Remember a few weeks back when I was invited to a game night with some ladies in my ward? I never posted about it afterwards... because I was trying to forget humiliating myself. I made quite an impression. Especially on the hostess when I drenched her lap with my punch during Phase-10. Poor Blair couldn't help but laugh at me when I lamented afterwards. On one of our "non-dates" when we were "just friends" we were eating at Baja Fresh and I forked rice all over myself, the table, the floor. He laughed. I cried inside... it was awful! I think I had it in my hair! No wonder he quickly took me to a Singles Ward FHE and left me to find my own ride home.
I did come out of the game night with a great idea if not some new friends. Chore charts! We have been trying to find a way to get Jordan to help around the house and he is at that perfect bribing age! He gets $1 a day and has 4 chores M-F to complete. He is saving up to buy Phineas & Ferb for the Gameboy. I think the charts came out pretty good, and the boys had fun helping me put them together,
With Blair working out of town for the third straight week (or is it 4th? I have lost track!) the days I work are a little hard in the evening. The boys are hungry and bouncing off the walls, Mom is tired and trying to scrape together an excuse for a meal. Without Daddy around to keep them entertained I am hoping that their chores will keep them busy for a few minutes.
Besides... then I don't feel so bad rewarding them (and me) with a little pre-bedtime treat! We sure miss you Daddy! XOXO
I am going to take this class! You can't pass up free right?
** I am really not some heartless woman who doesn't post a Happy Father's Day message... I just got some news about the hubs working situation this weekend that makes me unable to wax nostalgic right now. I am keeping a brave face until our mini vacation this weekend.
Six years ago my hubs placed a ring on my finger and called me his. Forever...
The hand upon said ring resides has been through alot in the last 2,190 days. It has swelled to twice it's size for 9 months (twice), changed countless diapers, been through surgery, given backrubs, held his through movies, made a home, cooked meals etc...
In those days there has not been one that my hand has not ached to hold his. To wrap around him. To stroke his arm. Not a single one. I just love this man! *******************************
The ring may be weathered and slightly dulled with age, but that diamond still sparkles and reminds me of our wedding day. I am never without my rings, I feel naked without them!
Traditionally this year we would be exchanging candy or iron gifts. I am thinking chocolate for me and golf clubs for him. Except my hubs is the best hubs and is giving me the gift of EMERALDS! He is taking me to see this:
And in keeping with our green theme I am taking him here:
That's right my dearest...six years later and we are still sparkling! I love you! Happy Anniversary!
*P.S* Thanks to USA Today for paying me to travel to Vegas conveniently when my in-laws are passing through and are willing to take my kids home.
*P.P.S* Thanks to my fabulous in-laws who are willing to keep our kids for a weekend of alone time! You are the best! We love you guys!
Is undoubtedly what I will become. Not that I am not all ready crotchety, I just refuse to categorize myself with "old people" yet.
I decided to teach myself to crochet. My Grandma taught me one summer a long long time ago but I can barely remember last week. I found all sorts of "how to" videos on YouTube. And I stayed up all night attempting to make a dishrag. Yes I said attempting.
The best part of crochet so far is that you can just take it off your hook and rip all the stitches out in one fell swoop. That is my least favorite part of sewing, ripping out stitches. And I do it on almost everything I sew!
My dishrag is now back in the shape of a ball of yarn, but I have grand plans to accomplish it this weekend. I will post pictures if I do!
One of my friends turned me on to the website RAVELRY. if you like knitting/crochet you should sign-up. There are some great projects on there!
Every summer our car/van would be packed to the gills for our annual trek north. The anticipation of arriving at Grandma & Grandpa's house and hearing that familiar creaking of the screen door was palpable for most of the 13 hour drive.
By the time we exited the freeway and drove our last 5 minutes to their house all the children had quietly (very very quietly) unbuckled our seatbelts ready to jump out of the car and be the first one to burst through the door and make the mad dash through the house to find them. Would they be sitting side by side in the green chairs in the living room? Would it be time for the nightly wind-down and they would be relaxing in their blue recliners in the family room (side by side of course!)? Or would they have sweetly stayed up late awaiting our arrival in the dark of night?
As an adult now it is hard to imagine how excited my mother must have been on those last few minutes before arriving at her childhood home. Was she ready to burst through the door herself and run to find her parents? It's funny that I have never thought about that before now. To me it was always Grandma & Grandpa's house... to her it was home. Her motherland.
For me Bountiful means a lot of things. Spending 4-8 weeks each year there allowed me to make many happy memories. There were certain things that happened every year. It just wouldn't have been "summer" without them.
1. Shenanigans with Sara- My cousin Sara is 5 months older than me. We may as well have been twins in our eyes. While we didn't see each other often, we slipped right back into sync the moment we were reunited each summer. We often were naughty little girls... hence the "shenanigans". But we had the best time together!
2. Fireworks and Family BBQ's- My Grandparents had 7 living children, and each had several children. Each year we would get together to celebrate the 4th and 24th of July. The children all played games in the front yard while the women huddled in the kitchen preparing our meal. Someone manned the grill and Grandpa continually checked on his famous homemade ice cream. My Dad and Kenneth would try to kill themselves (or so their wives thought) to put on the best fireworks show ever. It was heaven!
3. Mueller Canyon- We would take some hotdogs, marshmallows and cardboard down to the canyon and never had a better time. The water may have been freezing but we always walked in it. We would slide down the canyon wall and get covered in dirt. We all hovered around the firepit and cooked a delicious meal on skewers.
4. Raging Waters- We would round up Shasta soda cans (for the coupons) and load our family and various cousins to Raging Waters for fun in the Utah sun. Everyone enjoyed the wave pool while Mom babysat one baby or another in the kiddie pools. We would try to get Dad to carry our rafts to the high slides and hope to be the one riding with him to make the biggest splash. In later years Sara and I made it our mission to find the cutest guys there! One our all of us would end up with a very nasty sunburn and we would be hurting for several days after.
5. Orange Butterflake rolls at Dick's- OH MY! These rolls are heavenly. You have to get there early in the morning to get them and we always need 3 packages to feed the hungry troops. We would grab some of Grandma's green melamine bowls and heat them up with a pat (or 3) of butter. Heaven.
Now the only trek's north I make are either for work or to Blair's family in Idaho Falls. But if we make a stop in Salt Lake and I have access to a vehicle you better believe I am stopping by Dick's to get some orange rolls! Poor Blair got introduced to this early in our marriage. We came home from our Honeymoon only to leave again for his family reunion in Idaho. You guessed it... he was forced to make a small side trip to Dick's! I may have eaten the whole package myself. And probably before we passed Layton.
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Grandma & Grandpa are gone now. Sara is all grown up with a family of her own in St George. But I always have my memories. And today while thinking of a treat to take with the boys to their new sitter tomorrow I decided to introduce them to one of my favorite treats.
I am no food blogger. I do not come up with recipes on my own. I used the Lion House Rolls and adapted it to my liking. Not as good as the real thing, but they will have to do!
It's tough to watch your little baby grow up. They suddenly need less of your comfort. They understand more than you would like to explain. Don't you wish you could put them back in a time machine and shrink them to their infant self?
My Jordan is growing up.
He looks more like a boy and less like a baby everyday. He had to wear flip-flops to church today. It was that or Mickey Mouse crocs. He has suddenly grown out of his church shoes. The jammies he got for Christmas are belly shirts and manpri's.
I am not ready for this.
I am REALLY not ready for this:
His Daddy on the other hand is more than ready to share his classic Nintendo game knowledge with him!
Blair has been out of town working the last few weeks. He came home but still had to work again last night. I decided to earn some brownie points and get the noisemakers out of the house so he could have a few hours of rest.
The kids, Tootsie and I headed out to Tartesso to play at the park. The timing was perfect as there was only one other family there, but it may have been too early for proper splash pad play. We made due and had fun anyway.
Jordy made a few friends while we were there, of course they were girls!
When the water was too cool we sunned ourselves on the playground.
The boys enjoyed a picnic of Lunchables and even shared a few bites with Toots! A fun day for all!
Has been taken over by an army of Phinendroids and Ferbots.
Do you get that reference? If so then you might feel my pain!
Jordan has become increasingly obsessed by Phineas & Ferb. Luckily there was a marathon a few weeks ago so we DVR'd 20 episodes that they watch over & over. Both boys dance robotically through the house singing "We're Phinendroids and Ferbots and we're stomping our feet..." and the chalkboard is covered in portraits of Phineaus, Ferb, Perry, Agent P (there is a difference) and Candace. Jordan has already requested these as the Halloween costumes this year.
Saturday morning we awoke early with the promise of taking the boys to the Disney Store. Poor Dillon thought we were going to Disneyland (I wish baby!) Blair said something to Jordan and he replied "that's creepy on so many levels". We could have died laughing! He said he learned it from the show.
A last minute decision took us all the way to San Tan mall where the boys got to play until the store opened. That last minute decision was heaven sent as they had talking Phineas & Ferb plush toys....ON CLEARANCE! We have searched for a Perry but they are a hot commodity I guess.
We had another good laugh in the van on the way home as one of the talking Ferb's phrases was...
My little sister has me hooked on watching funny videos on YouTube.
My best friend Katie has never, nor will she ever watch Star Wars. And I am married to a man who still looks at Star Wars toys every.single.time we go to a store. Go figure.
I know that you are embarassed by my not so secret crush on the Jonas Brothers. Specifically Joe Jonas. I just wanted to let you know that I am officially over my crush. I find it funny as can be but well you know...
Sometimes as I lay in bed trying to fall asleep I start dreaming about my next blog post. A lot of things I post about come to me this way and since this is my outlet I purge my thoughts here for everyone to enjoy.
Yesterday I took the boys to meet a new babysitter. She is going to be watching them while my mother in law takes her annual vacation to Idaho. She was very nice and the boys got along great with her kids. She is "technically" in our ward though I don't think she is active.
So last night I was thinking to myself that maybe this could be an answer to my prayers, that maybe I could ask her to go to Enrichment with me or something. Maybe I could make a new friend. Maybe I wouldn't be so lonely.
My thoughts then went back in the day to Jr. High/High School when any question you had in life could be answered on a scrap of notebook paper. All you needed was to circle yes or no. Remember those notes?
Last night this was the note I drew up in my mind:
Then this morning I wake up to an email inviting me to a GNO. And another ward blogger who posts about making people feel invited and feeling bad about not inviting everyone to everything she does.
And then I thought about it. I was invited to a craft day...I bailed for Snowflake. I was invited to a GNO/Movie night...I was going out of town. I was invited to make a new craft....I didn't even email back.
All this time I have been so obsessed with why nobody likes me. Maybe it's because I am a huge FLAKE! The recurring theme here is that when others have reached out to include me I don't go. When I actually do go to Enrichment I stay in my comfort zone (sitting by my Mother in Law) rather than sit by people and make conversation.
One night at a party someone told me that I was so outgoing and that I easily made friends with anyone...well anyone I wanted to. I could have died. I felt so bad because I knew that she was talking about me not being very friendly with her.
Maybe I don't want my note answered. I think the first question would be answered with a resounding YES.
I am going to try harder. I promise! Don't give up on me. When (not if) we become better friends I will be a good one, I promise. At least Beast & Katie can vouch for me...right?
***********Edit to add************** Katie told me this was a sad post! But it isn't....see I may have a potential new friend, and a potential missionary oppurtunity. And I am going to go to the GNO this weekend, I even told Blair he is babysitting (is it babysitting when it's your own kids?) anyways...
THIS was a sad post. Today is about making changes. Change is good!
If you drive along I-40 between Winslow and Holbrook, Arizona you will drive right by the town my Dad grew up in in. Well sort of. Actually after you pass that blink and you will miss it small town you have to drive another 5 miles until you see the exit for Hunt Road. Look out your right window and you will see where my Dad grew up.
It may not look like much, but that red dirt and tumbleweed stretch of earth is the playground of my youth. Even after living in "the Valley" for several years there was nothing like going to visit my grandparents on the ranch.
As a young girl my days on the ranch were spent making mud pies and selling them to Grandma. We played endless games of "Man from Snowy river" and countless hours playing at the old barn and outbuildings. We climbed the haystack several times a day and always tried to strand someone up there. We counted bottles of Sun detergent in the garbage pit and stood on fences admiring the cows, horses and the occasional bull Grandpa may have had. We would bother Grandpa in his milking barn (I'll never forget that smell) I think he secretly liked our company. If we were good we may earn a ride up to Geronimo with Grandpa to get his paper, or a trip into town (Holbrook) to shop at Safeway with Grandma. It was a child's paradise!
As a teenager the ranch still held a special place in my heart. Out there in the middle of nowhere you could still pretend and make a fool of yourself and there was no one to complain (except Grandpa). One summer I spent a few weeks up there with my cousins Kit and Celina. We still got Grandma to take us to Safeway to buy us treats. Kit also had started driving and drove us to Holbrookfor who knows what. I don't remember anything that day but the three of us jammed in the front seat and noticing smoke come out the vents. The car was on fire! We pulled into a car wash and the firemen came. Okay, teenage girl + firemen = dream come true right? Wrong! Only in Holbrook will the firemen be old, gross, toothless men.
This same summer we spent time wandering around town taking pictures of cute boys. We may have also stalked my childhood crush Bubba (I am totally laughing as I type this) who was 8 years older than me and gainfully employed at the time. I have pictures to prove it.
Here's the kicker. That summer we spend endless... seriously endless... HOURS recording ourselves singing "Total Eclipse of the Heart". We took turns doing the guy/girl part. We would record and play it back, record again. and again. and again. (Kit still has the cassette to prove it)
Fast forward a few years when we were all at a family reunion. A reunion with karaoke. We decided to reunite for a special show and sing our number one hit once more. And as the words trailed along the screen we saw the line..."living in a powder keg and giving off sparks". And it suddenly dawned on us that as we sang over and over and over again "living in a polygag and giving off sparks" that our lyrics had made no sense. I mean, what is a polygag? And why does it spark? We found it very funny!
So Kit. here's to you! I know you will enjoy this:
I detest crayons. What used to be such a wonderful waxy treat (is there anything like a brand new box of Crayola's? I think not) now live in my nightmares.
Once upon a time, give or take 3 1/2 years ago the hubby and I made a deal: I would paint the downstairs if he would paint the upstairs. Most importantly the stairs. I am slightly height challenged in comparison to my big lug.
If you came to my house today you would see that the downstairs is painted. The kids room is painted (by me). The boys bathroom is painted (by me). And any other walls upstairs that have been painted were with my assistance.
The stairs and doors were painted...by my children...in CRAYON. And since these surfaces are still the disgusting flat paint from the builder the crayon cannot be removed. I have tried everything.
I am slowly but surely disposing of all the crayons in my house. It's like when Jordan was hooked on his binky. Just when you think you have found them all you find one under the couch cushion or on a shelf. And usually I find them too late clutched in naughty little hands. At least I have found that Holy Cow spray takes crayons out of carpet!
In an attempt to keep my "Nice Mom" badge I have replaced the crayons with chalk. And chalk requires a chalkboard so Ta-Da:
I am trying to keep the top half for me. A new scripture each week, or a nice quote. Something to keep me on the right path for the week.
Daddy is away working for a few days! We miss you & love you Daddy!
As you can see, even Tootsie gets in on the action! She tried eating the chalk but didn't like the taste. Easy cleanup and the dog doesn't eat it? Home run for me!
This is a picture of me by Jordan. I am beautiful right? I can't decide if my hair looked better in the BOZO the Clown style or the frazzled look. What do you think?
