Lori's "Mickey" Birthday

With everyone in town on Sunday, Michelle & Zack decided it would be the best day to celebrate Lori's birthday! She chose Mickey as her theme. Aunt Rachel made her a darling cake and she had a lot of fun opening her gifts.

December's Home, Family & Personal Enrichment Meeting

This year for our Home, Family & Personal Enrichment Meeting our committee chose to do a casual progressive dinner. We started here at our house with appetizers. This was great motivation for Corrine and I to get our holiday decorations up! We visited and then before leaving here Nancy asked me to share a short message. I read the story, "Trouble at the Inn" and then used the quote from Elder Maxwell (thanks to McKay for sharing it with me) “Each of us is an Innkeeper who decides if there is room for Jesus” Neal A. Maxwell, 'Settle This in Your Hearts', Ensign, Nov 1992, 65. I challenged the sisters to find ways to allow Christ into their lives. We then moved to Linda Potter's house where we were treated to a wonderful tri-tip dinner (thanks to Don Kesteleyn) with baked potatoes and broccoli. We were treated to a beautiful solo by Jill Hodges. We then moved to Renae Conner's house for lots of yummy Christmas desserts and the reading of "The Littlest Angel" by Ami Harris. Nancy Boyce and her committee did a wonderful job! It was very well attended and enjoyed by all!

Our "Aunt" Date with the Kids!

Corrine and I took all six kids to Golf N Stuff on the Friday following Thanksgiving. This was our 'present' to their parents who were able to take advantage of the after-Thanksgiving sales! We had a great time. Jared and Carly had a little difficulty because 18 holes of golf can be a little long, but they still had a great time. TJ was so excited he was tall enough to drive the bumper cars. Ty was little bummed because we needed him to be a driver on the bumper cars. He wanted to use his one ride for the Indy cars. Because he was such a good sport we bought individual tickets for him. He was a little nervous about taking TJ because it was the first time he ever drove his own car and he didn't want to hurt TJ so Corrine took TJ. I had on sandles and they only allowed closed toe shoes. Anna and Carly picked Chik Fil A for lunch and Melinda came and met us out there. We had a great time!

Chuck E Cheese

On Saturday I went to Ventura and took TJ and Jared on a 'date'. They were anxiously waiting my arrival and wearing their cowboy boots and cowboy shirts. They quickly changed into shorts and off we went to Chuck E Cheese! We ate pizza and ice cream and drank some orange soda. The boys had fun using their tokens on all of the rides. They especially like the "Monster Truck". One of the rides was a little simulator of a roller coaster and so I made a little video. Hopefully it will attach to this post. It has a little shout out to their dad on it! Hello Todd!

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Last night Corrine, Rachel, Dad, Mom, Diane Hafen, Michelle Cregor, Pam & Allie Trout, Carie Barlow, Gina, Megan Shutt and I all went to the Thousand Oaks Civic Center for their production of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (shout out for Garrett -- remember Sunday movie night? Good times!)

We had a great time! They did a wonderful job. I was so impressed with the staging and the play and the scenery, backdrop, etc. "Adam" had a beautiful, loud voice and was great. I must admit that mountain men who point their toes was a little difficult to swallow ("Ben" was particularly difficult to watch and we found out he has professional ballet training) but overall I gave it an "A". It was a great cultural activity and a fun Saturday night 'date' with good people! Thanks to Corrine and Michelle Cregor for taking the lead on this wonderful night.

Regional SA Conference

This weekend the Camarillo Stake hosted the Regional SA Conference. It started on Thursday evening with a chapel session and an endowment session at the Los Angeles Temple. It was a wonderful experience! President Dietrich, the temple recorder (also part of the TO stake presidency) spoke as well as President Heslop of the temple presidency. I was inspired and uplifted! Ami Harris, Corrine and I drove there together. Marj Kempner met us there.

Saturday we were asked to help with the breakfast and so we were at the church by 7:00 am! Hello, so much for sleeping in! We helped prepare the food and then joined the group for breakfast. The keynote speaker was Elder Tenney of the Seventy. I was asked to give the opening prayer at that meeting. He was a wonderful speaker and was inspiring. His wife spoke as well. There were two workshops -- one from Elder Tenney and one from President Barlow (yes, Uncle Norm). They were separated by a lunch catered by Subway and then there was another group session with Bishop Gholston from Newbury Park. He is a scientist for Rocketdyne and has been heavily involved with NASA. They did a question and answer session with the stake presidents and then dinner was from Wood Ranch. After dinner there was a special musical performance from James O'Neal Miner. He was amazing! After the performance I headed home (yes, I avoided the dance) and worked on RS!

So, a few people have asked me my thoughts on the speakers and so here are the main points I learned from each person:

Elder Tenney -- God is always creating and Satan's mission is to destroy. If we want to know how to respond, think about this -- is it creating or destroying?
President Barlow -- His presentation was "Walk Where Jesus Walks" and after spending time in the Jerusalem Center he gets asked, "How will I ever get to the Holy Land and be able to walk where Jesus walked?" He testified of the significance of the temple and that it is there we will walk where He walks
Bishop Gholston -- He gave a presentation about space and space exploration. He shared scriptures that talk about 'worlds without number' and showed 'evidence' of such in a scientific way. The last thing he stated and testified was from Elder Uchtdorf -- "God knows your name." Wow! That was a powerful conclusion.

You can buy a picture at each ride, but . . .

So, here are two pictures from our trip to Florida. As I mentioned, Corrine and I went to the Kennedy Space Center. They took a picture of us as we started. Well, it had a space shuttle in it and so we decided to purchase! I know, probably not the wisest financial choice, but what the heck!

Disney World has pictures at every turn. You could spend a small fortune on them. We passed them all up, however, this one at Disney's Animal Kingdom - Dinosaur ride was too good to pass up! Thanks Melinda for the laugh! Corrine and I had already been on this ride and we knew there would be dinosaurs jumping out. We asked the gal what side the large dinosaur was on and made sure Melinda was sitting on that side. Ironically, there were more dinosaurs on Corrine side (which she didn't really appreciate much) but the largest one was on Melinda's side and took a picture of us. I knew it was coming and so looked at the camera. So we can label this one --

Temperature at Disney World, 85 degrees,

Waiting in the line at Dinosaur, 10 minutes,

Getting a reaction (and picture) of Melinda on Dinosaur, PRICELESS!

Orlando with the girls (October 10-14)

So Melinda and Kate (both working with Symantec) had a work convention in Orlando FL this last week and asked Corrine and I to fly out for the weekend and play. Corrine and I left on Wednesday morning (6:00 am flight) and headed East. We arrived at 4:00 pm and Melinda picked us up. Corrine and I basically crashed that night while Melinda and Kate enjoyed their activities at Universal Studios with their company.

Thursday as they were finishing up Corrine and I spent the day at the Kennedy Space Center. Wow! It was fascinating. The shuttle will launch on October 23rd and it sits on the pad for 30 days before launch and so we were able to see it. Thursday night they finished with their commitments and we had dinner and then crashed again.

Friday and Saturday we spent at Disney World hitting four parks in two days! It was a whirlwind, but we had a lot of fun. Long days and short nights is a good description! Melinda has all of the pictures and so I will post some when they arrive.

Sunday we got up and went to sacrament meeting in the Windermere ward which meets across from the Orlando Temple. We took some pictures at the temple and then it was time to start heading back. Corrine and I got back to LAX about 10:15 pm. We were surprised to arrive at the car and find a dead battery. Gratefully we called AAA and within a half hour we were on our way home!

Thanks to Melinda and Kate for the invite! We had a great weekend!

BYU v UCLA game

So, a few months back I received a letter from the BYU Cougar Club offering for tickets to Cougar Club members. I asked everyone here if they wanted to go. We decided to go to the UCLA game. We purchased our tickets with Chris Lythgoe's family and Jim Bramwell's family right from UCLA. Surprisingly, this was cheaper. We were still able to sit with all of the BYU fans. The day was very hot. I had four tickets and took mom, Corrine and TJ (for his birthday) with me. Even though the outcome isn't what we wanted, it was fun.

One funny note. A few minutes into halftime TJ wanted to go down and go to the bathroom and get some food. I took him. As you can imagine the lines were VERY long. We stood around for quite a while. We even ran in to a friend. While I was down there I could tell the game had started again and we must have been doing well because 'our' side of the stadium was cheering. When we got back up to our seats I found out BYU had scored a couple of times. Unfortunately, I missed all of BYU's scoring while I was down there! Oh, well, we enjoyed our snacks!

My lost camera

For those of you who have been watching this very wonderful blog for updates, I am sorry! It has been about a month since I have had a camera. It is just gone! I cannot for the life of me figure it out! Everyone asks me, "where did you last use it?" of which my response is, 'I can't remember which is why it is lost!" So frustrating! I am ready to purchase a replacement. The saddest part are all of the pictures lost with it! Bummer!

The Black Beauty

Well, it has finally arrived! After Friday's mishap I am now driving my new 2007 Acura TL. So far, I have taken it for about 5 miles and I like it! Corrine insists on me tinting the windows, so I will be doing that soon. It has a backup camera on the navigation and a five-speed clutchless shifting system. (Kate, this is my own stick-shift). :) Here are the first pictures of it for you to see.

A little disappointed

So, for those of you who are looking for a picture to be put on my blog of my new car, hold your horses! You will have to wait until Tuesday! After a long wait I finally heard the car was taken to my house instead of the office. I had mom and dad take me there. While I went in to start signing paperwork I asked dad to walk around the car to make sure there was no problems. He walked back in and said, "Alisa, it has grey interior. Is that what you wanted?" Well, those who know me know it is not what I wanted. So, after about an hour and several phone calls, another car, this time with a tan interior, was located and will be delivered on Tuesday. It feels a little anti-climatic, but oh, well.

It's a "Dora" Birthday for Carly!

Carly turned three on Monday, August 27th. The family gathered on Sunday for dinner and birthday cake. She opened her presents from us as well. She wanted her cake to be Dora, so the theme carried over. Rachel Lou got her balloons and party hats (a must for a three year old). We had a lot of fun. Her friend/babysitter Jessica and her mom came over for cake.

Saying Good-bye!

It's hard to believe it has been three years! However, it has and the lease on the 05 Pilot has come to an end. This time finding a replacement has been a difficult decision (stay tuned for more details and pictures). Ami & Daniel Start bought out the lease on the Pilot and so once again I did not have to turn it in. I am grateful someone will be able to enjoy it as much as I have.

Welcome Hallie Ray Barlow

Chelsea just called from the hospital to let us know she is here! She weighed 8 lbs and 14 oz ; 21 1/2 inches long and was born at 3:45 pm. She is wrinkly and has big hands and feet according to mom! Chelsea said she is feeling good -- just a little hungry.

Welcome David McKay Barlow IV - Mac

On July 13th McKay and Rachel went to her doctor's appointment. She was due to have Mac on July 22nd. McKay came back to the office about 30 minutes late and was like a little school boy he was so excited as he announced they were going back to the hospital because Mac was coming today! It was so fun to see how excited he was to be a new father and to welcome his new son! Mac was born later that day - Friday, July 13th!

Welcome Bryn Lucy Bird

I am so proud to be an aunt! This summer has been a huge blessing. I have been able to welcome a new niece. Michelle and Zack had Bryn Lucy Bird on July 18th. She was born three weeks early so I guess she really wanted to get here and get going. I was on Heritage Tours when she was born. Rachel and I drove out on Sunday, August 6th so we could meet her. What a beautiful baby she is!

Happy 40th Michelle!

Michelle turned 40 on August 15th. Corrine, Ami, Marj, Pam (her sister) and I took her to Cheesecake Factory for dinner. She decided to order dessert first! We had a great time celebrating. Ami made her a 'money' hat. We wrapped a bunch of small gifts and kept giving them to her throughout the night.

Here we go!

Okay, Rachel Lou, you started something here! I hope I can keep pace with the rest of you. I am excited to see and hear more from everyone by using this medium! Good luck