Found

I just got off the phone with Red Robin. I left my camera there at Susan's birthday celebration last Monday. So, so happy!

Yea!!! I'll pick it up in the morning, then take a photo of Sofia's latest artwork.

Soccer girl

Here's some photos Jane took about a week ago while at Bella's soccer game. Jeff's the assistant coach, and Reed seems to think he's Jeff's assistant.

It was pretty funny that when we arrived to the game there were only a couple of other players there, so the field was empty. I laid out my blanket and sat down. Reed backed himself up to sit on my lap, and then immediately started cheering and waving his arms. Am I that much of a lunatic at her games? Well, another mom did ask why I wasn't the assistant coach instead of Jeff. Maybe I am that ridiculous.

The amazing thing about Jane taking these photos, is she had 3 little shadows the whole time. The girl is talented!

Missing toes

Still can't find my camera. It's like I'm missing toes. Can still get everything accomplished that I need to, it's just not as comfortable, convenient, or pleasant as it would be if I had it.

And to think I've cleaned the house for nothing . . .

Exhausted

So it's now after 11:00 p.m. Still have to take a shower and go to bed. But look at what I accomplished today:

Woke up and got Bella up and off to school.

The rest of the family dressed and fed.

Cleaned the kitchen, ran the dishwasher.

Looked at recipes and gathered a short shopping list.

Dropped Sofie and Reed off at Chantelle's (friend) house.

Met Amy (friend) at Gardner Village for a little lunch and shopping without kids.

Picked up my kids, went to 2 stores to find the items on my shopping list.

Put kids down for naps.

Started cleaning a huge box of peaches.

Made 36 pints of peach jam.

Delegated hot dog dinner to Jeff.

Went back out to the store for more canning supplies.

Worked in the yard with Jeff sifting the dirt until 10 p.m.

Cleaned my kitchen and washed dishes - again.

I would take a photo, but can't find my camera. I'm sure one of the kids carried it off and it's in a toy box or something. Problem is, don't have time to clean and look for it. And tomorrow it starts all over again. I have salsa to can, and yet another huge box of peaches.

{sigh} I'm tired.

A bit odd

How would you like to crawl all over David Archuleta? Come out to Thanksgiving Point, starting today, and you too can climb up his jacket, his arm, or sing along with him in his microphone.

Yes, only in Utah would they do a Corn Maze shaped like this handsome young man. You could literally get lost in his eyes.

Must Have

It is not very often that I buy my kids Happy Meals. Pretty much only if we are on vacation. If we happen to go to McDonald's at another time, they just get the food, not the fancy box/toy.

Unless of course, it's Madame Alexander time. Click here to see the characters. March 2007 is when they did the first run of Wizard of Oz characters. We collected most of those, and now are working on the new ones - the many munchkins, and the Wizard. My absolute favorites this time? The flying monkey and the guard, which we now have.

I like Dorothy's basket this time, but liked her better last time. For the record, I do NOT like the lion this time!

Maybe it's because I'm a Kansas girl, but then how do you explain that I do this EVERY year, because they come out with a new series every year?

Happy Birthday Susan!

Happy Birthday to my mother-in-law Susan! We are going out tonight to celebrate - looking forward to it.

We love going over to her home every Sunday to enjoy a delicious meal. She is a wonderful grandma to the kids, and they always look forward to Sundays. We love being able to enjoy her creative abilities, sense of humor (including many hilarious stories), love for shopping (I'm always game without the kids!), cooking talents, and of course, her beautifully decorated home.

Thanks Susan, for being you, and for being there for each of us. We're glad you were born!

Sofie's artwork

Hmmm . . . I wonder which preschooler traced her fat little hand with a sharpie marker on my table??

And for those who wonder why I always have a table cloth on the table when I have people over, the mystery is over.

Free Photo Book

If you make any size order (can be any number of prints you send to Grandparents out of town, or to yourself) with Shutterfly, and order an 8"x8" photo book by September 26th, you can get the 20 page photo book for free! Use coupon code 64AUTUMN.* Also, if you are new to Shutterfly, you can get 50 free prints and a free collage poster just for signing up!

I am not so good with scrapbooking, I own lots and lots of supplies, but can't do pages that are up to my standards. So I order photo books. That way the photos and memories are in print, hard-bound, and done. I am much more comfortable cropping photos and picking backgrounds with a computer, that doing it with real photos and paper. I like that I can try it out and see how it looks before I decide if what I want. No trips to the scrapbook store buying things I like, but don't need. It's great!

I typically only buy them when they are free or on sale. I got a free one a few months ago, and used it for Bella, age 1 to age 2. I picked out the cover with one of her birthday photos, and gave it to her for her birthday last week. She loved it! I figure if I keep doing it a year at a time, eventually I'll get caught up.

I'm going to do my free one this week of 2008 birthdays, and have all 3 of their birthdays in it. I can always order extra copies later, because shutterfly saves it.

* Free 20–page 8x8 Photo Book with Any Purchase. A qualifying order of any value does not include prepaid and membership plans, gift certificates, film mailer bundles, or orders placed for in–store pickup. Licensed premium photo books are not included in this offer.

Push here

A perfect little button.

No wrinkles, looks like a little doorbell to me.

Pure cuteness.


What happens when you push it?




Sofie giggles.

Opposites attract

One of the many differences between Jeff & I has to do with an unmade bed. He likes to wake up and make the bed (as long as I'm not still sleeping in it). I on the other hand, really do not care whether or not the bed is made all day long. (Especially because I can crawl back in it anytime during the day!)

At night however, he can go to bed in the unmade bed, with the sheets completely falling off and it's in total disarray. Me, on the other hand, I have to make the bed so all the sheets are tucked in just right before I can lay in it.

Solution: If Jeff would just make the bed every morning, I might hesitate to get back in it during the day, thus accomplishing more daily, our problem would be solved! (or I would like to think it would be solved!)

Bella's nightmare

About a year ago Bella woke up in the morning crying. I asked her if she had a bad dream. She told me no, that it was a nightmare. Then when I asked what it was about she said, "I can't tell you, it's just too sad."

After coaxing it out of her, she said, "there was this mean boy, and he did something really bad to me."

Mom: "What did he do to you" (while holding my breath).

Bella: "Do you know that plastic stuff that you put on paper?"

Mom: "you mean lamination?"

Bella: "yes, well, he put it all over my blankie!"

So while I'm trying so hard not to laugh, I realize that her worst nightmare is for someone to make something that is so cozy(used to be, before all the love it's received through the years) and made it untouchable by laminating it!

Unbelievable!

So last Sunday Jeff received a phone call asking if he could meet with a member of the Stake Presidency on Wednesday night (last night). It would only be for 5 minutes, and he could come by himself.

So we wonder, hmmm, what could it be about? We were at Bella's soccer game last night, and when we got home he literally had 10 minutes to change into a suit and get to the church. (thankfully it's only a mile away.) He hurried and within 10 minutes he was home again, and not happy at all.

First of all, he didn't even meet with a member of the Stake Presidency, and secondly, they called him in to ask him to be in the stake choir! It was sneaky and not a very good way to ask people for their participation if you ask me. The fact that it was something that could have been asked over the phone, or a visit made to the house.

Now, Jeff does not sing. With much coaxing he'll sing (or more like lip sync) during church, but not regularly. On top of that, do you think that I want to battle my 3 small children by myself during Stake Conference? The two of us can barely make it through Sacrament Meeting!

So, if you're trying to get people to join your choir, please don't try this method. Not very effective in my book.

Fun around town

I'm in charge of planning activities for my playgroup in October. We meet once a week. So I am using one of my favorite websites to do it with. If you haven't heard of Go City Kids, click here to check it out. You select your major city, and the dates you're interested in. It will give you activities all over town in all price ranges, including free, that kids can attend.

So the next time you and the kids are looking for something fun to do, check it out.

Mmmmmm . . .

One of my favorite gifts my sister Dianne gives me are gift certificates to See's candy.

I have been holding on to one until just the right moment. I redeemed it yesterday, and as you can see, in exactly 24 hours, with only me consuming it, it's half gone.

There's nothing like hand picked See's candy. It's delicious!

sign me up!

I can't wait to get Lynne Spears new book, to teach me how to successfully raise my daughters in today's world.

Cheap Eats

Monday night at Sonic features 99 cent kids meals. This includes a hamburger, corn dog, chicken strips, or grilled cheese; fries, tots or string cheese; soda, milk, or slush; and a prize. When Jeff was out of town I drove through, picked up the kids dinners, and then went to my favorite drive through for myself. I do love their happy hour every day from 2-4 p.m.

Chick-fil-a has often has great deals. They have cow appreciation day in July. If you dress like a cow, you get a free combo meal. During the month of September there are free breakfast Fridays at Chick-fil-a. All Wednesday nights are free kids nights. With each adult combo meal purchased, you get a free kids meal. I am quite happy that they are putting in a new location less than 10 minutes from home. Yea!

Post a comment about your favorite dining deals!

Fun Stuff

How do you keep two tiny preschoolers busy long enough so you can take a shower?

Raid the pantry and find anything edible with a hole in the middle.

Guess which was the favorite - the gummy lifesavers or the cereal?

Love it!

I submitted Bella's birthday party, and my cakes and was featured on 'Tip Junkie'. If you haven't heard of it, they have tutorials and ideas for anything from blogs to organization. For the last two weeks she's done birthday parties. There are tons of ideas - click here to check it out.

Happy Birthday Bella!

My little Bella turns 6 today.

She made sure I knew that she wanted a present on her breakfast plate, just like last year (I don't recall last year to tell you the truth!).

Love ya Bella, your smiles, your giggles, your curious mind, and all your hugs and kisses! Happy Birthday Bells!

It's official

I'm a soccer mom. Bella had her first soccer game today. Jeff is the assistant coach.

They were hilarious out there, waving and looking around, paying no attention at all to the ball. They did score once, let's not discuss how many times the other team scored. I think our team helped them a couple of times score a couple of goals.

We will need to get hairbows to match her uniform, that's for sure!

Ooh la la! Being 6 is fabulous darling!

Today we celebrated with a "Fancy Nancy" party. 11 little girls all dolled up in their fanciest ensembles (that's a fancy word for clothes). They looked absolutely smashing!

Because it was a cooking party, each little girl received an apron. Because it was a fancy party, each little girl received a tiara and a wand.

They started by taking thier posh (that's a fancy word for fancy) colored bread and made PB&J sandwiches, just to their liking. Each meal was completed with an array of tiny fruits, vegetables, cheese and crackers. And of course, dont' forget about the frilly toothpicks!

She received many spectacular presents (that's a fancy word for great), which she loves and has been busy playing with all afternoon.The divine dessert was next - giant cupcakes for all. Each little girl made her own parfait (that's a fancy word for ice cream sundae) to go with her cake.

A fabulous time was had by all, and I'm so very glad I only give friend parties every 2 years! A huge thanks goes out to Jane & Jeff for photography, and Susan for helping me this week to get aprons and party bags done, as well as helping me make the whole thing happen today.

WOW!

20,000 lbs. of Concrete
155 cubic feet of mulch
320 adults
60 kids
$75,000 worth of donated material =
a playground full of happy people!

Before:
After:

For the last two months I've been on a committee to build a playground for Bella's elementary school. This is only the 2nd year they've been operating, and because they are a charter school, have many needs. So, many conference calls, meetings at the school, and various other phone calls have been made during that time, so that this could happen. The top photo was taken about 7:30 this morning. The bottom photo was taken about 2:00 this afternoon. Pretty amazing huh?

It was all made possible by a grant from Jet Blue Airlines and American Express. A company called KaBOOM!, a non-profit organization that builds playgrounds all over the country, and Central America, organized the "build day". My day started early, I had to be there by 6:30 a.m., to get things ready for the volunteers to start showing up at 7:30 a.m. I'm exhausted, but it was a great day, and I can't wait to have the kids play on it come Tuesday afternoon (concrete curing time). Bella is so excited to have swings at school.

Here's a look at some other features of today "build day".

Outdoor classroom:
Garden boxes, and mosaic tiles the children made today:
Notice the benches on the right of the photo with garden boxes on either end:
How would you like to move this pile?

The ribbon cutting ceremony: