas for a quick little family trip away. Brock did quite well for the 4 hour car trip each way I was quite happy. The best part of my trip was going out to dinner with my friend Jennifer and I am happy to report she is in the process of moving back to California (where she belongs). I saw this shirt while I was shopping and what can I say but that it caught my eye. I did have good fortune at the blackjack tables and walked away after $160.00. My favorite slot machine "Jackpot Party" however was not so nice to me.

The rooftop pool at the condo. Too bad the weather was a little cold and windy.

Our 1 bedroom condo was so much fun and plenty of space for the boy to run laps around.

Sweet Sixteen Birthday Party

My sweet niece Kiertsen turned 16 years old on April 21st. I vividly remember the day she was born. She made me a "aunt" for the first time and I literally cried my eyes out with joy. She was so beautiful and I was in awe of the miracle of life. My brother and his wife had a huge Carnival theme party for her. There was a cotton candy machine, a old-fashion popcorn maker, a bounce house, and DJ to play music. I helped run the carnival games for tickets, there was even a fortune teller handing out fortune cookies. Olga went all out on the food ranging from chicken skewers, hot dogs, roasted corn, fresh fruit and vegetables and the tons of CANDY! The most laughable part of the evening was my brother Richard catching the gas can on fire lighting the fire pit and catching his own shoe on fire. Richard is a "Scoutmaster" for the Boy Scouts so I think that this may be cause to get his card revoked. It was a great PARTY and very well attended. My little Brock wanted to be on the dance floor the entire night. This may be a sign of things to come.

Our first Dinsey Club 33 experience

We got invited to go to Club 33 with our neighbor, Kelli, for her birthday. Club 33 is a private club in Disneyland that serves lunch and dinner. It's kind of like a country club in that you have to be a member or a guest of a member to get in. I hadn't heard about this place until about 5 years ago. The plus side is that they give you "comp" tickets to get into the park, but there is always a catch, right? The catch is the cost of lunch was about $85 a person, plus tax and tip, which came out to a little over $105 a person. I like a good meal and all, but I guess I am spoiled living in California and having close access to Disneyland. The food was great! They had a buffet of fresh seafood, which consisted of lobster to king crab legs. The desserts were to die for if you are a chocoholic like me. My actual entree I ordered was chicken and in all my years I don't think I knew that chicken could taste so moist...at least my chicken never turns out that way. I loved my lobster bisque soup. And, if you were wondering, NO WE DID NOT TAKE BROCK. Thank goodness for Grandma Epi who watched him. We left after lunch to go retrieve the boy and fall into our sleep coma. We had a great time celebrating with friends and it was a great first time experience. Oh my the fancy napkins and chocolates.

Grandma Mary Mant Parks passes on

It is with great sadness that Scott's grandmother Mary Mant Parks passed away on Saturday, April 3, 2010. Scott wrote a short obituary for the O.C. Register that will run Wednesday April 14th. He wrote the following:

Mary Mant Parks, beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, passed away peacefully at her home in Corona Del Mar on April 3, 2010, at the age of 93. Mary was born on January 6, 1917 in Pocatello, Idaho. Her family relocated to San Gabriel. In 1935, she married Wally Parks, who soon would become the Founder of the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA). In 1956, she moved to Corona Del Mar, and resided there until her passing. She is survived by two sons, Richard and David, five grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, April 17th, 2010 at 11 am, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, 2150 Bonita Canyon Drive, Newport Beach. Scott is going to give the eulogy and has been working very hard to honor her. I have been given the opportunity to dress the body with a few other family members as L.D.S. tradition. I have never done this before but find it to be a great honor to be able to participate. These are just a few photos I found of her.

Mary and her sister Carol.

Mary with baby Brock.

Mary's 93rd Birthday Bash


Mary battled Parkinsons for the past 30 years and she was quite an amazing woman. I get a huge smile thinking of how she was attached to keeping her lipstick perfect. Some people never leave their house without make-up. Well, she always had her lipstick handy to reapply. I will miss playing cards with her as she was an avid card player.

Brazillian Blowout

Many of you know that I have kinky curly hair. I am not sure where I got it from and it really hit in my early 20's. I had always gotten perms ( I grew up in the 80's) to add volume. It can be challenging with all the hair products and the time it takes to blow dry (which still looks really poofy), then using really hot curling irons or flat irons to smooth my hair out. After having the baby, it's hard to find the extra hour for hair when I really just want to sleep. My sister, Shanna, is my hair dresser and she recently became certified to perform the new treatment called the Brazillian Blowout. I wish I would've taken more pictures, but now you can visit the website at http://www.brazilianblowout.com/home and see the "before and after". Basically, it's a protein treatment for your hair that will last up to 4 months. It relaxes the curl and it literally takes 5 to 10 minutes to blow out; no frizzes to mess. I love it! This process retails from $250 to $500. My sister is only charging $150 for anyone referred by me. I have been so pleased and it's been so easy to do my hair.

Go Dodgers.....Go Angels...

Look who I found playing with his dad's Dodger hat. I couldn't resist the photo op since Scott is really a huge Angels fan. We, as a family, have memorabilia and souvenirs for both teams. Brock may have decided his team...ha ha ha....GO DODGERS!

Our 1st Angels game of the season

Matsuiland (for new Angel Hideki Matsui) with the Disney font located in Right Field.

Happy Easter 2010

We had a busy Easter day this year. Thank goodness for the DVR and we taped General Conference. We headed over to see the Parks cousins at Dave & Michelle's new house in Laguna Niguel. I am not sure if Brock really understood the concept of collecting the eggs for his basket but he sure had fun throwing them back out on the ground. Allison is 7 and Jenny 3 so they were good little helpers to Brock & Trevor. Hey look I got an egg!

Jenny and her full basket proudly smiling.

Brock eyeballing that big chocolate bunny.

The Parks Grandchildren: Jenny, Allison, Brock, & Trevor

We then headed over to Bill & Olga's house out in Rancho Cucamonga only to arrive just in time for the 7.2 earthquake rocking the house. It was centered in Mexicali, but it was the longest quake ever. We feasted on more food, yet I was not hungry because of the previous party.
My brother also had some of his in-laws over -- including some 20 kids.

Cousin Kiersten counting down the days till she is "sweet sixteen"

Helping Brock down the slide.

Mommy needed a nap from all this excitement.