Datwyler Diary

2010-05-03T15:50:00.000-07:00

Sierra got a singing microphone from her cousin Chloee. She loved it. Unfortunately it now recides hidden in my dresser drawer. There's only so much a person can take hearing zalakadoo la menchakaboo bibiddy bobbidy boo tune. She loves it though. One day we put together the Indiana Jones lego set with Stefan

2010-05-03T15:48:00.001-07:00

Christmas was fun we stayed home this year which was so nice. It's so stressful to travel during that time of year. Stefan had a Christmas performance at school the boy next to him outside in the picture is his 5th grade buddy. They come in once a week and help them with homework or projects. It's really cool.

Christmas Time

2010-05-03T15:44:00.001-07:00

It's blogging time

2010-05-03T15:20:00.000-07:00

It' s time for me to update my blog it's been six months. I even forgot how to get to my account. I went with my sisters to Las Vegas for a girls get away trip in November. We had a blast. We went to the temple ate as much as we wanted and watched girl movies. It was so fun to just relax and take our time. We laughed so hard. I forgot how fun my sisters are. They took a ton more pics than I did. I'm terrible at taking pics.

Random Thought

2009-11-03T16:20:00.000-08:00

Do I have less patience or is it being tested more. Because I feel I have less than I used to. Any thoughts on this?

Halloween and Stuff

2009-11-03T15:01:00.000-08:00

Stefan had so much candy his bag broke. It was such nice weather we didn't even need jackets. The moon was full and we even got an extra hour of sleep. Halloween can't get better than that.

I bought some new glasses. I buy a pair every 5 years. It took me a really long time to find ones I liked and that looked good on my face. Apparently it's small and shaped funny.

I also sanded and refinished our table. I should have taken a before picture. At least half of the lacquer was coming off. It was two toned. Now it looks like a brand new table. It's actually 26 years old. I blame the need to sand and paint things on my mom. She's always doing something liked that. I'm the fixer, garage organizer person in our family. My husband does the grocery shopping and Christmas shopping. He's better at picking out clothes for me than I am. I'm glad our talents complement each other so well.

2009-11-03T14:56:00.000-08:00

Stefan was an alligator for his school program and we had fun at the Fall Festival and our Trunk or Treat. Marcus is dressed up as a tourist. His clothes are wrinkled and he's wearing his Hawii shirt. I bet you can guess everyone elses costumes

2009-11-03T14:53:00.001-08:00

Sierra's preschool went to Tanaka Farms for her field trip this year. She loved the corn maze, rididng the tracter, picking vegetables and petting the goats and sheep.

2009-11-03T14:49:00.000-08:00

We went to a Broncos vs Chargers game. The Broncos are Marcus's favorite football team. It was my first pro football game. It was very exciting and the Broncos one. The train was so crowded he ended up walking to our car. It was only a couple of miles away.

2009-11-03T14:47:00.000-08:00

They were nice and played legos with them. Took them to the beach and on many hikes. After they left Stefan kept asking to move to Utah.

Fun with Grandma

2009-11-03T14:35:00.000-08:00

Kids had fun with grandpa and grandma or did grandma and grandpa have fun with them. I think it was some of both. I never knew Jessie could Hula hoop.

2009-11-03T14:28:00.000-08:00

The food was amazing. We tried poui a purpleish gray root. It was okay. The dancing was awesome. They had different dances from all over the world and a fake volcano that would go off. One of the coolest things was they guy was holding a chicken and was able to completely calm it down and make it go to sleep or push some pressure point to make it go limp. I had never seen anything like that before. Then we woke it up.

2009-11-03T14:22:00.000-08:00

This is on the grounds where the luau was held. It was pretty cool they blew the conch shells and then dig up the pig buried in the ground. It's covered in leaves and then volacanic rocks and then dirt.

2009-11-03T14:17:00.000-08:00

The Napoli Coast was awesome. The hike was a bit dodgey in places but beautiful. I like the sign that says how many tourists have died. The bathroom was pretty narly.

2009-11-03T14:11:00.000-08:00

There is so many stay chickens walking around everywhere. I fed some on the golf course. After golfing I had the best shaved ice I've ever had.

So we walked through a huge cornfield to a waterfall. I was too chicken to jump off but Marcus did it. He paid afterwards though. His ear wouldn't pop for about 2 weeks. I got devoured by mosquitos while I was taking pictures. I think I counted 17 just on my back.

2009-11-03T14:07:00.000-08:00

All of our hikes were 5 hours long and all uphill then downhill. I was so sore. Golfing was one of my favorite activities.

10 year anniversary Fun in Hawii!!

2009-11-03T13:52:00.001-08:00

We loved watching the sunrises. It's a 3 hour time difference so we were waking up at 4 in the morning. We kayaked the Wailua river together.

Orange county Fair

2009-08-14T10:01:00.001-07:00

That sculpture is made of sand pretty awesome! We had a good time.

Swimming Lessons

2009-08-14T09:57:00.001-07:00

Sierra and Stefan loved their swimming lessons. Sierra still won't put her head under the water only once a day and she does it when the teacher isn't looking. So she gets to do Level 1 again.

2009-08-14T09:51:00.000-07:00

She always fall asleep reading and our new thing is the slushies from Sonic. Sooo Good.

Cold Play Concert and Reunion

2009-08-14T09:48:00.000-07:00

2009-08-14T09:45:00.000-07:00

2009-08-14T09:43:00.000-07:00

Utah and family

2009-08-14T09:40:00.001-07:00

Utah and family

2009-08-14T09:40:00.000-07:00

2009-08-14T09:37:00.000-07:00

Summer Fun

2009-08-14T09:33:00.001-07:00

Better

2009-04-26T07:51:00.000-07:00

To those of you who might now I've had health problems for the past 2 years. We finally figured out what was up. The top bone in my neck was misaligned. I've been going to an Atlas Orthogonal chiropractor. I feel much better and can actually function like a normal person. I feel so blessed to have some relief.

Sierra Dancing at the beach

2009-04-24T07:48:00.000-07:00

Sierra age 3 at Doheny Beach, Dana Point CA enjoying Spring Break 2009 with the Family showing of her dancing moves.

About Me (Annie)

2008-11-11T10:05:00.001-08:00

I feel best and am happiest while I exercise. I'm a compulsive email checker. I get stressed out easily much to my dismay. I like Christmas but HATE shopping. My favorite holiday is thanksgiving because we eat lots of good food and it's more laid back. The kids have 2 days off for Veterans day. It's been nice not to have to drive and get people dressed by a certain time but at the same rate It's nice to only have one kid for a while. I'm still learning the in's and out's of blogging. Have a great day!

Miscellaneous ( I never know how to spell that word)

2008-11-11T09:58:00.000-08:00

So her's a couple more pics. I made a memory quilt out of our old t-shrits. It was for our anniversary. It's cool because it symbolizes two people coming together as one. It was hard to fit the pieces together, it took a lot of time but was well worth the effort. Just like marriage. I love my hubby.

2008-11-09T23:12:00.000-08:00

More Halloween pics from the trunk or treat. We thought it was funny Sierra chose to eat an apple when she was Snow White. We have a picture of her afterwards asleep in her costume on her bed. She looks like she's under a spell. Trick or treating really wears them out. She keeps telling us she is marrying Julian the cute little boy that's a skunk. That's my friend Leyla. She's a witch in case you couldn't tell.

2008-11-09T22:56:00.000-08:00

Our good friends the Fiorito's watched our kids for our anniversary. We went to the beach in San Clemente the next day. We also had a funHalloween. Stefan wanted to be Sierra's prince/ knight. Marcus is a Peruvian guy and I'm a scurvey pirate. No I'm a regular pirate but the kids keep singing that song from Backyardagains. What do you do with a scurvery pirate said three times and then it ends make them walk the plank. Arghhhh.We also liked going to our wards trunk or treat and decorating our trunk.

Fall pictures

2008-11-09T22:47:00.001-08:00

It's been a long time. The blog is alive again be request from Annie's mom. Marcus has moved to Facebook. YOu can add him as a friend if you like. I'm taking over his blog. We visited Downtown Disney and went to the Lego store. The other one is a field trip the kids went on to a farm.

Last few pics

2008-07-04T14:25:00.000-07:00

Pretty cool parade when we had floats with Jack Sparrow from Pirates, Indianna Jones, U2, Cinderella and my favorite the Oscar Meyer weenermobile.

More pictures from the Parade

2008-07-04T14:20:00.000-07:00

They gave out Flags and Pinwheels and lots of Candy. Parades on the 4th are lots of fun.

4th of July 2008

2008-07-04T14:05:00.000-07:00

JnJ was kind to us this year in that I got an additional holiday day for the Fourth of July weekend. So on July 3rd we went to Wild Rivers a big water park here in Irvine. The kids loved it and Annie and I really enjoyed the lazy river. They had a total kids section with slides and kiddie pools that Sierra and Stefan could ride on. Stefan and I tried one of the big mountain slides but he got denied at the top of the hill by the attendant for being too short. As we hiked back down the hill smoke started coming out of his ears as his faced turned red he turned to me and said "I could take him" I believe referring to the lifeguard. None the less it was a fun day in the sun although we got a little too much and came home with sporadic burns on spots where not enough sunscreen had been applied. This morning I went to play Ultimate with the boys and Annie took the kids to the ward pancake breakfast. After I got home and showered we went to the Lake Forest 4th of July parade. It was quite a parade lasted 1.5 to 2 hours, we were baking again in the sun but the kids loved it. We sat with the friends who just moved into our complex and later they are coming over for a barbeque and I think we may go watch the fireworks with them tonight across the street and the Sun and Sail club where they shoot them over our man made lake. Hope everyone is having a great 4th we are blessed to live in such a wonderful country, Thank you to all who have served or are serving to protect our freedoms.

Couple more pics from June

2008-07-01T21:51:00.000-07:00

Stefan graduated from Preschool, performed in his school Circus, as a family we went to the Angels vs. Mets baseball game and cheered for the Mets but the Angels won, Stefan loves the food at the games but Sierra actually seemed interested in watching the game. Lets post some more pictures.

July 1st 2008

2008-07-01T21:35:00.000-07:00

one month since the last post. quite a bit has happened. family reunion in Utah, business trip to NYC, Annie was called as 1st counselor in the primary presidency, weather got really hot then cooled back down. New songs worth listening to in my humble opinion Tessellate by the Tokyo Police Club, Viva la Vida by Coldplay and L.E.S. Artistes by Santogold. Looking forward to the 4 day weekend it looks like we will go to the beach or to a waterpark, maybe have a barbeque on the 4th and watch some fireworks. Our biggest current challenge is Sierra trying to potty train herself, she likes to poop in her pullup and then rip it off and things tend to get messy. Well lets load a couple pics cheers, Marcus.

the rest of the picts

2008-06-01T16:41:00.000-07:00

tomorrow night for family night our ward is having a fundraiser dinner at Rubio's Mexican fast food excellent fish tacos. Rubio's will donate 20% of the proceeds to our YM/YW program. This afternoon i think we will go for a walk through the Eucalyptus tree forest that neighbors our house. Lately the Jacaranda trees have been blossoming they produce a beautiful purple flower next week we'll try to post a picture of them.

Fun week

2008-06-01T16:22:00.000-07:00

This past week Annie and I enjoyed a fun adventure heading north into LA to go see a rock concert at the Hollywood Bowl. We decided to drive to Long Beach and then take the Metro/Subway so as to avoid dealing with traffic and parking. It still took a long time and unfortunately we missed the opening act which we were excited to see a band called The National, but we thoroughly enjoyed Modest Mouse's set and R.E.M. put on a great show they were the headliner. We didn't get home to bed until about 1:45 after picking up the kids, so I was pretty tired Friday morning getting up for work. Then Friday a friend at work invited me to go to the Angels game, so we went along with a Marketing director in town from Australia. Enjoyed visiting and interacting with the lady from Australia who had never been to a Pro Baseball game before. Saturday was an epic frisbee game my team fought back from down 15-19 to tie the game at 20-20 but we lost in the end 21-20. Saturdays fun family activity was making California Rolls a type of Japanese sushi. Annie did a great job for her first attempt. Other pictures shown our a few weeks old , Stefan and I going to the baseball game.. I got a pair of company tickets at the last minute, the family at the park and sushi night. we are looking forward to seeing family in Utah next week. Hasta Luego

Memorial Day

2008-05-26T17:06:00.000-07:00

Annie had a fun day with Stefan and Sierra on a field trip to the farm. They got to feed the animals and ride ponies and get dirty. Below we see Stefan and his buddies at the Father and son outing playing with light sabers. Right above the kids had a little party in the backyard watching a movie outside and eating pizza, subsequently however our portable DVD player burnt up because we played it too long on the carpet. So word to the wise don't play your laptops or portable DVD's on the carpet they will burn up because they don't get enough air supply. At the bottom is a pic. of the kids playing with a little doll house that my old boss from work gave to me. I've decided to recommit to blogging as my method of journaling, so my goal will be to make an entry once per week. As a funny aside today some of you may have seen pigs flying because I Marcus Datwyler purchased and used a power drill. I have resisted power tools for years and we've always borrowed neighbors or home teachers drills. The sad thing is the ceiling in our little garage is all sheet rock practically so the mission was not accomplished in finding a spot to hand our hooks to be able to store the kayak. Annie and I spent 2-3 hours working in the garage today trying to clean out / De-junk and make it possible to park the toyota corolla inside the garage novel concept instead of out on the street. We haven't accomplished the mission but the day isn't over yet.

Random pics

2008-03-30T21:47:00.000-07:00

Here's some fun ones.

Belgium for a Week

2008-03-30T21:40:00.000-07:00

Marcus crossed the pond and went to Belgium for a week. He ate the famous "Mussels from Brussels" and one of his co-workers ordered bone marrow. Sounds good huh.

Spring in the OC

2008-03-30T21:31:00.001-07:00

Hi Family and Friends,

We are finally updating our blog. Can you believe it? Here's some fun pics of our latest adventures.

2008-03-30T21:27:00.000-07:00

Hot summer nights in Hyrum, Utah

2007-07-17T20:27:00.000-07:00

Once again out of order, but this is as much an online picture sharing vehicle as a blog so it is what it is. Good times were had by all hanging out with the Williams family enjoying some outdoor barbeque, baseball, badminton and catching up with family all while being serenaded by the local rodeo blaring in the background 5 blocks away. It was great to see family since the kids have grown up quite a bit since Christmas. Thanks to all who cooked and worked hard to make our visit a memorable one.

Cedar City Datwyler Family Reunion June 07

2007-07-17T19:39:00.000-07:00

I'm writing out of order but I wanted to capture the other big trip of summer 2007. My memories of this years reunion are Golfing with Doug and the prairie dogs, playing board games, cool southern utah hike with dad, richard and doug, and visiting with family. Attached our picts from the trip that speak louder then words.

Epcot Center

2007-07-17T18:48:00.000-07:00

Monday we ventured northward to explore some of the wonderful world of Disney. Our theme park of choice to spend the day was The Epcot Center. We got an early start and drove 3 hours with eager anticipation of line waiting in the land where dreams come true. Quite a bit had changed since I had visited the Park 14 years earlier. My highlights were once again the China 360 degree movie, Norway for dinner excellent fish (pickled, smoked, poached varieties), Soaring cool ride that simulates hang gliding over California and Honey I shrunk the audience. Annie liked dinner with the disney princesses in Norway , finding Nemo ride and cool aquarium, cool green house ride with tropical plants and the architecture of the Intl. villages. Annie did not like Mission to Mars which simulates some series gravity and stomach ping pong and almost caused her to toss her cookies.

West Palm Beach

2007-07-17T18:02:00.000-07:00

Saturday and Sunday we spent with our friends Jim and Gretchen Hofeling. They were gracious local tour guides and hosts. They introduced us to Steak and Shake a fun fast food chain and took us to their favorite beach on Jupiter Island where Tiger Woods resides. We had fun collecting sea shells enjoying the ocean breeze and visiting with Jim and Gretchen. They also showed us a cool sea turtle hospital where locals volunteer and assist in caring for injured or abandoned turtles. We enjoyed the diversity of members at church in the West Palm Beach Ward on Sunday. In the afternoon we explored a local swamp nature trail near the Hofeling's home.

Key Largo

2007-07-15T17:57:00.000-07:00

Key Largo, Montego, Baby why don't we go to Aruba, well folks now we've been to Key Largo cross one off the list. The next couple of days we spent snorkeling and scuba diving at the John Pennekamp national marine preserve I think. We still need to develop and scan the really cool picts of underwater sea life but needless to say we saw cool schools of tropical fish, lobsters, rays, Annie saw a sea turtle and I saw a nurse shark. Needless to say Scuba diving is awesome, Annie and I are considering PADI certification so we can feel a bit more confident under the sea. Driving down the #1 hwy was cool driving over open water stretches in between different islands on the keys and of course we had to try Key Lime Pie.

Miami Beach and South Beach

2007-07-15T17:36:00.000-07:00

Since I'm a novice blogger I need to learn the primary lesson less words more pictures. Day two was great lots of sunshine to explore the beaches of Miami on July 4th. Our primary mode of transportation being as Annie and I like to call them Fat Butt Bikes or beach cruisers as the rental shop called them mine even came equiped with a front basket.

Florida Trip July 2007

2007-07-15T16:32:00.000-07:00

Warm waters and undersea life seem to call to me in the same way that tropical rain forests do. Every year or two I'm drawn to explore some new spot unique and beautiful. This year was no different Annie and I decided to visit southern Florida and the Keys. Our parents graciously offered to tend the kids so this trip became a mini honeymoon 7 1/2 years removed.

The trip began with a flight to Miami we immediately felt the humidity and muggy heat that comes with 90 degree heat and 90% humidity. It took us a minute to gather our bearings in the rent a car and figure out which direction was East in order to find our way to downtown where our hotel was for the next few days. We never found a proper freeway and ended up taking backroads through the heart of Miami with some neighborhoods looking more similar to those of Mexico then the U.S. with iron bars guarding windows. As we passed the Orange Bowl home of the Univ. of Miami Hurricanes I wished that we had scheduled the trip during college football season since I've been a fan of the canes since middle school.

We arrive at the downtown Marriott on Biscayne Bay blvd. Our room had a nice view of the Bay as well as Dark thunderstorms rolling in from the west we would see more of later that evening. Annie and I left to find food since Northwest didn't provide snacks on our flight from SLC thru Minnesota and then onto Miami.

We found an outdoor mall downtown just past the basketball arena. As we arrived the rain had just started to fall but it was light and warm so it didn't bother us too much. It was quite an international scene where the locals seemed to be Haitians, Cubans, Puerto Ricans and Mexicans and the tourist were Columbian, Spaniards, Germans and Brits. We tried an all you can eat Argentine barbeque called the Knife and found the meats to be quite good. The entertainment for the evening was provided by mother nature as some impressive thunder storms engulfed the bay.