It's Official....

We are moving. Yes, it's official. It has been in the works for the last few months. Marriott wants Eric in the Orange County office M-F. Since last March, he has been leaving Tues and coming back on Thurs, and then at his Shadow Ridge office on Mondays and Fridays. It is really a blessing for our family, it has been hard to have Dad gone during the week and we are excited to have him home every night. Wow, what will it be like to not have to get a babysitter to go to YW's, Enrichment or a girls night every once in a while? Although I do have to say it has been nice to have Eric's brother, Curt here to help out with the kids at night when I need him. He is living with us and doing his internship at the Marriott until April. So he will pack up with us and probably work out of the O.C. office also.
It is really so bittersweet... We love living in the desert. We love the friends we've made here, we love our ward, we love our house and yard. But we know this is an answer to our prayers so we can be a real family. I am grateful that Marriott is moving us out there... that means I don't have to box up anything. YEAH! And I'm grateful that they've made it so we can afford to live out there too. Yikes, yes the neighborhoods are great and all but it's expensive.
So if anyone knows anyone who wants a great house for a great price send them our way. (4 bedroom/ 3 bath, 2060 sq.ft. gated community/ quite neighborhood/ DSUSD schools/ lots of upgrades in the house: 4" baseboards throughout, new custom media center and cupboards in the family room, upgraded guest area with laminate wood floors, wainscoting, and beautiful custom tile guest shower/ bathroom) ... I can't say enough great things about my house. I'm sad to leave it.
If any of you have any suggestions on neighborhoods/ areas you know of in the O.C. that are nice, let us know. We have an idea where we want to be but it's not set in stone. We really like the Rancho Santa Margarita area. (It's just past Mission Viejo)
So now the fun begins... keeping the house spotless, for potential viewers. (I know the market is slow, so maybe they will be few an far between but I still have to have the house ready to show.) So I forsee many movies for the kids so I can make my vacuum lines while they sit on the couch. :)

2007 Gillis Christmas Movie

So for Christmas, we put together a little movie with all of our pictures from Christmas. Take a look and tell us what you think!

Go to: http://gallery.mac.com/ekgillis#100029

Or you can go to the Gillis Media Gallery on our links to the left and then click on the Movie. Hope you enjoy.

Sioux City Root Beer

This is good Root Beer, but lost a lot of points because it is an impersonator. It is a mix between Barq's and A&W. It has a lot of likability, but I am looking for a Root Beer that stands out on its own. There is a fine line with Sparkle and Smoothness. This is an argument in the family right now; can you have strong sparkle, yet still be smooth. I argue that you can. I have yet to find the perfect combination, but it has to exist. What are your thoughts? Do you have an opinion on this?

Smoothness:.......2
Rootness:..........2.7
Sparkle:.............4
Originality:.........1.5
Likability:..........3.5
Branding:...........3

Overall:............ 2.8

Mason's Root Beer

This was a pleasant surprise and one of the better Root Beers that we have had in the show down. It claims to have a keg brewed flavor, and I would have to agree with Mason's on this count. It had a great smoothness to it and a good root flavor as well. This would be a good ol' BBQ Root Beer that you could break out for the friends. Website: www.realsoda.com The score is as follows:

Smoothness:........4
Rootness:............3
Sparkle:..............3
Originality:.......2.9
Likability:........3.5
Branding:..........2.5

Overall:.............3.2

Baron's Boothill Sassparilla

Well, the packaging is nothing to right home about, but I guess it matches a Sassparilla. When testing this Root Beer, it just came up with very little taste to it. It was still better than the Abita we tested before this, but lacked some of the other characteristics I'm looking for, like rootness. This is a Root Beer you give to your kids or your in-laws to make them feel special because it's Root Beer in a bottle, but you feel good because you didn't have to waste the good stuff on people who wouldn't appreciate! So here is the score:

Smoothness:.........4
Rootness:..............1
Sparkle:..............2.5
Originality:.........3.5
Likability:...........2.5
Branding:.............2

Overall:..............2.6

Does she remind you of anybody?

Let's just say Taylor is going through a stage. At least I hope it is! My five year old is going on fifteen. We have arguments/ melt downs every morning about what she's wearing for school. AND her School has UNIFORMS. It should be easy but it's not. She will cry and say I have nothing to wear. I don't like that, I don't like this... etc. Which some mornings I'm patient with and we go over many options etc, and some mornings it just makes me mad and then I'm probably just sinking down to her level by arguing over a silly outfit. She's 5 shouldn't I be able to have some say in what she wears?
Well today I threw in the towel. To try to solve our dilemma last night I suggested that we pick her outfit out so we wouldn't be rushed the next morning. She then told me that when she's grown up she wants to be a fashion designer. (I didn't even know what a fashion designer was when I was 5!) So I let her put together her own 'masterpiece.' Being tired it didn't bother me too much, but in the morning I almost took back my promise, but I stayed strong and told her it looked great and she did a good job choosing. I don't ever remember my mom telling us we had to wear something (except something appropriate for church) And that's how kids express themselves... right? Well Eric and I thought there was a slight resemblance to a certain childhood TV star. So Taylor is our new little PUNKY. And we love her that way!

Abita Root Beer

Well, this is a Root Beer from Louisiana and made from pure Louisiana Sugar Cane. Katie, having been born in Louisiana, should have a little pride in the Root Beer. But from the mouth of a native she said, "this is low-income housing Root Beer, or the projects of Root Beer". With that said, this is a pretty terrible Root Beer. I wouldn't wish this upon my BYU friends. Here are the results:

Smoothness:.......1
Rootness:...........1
Sparkle:...........4.5
Originality:.........2
Likability:...........1
Branding:...........1

Overall:............1.8

Boylan Bottleworks Root Beer

Smoothness:......3
Rootness:.......2.5
Sparkle:..........4.5
Originality:........4
Likability:,,,,,,,,3.5
Branding:...........3

Overall:..........3.4

This was an interesting Root Beer. It had a good strong impact on first gulp because of the strength of the carbonation (sparkle). I felt that this was more of a creme soda than an actual Root Beer. It is made from pure cane sugar, so this would be the cause of the creaminess. I'm all for a good creamy Root Beer, but this was a sweet cream taste that I would get from a good cream soda. It was a good soda, but lacked the true characteristics of a good Root Beer.

Jackson Hole Soda Co: Buckin' Rootbeer

So this is the first Root Beer that I'm judging. You can review more sodas from this company on jhsodaco.com.

The Results:

Smoothness:.....5
Rootness:.........4
Sparkle:............3
Originality:.......3
Likability:.........4
Branding:......3.5

Overall: ........3.7

This was a pretty good Root Beer to start the showdown off. I tend to like a stronger Root Beer, meaning a little more carbonation. If this Root Beer had some more, it would have gotten a much better score. It is very smooth going down though. The branding was original, but they could have had a better picture. It still doesn't beat a cold Henry's.

The Root Beer Showdown

Well, I am going to share this blog with my lovely wife, I hope you don't mind some mindless banter. Several years ago, I professed over the pulpit while giving a talk in church that I have a fascination with Root Beer and I am on a never ending quest to find the perfect Root Beer. Having professed this infatuation in public, I now receive root beers from all over the country as gifts and tokens of friendship. Recently, I received a crate full of Root Beer from Creedence Anderson for helping him snag a room for his honeymoon. The Anderson family has been a major contributor to my Root Beer quest. Whenever they find a new and unusual Root Beer, they bring it home for me to test. I sure appreciate their help in this quest. So for the next month or so, I will be documenting and rating the 24 Root Beers that I just received. I have tried several of the ones I received, but their are quite a few new ones that I have not. I am rating each Root Beer on the following categories:

Smoothness: How it goes down
Rootness: How strong is the taste of the actual root
Sparkle: The level of carbonation
Originality: Does it have a different taste than the every day root beer
Likability: Does it have an overall likeness to it, this is obviously very subjective
Branding: How is the labeling and the name of the root beer
Overall: This is the overall score of the rootbeer and an average of the above scores

The scale is from 1-5; 5 being the highest score.

If you have suggestions on your favorite Root Beer, please let me know and I will test and rank it. Currently right now, my favorite is Henry Weinhardts Root Beer. Donations are always accepted! :)

Christmas Break

We have enjoyed our few weeks off of our normal routine of school, etc. Taylor is looking forward to starting school and Tennis this week. She is going to start a 6 week Tennis camp I guess you would call it. Eric and I have gotten into Tennis this past year, and subsequently she has started liking it also. We love to go to Fritz Burns Park in La Quinta on Monday nights for FHE and play tennis as a family. Soccer season is now over and it's nice for her to have something to look forward to. And a little exercise is always good.
Brent is talking more and more everyday. It's so fun to see his vocabulary increase so quickly. He loves to announce when someone walks into the room and joins the group. He's say, "Tays Home!" or "Daddy's home". It's so cute that he confuses the 'home' with actually 'here' but it's the same concept, right. He is just my snuggle bug. He loves to give numerous hugs during the day. He has a hard time when Taylor goes to school. He wears a backpack when we walk her into school. I think he's hoping I'll let him stay someday. So he plays with all the other kids on the playground, he climbs the stairs runs across the bridge, under the clubhouse and down the slide. There are like 7 kids on his heels doing the same thing. They all squeal and laugh, they just love him. And Taylor doesn't seem to mind sharing the attention (surprisingly). I think she's proud that he's her brother.
Taylor is learning to read and doing such a great job. She is just taking off with her sounding out of words and memorizing her sight words and numbers. She is reading Dick and Jane-like books and loving her new found skill. I'll be reading to her at night and she will point out the words on the page that she knows and she's so proud of herself.
I have to mention the cute thing she said on Christmas Eve when I was laying down with her to help her fall asleep. She turned to me and said, "Mom, these darn Sugar Plums keep dancing in my head, and Mom, I don't even know what Sugar Plums are!" It was so funny. I guess we read the Night before Christmas one too many times.

Some commentary on the pictures: We got a croquet set from Sarah and Chad for Christmas that we LOVE. Brent and Taylor have had so much fun, and so far, no broken windows. Taylor did break a mallet by throwing it on the ground because she was mad she missed a wicket ( for those of you unfamiliar with croquet jargon, that is the tunnel shaped wire the balls go through). I think we might need a little Anger management at our house.
We also enjoyed visiting with my sister Sarah and her daughter Audrey over break, so this is a picture of the cousins. ;)
What do you think? Does Brent need a hair cut or what?

Christmas in the Desert

So we had a fantastic Christmas week staying here in the Desert. Eric's parents came into town and stayed the week with us, along with his brother Curt and Grandparents from LA. Curt will be here for the next 3 months while he does an internship with Marriott. We are excited to have him around the house, and look forward to him babysitting! Hah Hah! We did a lot of the toursity things this week with Eric's parents in town, like the Tramway. If you have not done this, I highly suggest it. We got up early and got to the top around 9 am. When we got up there it was in the 10's and freezing. It warmed up a little, and we were able to hike around. Eric and his brother and dad have now planned a Gillis Boys hiking trip for the summer up in the San Jacinto Mountains. These were the same mountains that his dad grew up hiking. Well we had a great Christmas; Eric and I spoiled each other and got a new iMac, which is sooo great. I am looking forward to all the new things that I can do with it!! Well, Merry Christmas to everyone, and I hope everyone travels safely through this time of year.

ALOHA!

Eric and I returned from Hawaii this week and had the time of our lives. It was such a relaxing trip, especially for me. Eric did work a few of the days, which I didn't mind. I kept occupied while reading on the beach, resting and shopping. I've decided I really like shopping more when I'm without kids. As much as I did miss them dearly and I can't wait to take them back. -yes we are already planning our return. Hopefully sooner than later. I did love having my little mommy vacation. I actually read a book in just a few days, mixed in with few People and US magazines. I don't think I've ever had that much time to myself for leisure reading, ever. And if I did it was before kids and I didn't appreciate it. Eric and I had a wonderful little second honeymoon. Eric went to Oahu first for work and then I met up with him on Maui and we continued onto Kauai. We spent three days in Maui and the rest of the time in Kauai. Kauai was absolutely our favorite. It is called the "Garden Island" for a reason. It's like the Garden of Eden on a island. Unspoiled, Lush greenery everywhere, and an even more relaxed atmosphere than Maui.
When we were in Maui we met up with Jenny and Phil Gee who coincidentally happened to be there at the same time and went to a Luau together. What are the odds... Eric enjoyed some snorkeling and jet skiing.
When we were on Kauai we enjoyed; nice restaurants with great views, seeing our friends and now locals the Culkins (best tour guides ever), many adventures with the Culkins, an amazing helicopter ride, sunsets on Poipu beach where we were staying, many virgin Lava flows, and a great massage on the beach. It was heaven. Just writing about it makes me miss it.
My sister Sarah and her daughter, Audrey came down from Utah to watch the kids and they had a ball. She is the best Aunt ever. They did lots of crafts and got to hang out with Tabitha, Sarah's sister in law and see Grandma Tibbitts in Hemet. I am so grateful for great sisters who would do anything for me. Taylor had a great game the Saturday we were gone. She scored 6 goals! She superseded her high this Saturday showing Eric and I what we missed by scoring 7 goals! I'm thinking we need to go over passing some more so she can share a few of the goals with others. But I am reminded by my highly competitive husband that "everyone can't be a winner." I'm not sure how I feel about the philosophy for a five year old. :)
It's nice to be home with our kids, we missed them dearly. Although as I was mopping the floor yesterday and washing Brent off after he was potty splashing in a toilet that Taylor forgot to flush I was missing my favorite spot on Poipu beach looking out at the ocean with my book in hand.

Halloween!

We had such a great Halloween! We started our day with Jack-o-lantern Chocolate chip pancakes (the chocolate chips were the eyes, nose and mouth). The kids got a kick out of it. Taylor decided to wear her Pumpkin shirt to school since she wore her costume last Friday for the carnival. I was worried when we got to school when other kids had their costumes on she would be sad and want to change. But surprisingly enough she was ok. A friend in her class was wearing the same shirt so it was ok with her. It's amazing that even 5 year olds compare themselves to others. I guess it starts early and if she's anything like me she'll probably never stop. (Something I'm not proud of)
Anyways we had some friends over for Halloween night and had Butternut Squash Apple Bisque, Chili and some yummy appetizers and desserts. The kids had fun going around the neighborhood and trick or treating. Brent wasn't sure what was going on but after a few houses, he ran down the sidewalk and squatted down and clenched his fists and yelled "CANDY"! with delight. He got it! It was so cute I wish I had it on video. I've never seen him run so fast for some more loot for his bag. Now I just have to keep the kids from over-dosing on candy. We have way too much of it.
(pictures aren't posting for some reason, so I'll post them later)

Happy Halloween!

We are getting excited for Halloween and all the festivities. You almost feel like it's over if you go into the stores, every Halloween thing is already on clearance. The Christmas stuff is already everywhere. It's like they want us to forget about Thanksgiving. Don't we need to be grateful first before we start making lists of presents we want? :)
We had a great week. Eric returned after being gone for a week and a half. He did come home between trips for about 12 hours but I'm not counting that. :) He was able to take Friday off and help with me at Taylor's kindergarten carnival. He headed up the 'Ghooley Grill.' And I helped with face painting. He was so cute and made up spooky names for all the food, the kids loved it. (Hot dogs- ghooley dogs, apple juice- spider's drool, cheetos- witches fingers) After the carnival we took the kids to the pumpkin patch and they had so much fun jumping in the giant pumpkin and picking out their own pumpkins.
Saturday Taylor had her best game of the season! She scored 3 goals and had 2 big break aways that just missed the goal by a balls length. The part dad was most proud of was her 2 big blocks right in front of the other teams goal. We were definitely the obnoxious parents on the sideline. But we did cheer for everyone, not just Tay. Even Brent was jumping up and down. What can we say, we're proud parents.
Sunday was the primary program, best Sunday of the year in my opinion. :) The kids did a great job singing and saying their parts. It's amazing how simple the gospel really is and that the kids really understand those simple truths. Taylor did great with her part and didn't ask for help. It seems like the kids always have it memorized but once they get up there they look to the helper for their line. Hey, I know it's nerve racking to be up there.

Just Another Week

This week was pretty ordinary except that we missed Eric terribly. He had a conference in Chicago and then went straight to Houston to be there for his brother Brandon's mission farwell. Brandon has been called to serve in the Moscow Russia mission and reports to the MTC on Wednesday. We are so proud of him and excited for this opportunity for him. Me and kids are really jealous that Eric is home without us. He picked my mom up today (our parents live about 10 minutes from eachother) and took her to dinner with his family. I hear he drove really carefully with my mom in the car. (Eric is a pretty crazy driver, especially for my mom's grandma standards. She has been know to sit in the back with her head in her hands as she is a passenger in his car.) He was a sweetheart and helped her hang some things in her house. Did I mention we are jealous we arn't there....

Eric and I are going to Hawaii for week in the beginning of November so I am trying to focus on that positive to look forward to. We are flying my sister Sarah down to be with the kids. That way Taylor doesn't have to miss school or soccer. And Eric and I can get some well needed couple time.

Taylor had a week full of smiling and curling her hair. She had school pictures on Wednesday and soccer pictures today. Her team, the Tinkerbells played the Fairies. We were missing our best cheerleader, Dad. Who usually runs on the baseline cheering her on. I had to keep
Brent off the field and happy so we had to stay pretty stationary on our chair. Taylor had a great game and did well.

Back to Blogging

Well after a long hiatus and some coercing from some friends we are officially back to blogging. I'm still learning how to do all of this, the blogging baton has be passed from Eric to me. Which I'm not sure why I wasn't doing it in the first place. Anyways we are all doing well. Our kids are growing so fast... even faster when you see the last blog entry's I think Brent is a newborn. We have started our first soccer season cheering on Taylor and her team the 'Tinkerbell's.' She just missed the cut off last season by 20 days so she is one of the oldest in her group. Which competitively speaking is an advantage. :) There is just something wonderful about going to the soccer fields on a brisk Saturday morning and putting out the chairs to cheer on your little girl in a soccer game. I just LOVE IT! The hard part is keeping Brent off the field. He thinks he's on the team. Taylor is doing really well. She has scored a goal in both her games. And even if they don't have goalies or even keep score, She has left each game knowing her team won! Eric has given many incentives for scoring goals including five dollar bills and a snow globe from Chicago. (He leaves for Chicago tomorrow for a business trip)

We went to the D-land two weeks ago and after talking all about Taylor I had to include a picture of Brent and his girlfriend, Minnie Mouse. :)

Day Two in China (Hong Kong)

Today was a very busy day. We made our way over to Victoria Peak Cable Car that is close to our hotel. It is a cable car that takes you up on a peak that overlooks Hong Kong. What an amazing view! It reminded me a lot of the Rockefeller Tower in NYC.

After Victoria Peak, we took a cab over to the Island of Lantau. We took a brand new tram up and over several mountains and were dropped off at a tiny village up in the mountains. The village consists of some touristy restaurants and shops, and then the Largest Outdoor Budha in Asia. It was pretty amazing. We had to climb this massive section of stairs to get up to the statue, but it was well worth it. Below the Budha was a Budhist Monistary. We were able to see the monks do there chants and see some pretty interesting worshiping practices. There were a ton of chants and incense being burned. I caught a lot of it on video.

From this little village, we took a taxi cab down to a little town on the ocean called Tai O. It is a city that is built on stilts. It was very poor, but they had a very neat market. There were dried fish every where including sharks. Little vendors here and there trying to sell their goods. It was very different from any market that I had been to though. There was a little guy there bar-b-quing some dried squid and brushing some hot sauce on it. So we tried it!! It tasted like a spicy fish jerky. Interesting! After that, we made our way into a temple that was built in the 1500's. It was very ornate and definately of the Budhist faith. It was amazing to see something so old an so important to the little village.

Well it was definately a busy and tiring day. We are looking forward to a good meal tonight, and some good rest. Enjoy the pics!

Day One in China

Well I arrived in Hong Kong as dead as dead can be. Flying coach for 15 hours on an Asian plane (the seats are made for the smaller Asian) was enough for me. I arrived in Hong Kong in the morning, and was able to see the area on the bus ride to the hotel. What a beautiful city! It reminds me a lot of Rio with it lush mountains on the water.

I had my first Chinese meal today. There is a mall that is connected to my hotel. It is a real upscale mall with Coach, L'Occitane, Armani, etc. I went to the food court and had a rice bowl with BBQ Pork. It was actually really good, and could become a staple for me! My classmates came in later in the day. It was good to have some company.

Christmas in Houston

The new family picture.
The whole Gillis Family.
Well we sure know who Taylor roots for!