Our World In A Nutshell

DIY Stenciled Curtains

2012-01-29T22:09:00.001-07:00

Have you ever had exactly what you wanted pictured in your mind, but you couldn't find it anywhere? So frustrating right?!? I had this problem a year or so ago when I was looking for curtains for my front room. I wanted white curtains with a bold pattern on them in orange...but they were no where to be found. One night I had this stroke of genius, so I had to try it to see if it would actually work. Guess what...Shut the front door! It did. I only regret not using an even more bold pattern, but I still love them:)

Curtains Tutorial

You will need:
1.curtains
2.a stencil
3.fabric paint (I used the same paint we used on the orange wall because I wanted it to match, but now I will have to hand wash the curtains. fyi)
4.stencil brush (I liked the foam ones better, and they were .89 for a two pack)
5.tape

step one:

Lay out your curtains and figure out what pattern you are going to use with your stencil. practice on a scrap piece of fabric to get the hang of it. When you are comfortable, tape your stencil to the curtains starting at the bottom of the curtain (so if you make a mistake it won't be as noticeable)

step two:

dip the end of your stencil brush in your paint, and begin to gently fill in your stencil by using a dabbing motion.

Step three:

after the stencil is filled in, remove the tape, and slowly peel the stencil up. Rinse the paint off your stencil, and repeat steps 1-3 in your desired pattern.

Step four:

When paint is dry, hang your curtains, dish yourself a bowl of ice cream, put your feet up, eat your ice cream, and admire your insane crafty skills.

tea party in a tent

2012-01-29T21:46:00.003-07:00

My brother & his family, who I Love to pieces, were here from Indiana for about a week. One day it ended up just being me and the girls here, and Benson was taking a nap. I started thinking about how fun I thought forts were back in the day, and the great memories I have building them with my Mom.

Suddenly out of no where an idea struck me.

The girls were watching a movie on my bed, so I closed the door and told them to stay put for a few minutes. I rushed down to Laylas' room and snatched all her blankets and sheets off her bed. I ran back upstairs to the office, and constructed a princess fort with all the pink, purple, and teal pillows and blankets on the premises.

Then, another idea struck, so I ran back downstairs and grabbed and princess dress ups and tea party supplies.

I took the dress ups in to the girls and told them I had someplace magical to show them, but only princess' were allowed, so they needed to put their gear on...and come up with their princess names, of course.

For the rest of the evening they were princess Pink, and Princess Purple.

I had them close their eyes as I led them to the fort, and I wish I had recorded their faces when they opened their eyes....so adorable! It was way more whimsical in person...for real.

In fact, the magic in the air was so thick.....

That I turned into their Fairy God Mother. hahaha

We finished our tea party, then painted our nails, and did a little make up (blush and lip gloss) before heading to the ball. This was a special ball though, so we played freeze dance;) and I taught them the ballet positions, and a couple basics. I actually got way into it, hehehe.

I LOVE these girls, and hope we can make some good lasting memories together. It only would have been better if all the girl cousins could have been there:( next time I'll have to actually plan it before hand;)

Our World In A Nutshell: Reveal...for real! $10 makover#links

2012-01-28T17:48:00.000-07:00

Reveal...for real! $10 makover

2012-01-25T19:27:00.001-07:00

After- so, have I mentioned that I had a budget of $10 for this little makeover?

True story....$10, do you think it was worth it? I totally do. I'll show you some of the projects closer up, but I just realized I have 2 more walls you really can't see in this picture....so I'll just have to show those another day;)

I made curtains and a dust ruffle with some cute sheets, and found the right sticks to use as the curtain rods. I think the material brought just the right amount of color into the room.

This shot shows the dust ruffle, and the other ruffle cuteness:) What would you call it?

I found this adorable little birdie at a vintage shop for $1.00, and fell in love with it.

This is our handcast (done by http://www.firstimpressionshandcasts.com/ of course) ;) I LOVE it because we did this back when Craig and I both still had our original wedding rings.

The "capiz shell" like chandelier I made with wax paper:) that was a fun project.

The yarn and push pin tree, I love what it adds to the room.

Yarn and push pin birdie

And there you have it:) It was lots of fun redecorating my room, and a fun challenge to do it with only $10

I hope this can inspire you do get creative, and make something beautiful.

Reveal????

2012-01-20T12:17:00.003-07:00

Before!

It wasn't a bad looking room to start with, but it just didn't have any charector...and that wouldn't do!

Ok, so I took some great shots of the "After" Room, and my camera has turned up missing. Grrrr!

I'm sure one of my "little helpers" has just put my camera in a "special place" (Layla in particular is known for her "special places", thinking back to my lost wedding ring) ;). As soon as it turns up I'll post the "Afters".

Have a great weekend:)

DIY ruffle Throw

2012-01-19T10:37:00.001-07:00

Today I have two sweet little sickies home from school, so I'm going to take the easy way out. Instead of writing my own tutorial I'm just going to give you the link to another one that is great, and I'm sure you will love muchly;)

To make this cutie for your bed go to

www.do-it-yourselfdesign.blogspot.com/2011/11/diy-ruffle-throw.html

Guess how much money I spent on this project.......$0! Wooohoooo, that's right, it was free. Want to know how? Most hotels love to give their sheets to others that want them when they start to look a little tattered or worn. My sister and I got 3 big garbage bags full of clean white sheets from the Marriott last year for a project we were doing at the time, and I had a couple left over. I used one of my free white sheets from Marriott to make my ruffle throw, and thank you Judy for helping me get started on this:) It was much more fun to make with your company.

Tomorrow I'll show you something else I made with Sheets;)

TTFN

DIY Yarn Tree

2012-01-17T12:40:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to have a big tree in my room for a long time, but I didn't know if I wanted it to be painted, vinyl, stencil, or what. I as searching the web for ideas when I came across www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-make-a-string-tree-wall-109655

I loved the idea.

I did mine a little different then the apartment therapy blog, but both are so cool.

You will need:

yarn (I used brown for the tree, blue for birds, but you could do all kinds of cool things with color)

little push pins

thimble

Ruler

pencil

I started at the base of the tree and worked my way up one wall at a time. my tree is in the corner of my room (I'll show you a better picture in the "whole room reveal" later this week;)), but it would be a little easier to do it on just one wall. Start by pushing a pin through the end of your yarn to hold it in place, and use your ruler and pencil to make a line from that pin to your next. Push the next pin in the wall, wrap the string around it, and continue the process.

After a while I figured out it's easier to draw the lines and push all the pins in first, then wrap the string all at once.

I looked at the tree in my back yard for a reference, but you might want to print a picture of the kind of tree you like.

After you have the basic outline of the tree, go back and wrap more string in the spaces to create the look of bark.

To make my birds, I drew a simple outline of a bird, pushed pins around the silhouette, wrapped the string around the outside and eye first, then filled in the middle.

happy pinning my friends, and send me your picture when your done:)

DIY wax paper capiz shell chandelier

2012-01-16T12:36:00.000-07:00

I pulled a little "While you were out" action on Craig the other day to surprise him for his birthday. It will be 10 years this year that we've been married, and we have always just had an "it will do the job" kind of bedroom. No personalities, or fun details that made us love the room, and that had to change! I've been on pintrist a little, and looking around for ideas. I Saw this idea on http://www.designsponge.com/ and knew I HAD to try it! And I've got to tell ya...I LOVE the way it turned out!

I had a bunch of projects for my made over bedroom, so I'm going to show you one at a time how to do them (for the ones I took pictures of during the process), and at the end of the week I'll show you the before and after shots of my room:)

I'm excited:)

The First project was to get a Capiz Shell Chandelier, but have you priced these babies out? Anywhere from $250- $3,000! Um, ya...that's about $245 out of my price range...for the cheapest one. But don't you fret my frugal friends, My "Capiz chandelier" Cost me under $5. You heard me...UNDER $5!

So, Here is what you need:

1 roll of wax paper

1 roll of contact paper

1 3/4" Circle punch

lamp shade

sewing machine

and a little patience

I didn't have a lamp shade on hand, so I went to DI and found one that was the right diameter for the right price (.75). I cut off the fabric so we were left with the metal skeleton of a lamp shade. My sister couldn't find a lamp shade that was the right size for her light, so she got a hanging metal planter, and that worked to.

Now (sorry, I don't have a picture of this) you are going to layer your wax paper and contact paper like so: Bottom contact paper, 3 sheets of wax paper, 1 sheet contact paper, 3 sheets wax paper, 1 sheet contact paper on top. After you have your layers, you will iron the paper, and I had my iron set on high. This will make the 3 sheets of wax paper stick together, creating the capiz shell illusion. Save the wax paper, and discard the contact paper.

Side note, I tried breaking up a brown crayon, and melting it between the layers of wax paper, and it looked really cool. In the end, I preferred all white for this one, but if you want color, it might be fun to play around with:)

Now, you will use your 1 3/4" circle punch and cut out LOTS of circles. You can decide how long you want your Chandelier to be, but for my room, I did 12 circles per strip. I organized the circles with muffin tins, so they would all be the same length.

Next, you just feed the wax paper circles into your sewing machine (Chain linking). I linked 12 circles together, then let a little thread out, then linked the next 12, over and over.

Now, you decide how many levels you want your chandelier to have, I wanted 3, so I added a level with a wire.

Now you get to drape your circle chains over the lamp levels, leaving 6 circles on either side of the wire...make sense? My chandelier is the same diameter as my light fixture, so I was able to slide my chandelier wire under the fixture to hold it up. If your Chandelier is bigger then your light, you can purchase hook screws for a few cents from most any hardware store.

If you make your own Capiz Shell Chandelier send me a picture:) I would LOVE to see how yours comes out.

Favorite Fridays

2012-01-13T10:48:00.001-07:00

We made the yummyest treat the other day, with extras to share (at least that's what I told myself) ;). They were Fast, easy, inexpensive, and oh so good.

We call them "S'mores on a stick"

You will need:

Popsicle sticks

milk chocolate chips

crushed graham crackers

Big Marshmallows

Wax paper

First of all, You melt the chocolate morsels. To do this you can use a double broiler if your Fancy, or if you bake ghetto style like me place 1 Cup of water in a sauce pan on the stove, with a pie tin on top:) bring the water to a simmer, and dump your chocolate in the pie tin. Stir. when it's smooth you will poke a Popsicle stick in a marshmallow, and dip the mallow in the chocolaty goodness.

Second, roll the mallow in the crushed Graham crackers

last, place them on wax paper to set. After they were set I wrapped them in cellophane and tied a ribbon around the stick to make a fun little gift.

This weekend you should get yourself a red box, soft snugly blanket, and make some of these goodies to indulge on. Happy Weekend:)

Date night

2012-01-03T12:05:00.000-07:00

Date night is my favorite night of the week...fo show

It's always so great to get Craig all to myself to....talk?!?

He is really good at paying attention to where he is driving when I'm in the car with him!

I get a chance to shower, fix my hair, and do my make up;)

And we get to drive a different new car every week for our date (hence the plastic covering the floor), just a nice little bonus;) Sometimes we just go on drives for our date...is that weird? I love the chance to catch up without little interruptions.

These pictures were all taken with my phone, and it wasn't taking very clear pictures, so I had a friend take a look at it....the lens was dirty. hahaha

I want to plan some exciting, inexpensive dates for this year, do you have any fun ideas?

happy new year

2012-01-02T16:18:00.001-07:00

I welcomed the new year by taking Layla to a movie, just the girls. She has been needing some special Mama time, and this was just the thing. She is the funniest little girl ever! You should talk to her sometime, and you'll know what I mean:)

Right before I took this picture she asked me if we could get some "movie theatre candy" because it looked better then the kind in my purse. I denied her request, and for a moment I wasn't her favorite mommy in the whole entire world.

I am SOOO excited for this new year!

Seriously.

I don't know what it is, but I just feel like it's going to be a great one. I am going to focus on a word this year, because that is more my pace right now then making a big list, and breaking it down into categories like I usually do. This one word fits in all the areas of my life, and I feel like it is really what I need to focus on. Are you ready to hear what my word of the year is?

RENEW!

It came to me as I was getting the "Franchise renewal" documents ready, and emailed out to all my franchise holders. As I typed the words renew, and renewal, and renewed over and over in each of their letters, something clicked.

I am going to renew my commitment to be a patient and Loving Mother and Wife, always ready with a hug, and push of encouragement.

I am ready to renew my conviction to to lead a great company, and help my business associates reach their goals and dreams.

I am going to fill my callings at Church with a renewed joy, and love for those I serve.

Now I am renewing friendships that I have neglected the past couple years.

I am renewing the promises I have made to the Lord, and feel ready to do his will.

Last but not least, I am renewing my Costco & Gym memberships;)

In 2012, I am renewed!

Yipppeee for me:)

Also, I did a little "while you were out" to Craig, and redecorated our Bedroom to surprise him for his birthday, It turned out sooooo cute! Can't wait to show you.

Friday Favorite

2011-12-02T13:30:00.001-07:00

One of my favorite things is getting "hand me downs" from my friends and sisters. Some of my favorite "go to" pieces are the ones that have been passed around a time or two. A while back I went through my Mothers things with my brothers and sisters, and I got a couple of her "hand me downs". In the weeks since that day a new favorite has emerged.

Moms old Cowgirl hat!

I remember the way she used to rock that hat, and how beautiful I thought she was in it.

Now, I feel like a small part of her style and grace is passed to me through her lovely hat.

Super Duper Easy Dress Tutorial:)

2011-11-28T14:24:00.001-07:00

I got a bug, it is that time of year you know? Not that kind of bug that makes me sick, but the kind that makes me want to be super crafty, and make cute things for all the people I love. I almost always get the "crafty bug" around Christmas, probably because I'm thinking "give, give, give". I don't have tons of moola , but I don't want that to stop the giving fun:) So, I turn to hand made gift goodies.

I saw a tutorial on http://elleapparel.blogspot.com/ and it inspired me to make this little number. After I made my dress I had enough leftover fabric to make a matching dress for layla, so I couldn't resist:)

(pictures of the finished product at the bottom of the post)

For my dress you will need:

any old shirt

yard of fabric

2 inch wide elastic

First of all, you will want to try your shirt on, and decide where you want the waistline to be, then leave an extra 1/2 inch for the seam. Mark the shirt, and cut it to be the right length.

next you will cut out the skirt fabric. I wanted to have the skirt gathered at the waist line, so I cut out 2 rectangular pieces of fabric. However, it would also be super cute to cut out an A-line for a little flare. If you are doing the A-line, you will probably want the top to be the same width as your shirt.

Next Step: Sew the two rectangles together on the sides. You will lay your rectangles together facing each other, so you can see the inner side of the fabric. Just do a straight stitch down each side, and you'll end up with a big tube. Flip the tube right side out.

Next step: Measure your waist, and cut the elastic to the same length as your waist. Sew it together to make a loop.

Next step: Lay the elastic over the top of the skirt. If you are doing it A line style, then just sew it straight on. If you do it like me, you will need to scrunch the skirt fabric as you go to make it gathered. Tip: do the front side first, so if you cant scrunch as much towards the end you won't have a funny looking front;)

Next step: Pin the shirt in place at the top of the elastic.

Next step: Sew the shirt to the elastic.

Last step: Hem the bottom of the skirt. You can get creative with this part, and make it skinny, fat, zig zag, straight, whatever you like.

This is the dress I whipped up for Layla, and it was a complete experiment, so I don't have pictures of the process:( sorry. After this picture I added another dart on the front neckline so it wouldn't be so wide. The next time I wear the one I made for me I'll try to remember to take a picture of myself standing up so you can see it better.

I guess they turned out pretty good, because nobody at church asked if I made our dresses....Success!

More hand made fun to come:)

Favorite Fridays

2011-11-18T14:11:00.001-07:00

Sometimes we all have "bad mommy days"! Those days when you worry about your kids. You might wonder if you are patient enough, or too patient. If you have taught them the things they will need to be successful in this world, but not given them too much information. You might worry if you are feeding them the best food, making them feel loved, keeping the house clean, laundry done, and

bla bla bla.

The best cure I've found when I have a "bad mommy day" is to just sit down with the kids, and create something together. We all have busy hands, but our minds are free. This is the best time for us to share deeper thoughts with each other, and reconnect on a deeper level. This week we made a "Thanksgiving centerpiece". It was a fun little project, but it ended up taking up our entire table, hahaha.

1. Have your kids gather 10 sticks from the backyard.

2. Let them paint the sticks any color. (each of ours are a different color)

3. let the kids help you cut out circles, and glue the circles onto a plate.

4. Paint the letters for "GIVE THANKS" on your circles. We decided to cut some of the letters out instead of painting them:)

5. Tape the painted sticks to the back of the plates. Find 10 containers, and stick your signs in them.

There you go!

You will get a cute craft for your table, quality time with your kids, and that "good Mommy" feeling again;)

favorite friday

2011-11-10T22:58:00.001-07:00

Yummies!

Need I say more?

You really can't go wrong with Chocolate dipped....anything!

So have fun with it. Get wild. make a mess. And enjoy:)

Tooth Fairy

2011-11-10T22:39:00.001-07:00

Here's a question for you. How much does the tooth fairy leave your kids?

This is the short version of Carter losing his first tooth.

Me at gym, kids at Aunties house.

Bathroom in use (by Carter).

Carter wiggling tooth...while working on other things;)

Tooth comes out.

Auntie hears "Aaaaa, it's bloody" and yelling...from the bathroom.

Auntie opens bathroom door to find undressed boy, and bloody tooth in his hand.

Yikes, that was a bit dramatic me thinks.

That night Mom and Dad fall asleep watching movie before tooth fairy arrives.

Lot's of sleeping.

Mom wakes up (6:00 am) to sad little Carter saying the tooth fairy couldn't come because he was awake all night.

Mom convinces Carter to go to sleep.

Tooth fairy made it.

Every one is happy.

Hair CUT!

2011-10-25T13:29:00.000-06:00

Craig and I seem to have this continual disagreement regarding hair.

He likes it SHORT, and I like it long:)

Such is true when it comes to both myself, and our children.

Benson's hair had gotten pretty long, and started looking a little shaggy around his ears, so I decided it was time for "a LITTLE trim"...my words exactly.

Craig was home, and he is our resident Barber (most of the time, but sometimes I'll get brave and do it myself...and that can be scary!), so I got everything set up for him.

tall chair...check

towel...check

buzzers ready with Longest attachment available...check

comb...check

water bottle...check

scissors...check

baby stripped down to diaper...check

strawberry sucker...check

We were all set, but my phone began to ring, so I ran out real fast to grab it. I made the call short, because I didn't want to miss the action. I walked back in the make-shift "Barber shop" just in time....in time to see Craig buzz right down the middle with the SHORTEST attachment!

Ahhhhh! Stooooop......too late.

Before

After

Still, He is so so super cute, and I just want to eat his little cheeks, but I miss his long strawberry blond hair. It's amazing how your baby can turn into a little boy in a matter of minutes!

He looks SO much older to me, and I think that is really the part I don't like.

Favorite Fridays

2011-10-20T21:21:00.000-06:00

I'm always looking for yummy, easy, fast recipes to add to my collection...aren't you?

We ended up with a BUNCH of Utah Peaches this year (Soooo juicy and delicious!)

We (and when I say we, I actually do mean WE. As in Craig and Myself...isn't that awesome! Mr. Hall scores major points with me for helping out in the kitchen:)) bottled a bunch, ate a bunch fresh (with cream and sugar..YUM), and froze the other bunch. I am normally NOT a fan of any kind of fruit pie, cobbler, and anything of the sort. But, I'm here to say, I am a changed woman.

I found this spectacular peach cobbler recipe, and the best part...It is SOOO easy!

It's awesome for the times I have company coming over, and just changed a ripe diaper with super power strength oder, and I need to cover it up FAST (not that we have ever done that of course).

I just whip this baby together and pop it in the oven. by the time they come my home smells heavenly, and if they stick around, they even get to leave with a tasty treat in their belly.

So, here it is:

Easy Peach Cobbler

serves 10 (I half it)

1/2 C. unsalted butter

1 C. all purpose flour

2 C. sugar, divided

1Tbs. baking powder

pinch of salt

1 C. milk

4 C. peaches

1 Tbs. lemon juice

Ground cinnamon or nutmeg

1. Melt butter in a 9x13 baking dish

2. combine flour. 1 C. sugar, baking powder, and salt; add milk, stirring just until dry ingredients are moist. Pour batter over butter (do not stir)

3. Bring remaining 1 C. sugar, peach slices, and lemon juice to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly; pour over batter (do not stir), sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg.

4. Bake @375 for 40-45 minutes, or until golden brown. serve cobbler warm or cold with ice cream or whipped cream.

*note: instead of doing step 3, I use a bag of my frozen peaches. I just spread them out over the batter, and sprinkle the cinnamon on top

I hope you get a chance to make something yummy this weekend, and get to eat it with great company:)

Bear World

2011-10-19T10:57:00.000-06:00

The other day we decided to to take the kids to Yellow stone, since we live 2 hours away, and they have never been. We packed up the cooler, and hit the road. We were in for a long, fun, day in the car, looking for animals in the wild.

20 minets down the road...it started.

"Mom, are we almost there?", then "How much longer do we have to be in the car?", and "this isn't any fun!", repeated several times.

We soon passed a fun little place called "Bear world", I said jokingly to Craig "we should just go there, and tell them it's Yellow Stone". we looked at each other, and realized we were thinking the same thing.

BRILLIANT!

Carter was our Animal photographer for the day.

We saw wolves, bears, moose, dear, elk, Buffalo, baby dear, and lots more.

I have to say, It was the best day trip to Yellow Stone I've ever had;)

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-18T16:59:00.001-06:00

We have this fun little pumpkin patch in town called Swore Farms, and it's a must every year! They change it up each year, so I never know what exactly we are going to find, but it's always loads of fun. This year they had a couple different versions of the "corn maze", and the the real thing. Carter was a school, and Craig was at work, so it was just me, Benson and Layla....and Layla's entire preschool:)

On another note, we took family pictures here 2 years ago, and they turned out super cute!

They had a bunch of these cute little picture areas set up all around, and who can resist smashing their face in a little hole?

This is Laylas' Preschool teacher "Mrs. Jen". She is also my first Cousin.

In this picture you can see the "tape maze" (I don't know what it's really called) behind the kids. This one was the funniest, because the kids would just run right under the tape. Layla made it through in record time and said, "Wow, that was SO easy!" haha. One advantage of being short!

The Start

I bought these adorable rain boots for Layla at a yard sale, but I was thinking we would wait a year or so until they actually fit her....she didn't like that idea. They are about 3 sized too big, and slush around with each step she takes, but she still feels the love for them...go figure.

Ok, so my camera has started doing this thing randomly where the pictures turn out like this (see above picture). It's like the shutter isn't closing all the way...or something, I don't know, but it's annoying.

Also, Benson's face in this picture kind of has a devilish look, don't ya think?

(there I go, leaving a question at the end of my post again:) )

ps. is again spelled wrong? I don't know how else to spell it, but the spell checker is having a fit!

Autumn

2011-10-17T13:59:00.001-06:00

Have I ever mentioned that I love fall? I used to be more of a summer person, but each year I gain a deeper appreciation for Fall. The crisp in the air that calls us to bring out our sweaters and scarves, and the sweet aroma that drifts around us as we pick apples from the tree. I love finding the prettiest leaves, and and baking fall treats to warm our tummies. But, my favorite thing about fall is...the color scheme.
My home was designed to host fall decor!
The kids felt like we didn't have enough decorations, so they made some new ones of their own:) See if you can find them.

Do you see this amazing wreath? My Dad gave it to me for my birthday. I should have taken a close up of it for you, because it has about 30 different flowers, weeds, feathers, fruits, and veggies, it's gorgeous.

I included this picture because it shows our cute brick chimney:) one of my personal favorites.

We replaced our windows last year, so I made this fun little guy from one of the old basement windows.

In my giant clothes pin, we placed one of our "fall place mats" that I did the tutorial on for a "favorite Friday" a couple weeks ago. we obviously make them rectangular usually, but we did this one square to use more as a decoration kind of thing;)

I placed some fake apples in a black spider web bowl (on my left in the picture), and Layla tried to eat one of them. They are very realistic after all:), so I told the kids not to eat the green apples in the bowl, because they were poisoned. Carter added that the witch from sleeping beauty snuck in and poisoned them, haha. So now they tease me and say "Mom, I'm going to eat this yummy apple", and I say "NOOOOO, not the POISONED Apple!", and save them from that horrible fate.

What are some of your favorite things about Autumn?

(leaving a question at the end of my post is my sneaky little way of encouraging you to leave a little comment...just so ya know;))

2011-10-14T13:37:00.002-06:00

I realized something looking through these pictures from last weekend...I like to open my mouth really big when someone points a camera at me, or so it would appear.

what's my deal? I have no idea! Really, I didn't even know I did that until this very moment.

any who, here are a couple pictures of the fun we had. My Man and I don't get away by ourselves very often, but when we do, it's like we just went back in time 10 years.

Really, we act like crazo teenagers, but I love it!

We laugh, take funny pictures, talk about funny things, make strange noises, and eat yummy food. This weekend was SO last minute, that we had NO plans. When we got to our destination we had dinner at Olive Garden, YUM! Our waitress was very nice.

She came to our table and said "Hi, my name is Rebel, and I live up to it!"

I started laughing, but then stopped, because I realized she was serious (and that she could crush me if she wanted to).

I know this is FAR from a wild and crazy thing to do with your spouse, but hey, this was really more about relaxation anyway. I have been wanting to go through the LDS Church History museum for a long time, and figured this was our chance to take our time, and really enjoy it. So we did.

In this shot I really can't tell if I'm supposed to be preaching to the choir, or belting out a good one?

After the museum we were walking down town, looking for somewhere to have lunch, and we found ourselves in the middle of a protest. I have not a clue what they were protesting, but they meant business!

This is an "art display", in case you weren't sure....because I wasn't. The artist was striving to capture the natural movement of a single blade of grass against the elements. I've always wondered what it would feel like to be a little bug in the tall grass...now I know:D

Last but not least, we found the pepprage farm Thrift store. Craig is either so excited he is going to cry, or really in need of a bathroom....don't know.

Time for another weekend, hooray!

wagon ride

2011-10-12T15:11:00.003-06:00

We had a few moments of sunshine yesterday, so we ran outside to enjoy it.

Sweet little Layla decided to give Benson a "wide in da wagon" as she put it. It was priceless!

She was pulling with all her might, and moving at a snails pace. Benson kept looking at me, you know, the look that says "don't just stand there taking my picture, help me!". At least that's what I took the look to mean, but when I went to "save him" he didn't want to go.

So, I sat back and let them have their fun.

bff's

2011-10-11T09:45:00.000-06:00

These two go together like tom & Jerry!
They might do their best to get the other in trouble, drive each other crazy....and sometimes the rest of us in the process, but what would they ever do without each other? sometimes they can't seem to live together, so I'll separate them, and pretty soon I'll find one or the other sneaking in to be back together.
They are biggest rivals, and best friends all at once. What a pair they are.

Here is Layla trying to make Carter feel better when he didn't find many Easter eggs

playing with my phone, taking pictures of themselves

hanging out at the park, laughing at some crazy person.

They remind me of my arch enemy turned best friend...Paul.

We LOVED to get each other in trouble, make each other cry, beat the other at anything and everything, and call the meanest name. But, if anyone else tried to do any of those things to us, we stood up for the other with all the loyalty and love in the world.

I'm Thankful for big brothers.

p.s. I've been sewing:) and soon will have a tutorial for your enjoyment. stay tuned.

driving

2011-10-10T13:07:00.001-06:00

This weekend I was driving.

I got to spend some time in the car with my honey:) He took a couple days off to hang out with me, and chillaxe together. We didn't have a plan, just a sitter, a car, and an open road:)

I dreamt, laughed, and loved with the window down.

Did you have your window down this weekend too?

Favorite Friday (early)

2011-10-06T11:56:00.003-06:00

Every Fall, as a Child, Mom would take us for a hike in the mountains. We each had a bag to keep our treasures in. We were on the hunt...for the most beautiful leaves. After we were all satisfied that we had found the most beautiful leaves on the planet, we eagerly went home, and carefully used them to create our own "Fall Place mat". To this day, I still have some of my favorites from years past, and have continued this fun tradition with my own crew.

Craig was trying to take a picture of us from our reflection on the dirty mini vans' window:) I love how you can see Benson yelling at us from inside the car, haha.

Gosh, isn't this just breathtaking! I love it.

Carter spotted a water snake with his awesome eye spying eyes, so Craig tried to catch it. Sadly, (said with sarcasm) the little guys got away. Too bad;)

Craig gave Baby B a wild berry to try out. Did he like it?...not so much.

I kind of feel in love with this picture of Carter and Layla Lou

If you want to make your very own "fall place mat", here is what you do.

You need:

Leaves

thin flowers

pictures

contact paper

Cut 2 pieces of your Contact paper to the size you would like your mat to be. Carefully, and artistically, arrange your leaves, flowers, and pictures on the sticky side of 1 piece of contact paper. When you are happy with the way it looks, place the other piece of contact paper (sticky side down) over your masterpiece.

So easy. So fun. so do it:)

Ahoy!

2011-10-04T10:37:00.000-06:00

This morning after I got everyone dressed Layla remarked, in her sweet little melodic voice "hey, we all match". Apparently, there is a nautical feeling in the air at my home today, and I must be feeling it.

Gosh, with all these sailor style, navy blue and white stripes, it kind of makes me feel like I should be on a Cruise somewhere in the Caribbean or something....just sayin;)

The big 30

2011-10-03T23:17:00.000-06:00

Guess what I did this weekend...other than watch a WONDERFUL General Conference?!?!

Give up?

I entered a new decade of my life!

Now, I am well aware of the feelings of grief, sadness, pity, disappointment, and depression that some people have felt on this milestone, entrence to a new decade, birthday. However, I do have to say, I didn't feel any of the aforementioned feelings.

I am completely pumped up about being 30! I have this feeling that my 30's hold greatness for our little family, and I really think I'm going to enjoy what the 30's have in store. You know what they say right? ...30 is the new 20.

I know Mom is rolling over in her grave right about now, but I have ALWAYS wanted a TV in my bedroom (sorry Mom, I know you've always hated the idea, but I still love & respect you), and my wish finally came true:) I don't know if you can tell in the below picture, but I was so excited that I may have gotten a little teary eyed. I just Love the idea of falling asleep (which I ALWAYS do) to a movie, and not having to get up and walk to my bed. YAY for me, I guess dreams really do come true. hahaha.

In between Conference sessions, we went for a drive/walk in the mountains. I LOVE going up there this time of year, and seeing vibrant colors that abound as the leaves Begin to turn. I had a hay day taking pictures, but I'll save those for another day. I'll just say, it was rejuvenating and perfect.

That night Dad came over for dinner. One of my favorite things to do is cook dinner with my hunky husband, so we did that:) It was Delish! Once we got dinner all cleaned up I started to make cupcakes, and Dad didn't feel like I should make my own birthday cake, so he joined me. It was so fun baking with him.

When it comes to birthdays, I guess it really comes down to one thing for me. It's better to have them then not to!

Happy birth month Preston, Jeff, and Becky. I hope you have it, rather then not:)

Favorite Friday

2011-09-30T12:42:00.001-06:00

About a year ago I had a chunk of hair that suddenly went curly...very curly! I'm talking, super tight, Afro style, curly. It was the weirdest thing. I tried to use a flat iron on it, hair wax, curling iron, oil, and about 10 other things, but nothing seemed to help. I told my Friend that does hair about it, and she recommended this blessed product to me.

It was love at first try. It's called "it's a 10"

It says on the front "miracle leave-in product", and it's not a kidden. I use this stuff every day after I take a bath, I spray it on while my hair is still wet, and it works it's magic. "it's a 10" can help with:

repairing dry, damaged hair.

Adds shine.

tangles.

controls frizz.

seals and protects hair color.

prevents split ends.

stops hair breakage.

creates silkiness.

enhances natural body.

flat iron spray & thermal protector.

I don't get any kind of kick back or anything if you buy this stuff, I just thought you might enjoy having luscious locks:)

Happy Friday.

2011-09-28T11:22:00.000-06:00

Today is picture day for Layla at preschool.

I had 3 outfit choices out for her to choose from...and none of them were the right one.

She kindly informed me that she already knew what she wanted to wear today, so I dressed her in the one she picked herself.

She wanted to wear her brown uggs, but she didn't like the way her jeans felt in her boots, so she had to change into a skirt.

Then her shirt didn't look right to her with the skirt, so she had to change her shirt too.

But, she didn't want to wear a brown shirt with a purple flower in her hair, so we re-fixed her hair.

Then, apparently, the whole outfit wasn't what she had envisioned herself in, or something, so we worked through that.

Eventually, Layla went off to preschool wearing pre-selected outfit #3.

ahhhhhh! What are we in for with this one? I love her to death, but really?!?! I mean, come on. Isn't that just way too much worry coming from a 4 year old? Most days she couldn't care less what she is wearing, but maybe she had somebody to impress today;) I didn't think about that.

It takes me back to when I was a girl, probably about 4 now that I think of it. My Mom was going to lunch with the Aunties, and she invited me to come along. I was so excited! I usually never got to go to lunch with the Moms, so that was a pretty dang big deal. Mom told me I needed to hurry and get dressed so we could go, so I ran to my room, and yanked my drawer out.

All of the sudden, all my shirts just looked so CUTE (the opposite problem then I have now), and I just couldn't pick one.....so I picked 6. I came running out to the horn beeping car, with all six of my favorite shirts on. One on top of the other, and the other, and the other, and so on.

Mom looked at me and smiled. She said "wow susie, those sure are cute shirts you have", and off we went.

I love that she gave me the freedom to wear 6 shirts to lunch with the aunties, even though I often looked like a little orphane child, I always felt loved. So, it seems now, that's really the most important thing isn't it? Just to make sure my little angel always feels my love.

Favorite Fridays

2011-09-23T12:45:00.000-06:00

I've decided I am going to be a little more dedicated to my blog, and post on a little more regular basis. I know you (yes you, the one that reads my blog:)) deserve better from me, so to show my appreciation, I am going to share a few of my FAVORITE things. Let's call it....Favorite things?!? um...no! That will make me sing the song from the sound of music every time I post on Friday, and then I'll have it stuck in my head for the rest of the day, and that's just no good. So, how about "favorite Fridays"?! Is that one good? Ok, lets keep it.

For our very first ever Favorite Friday item I wanted to go with something magnificent, something whimsical, with a little fluff, and a little zing all at the same time. Last week as I was helping Dad unpack Mom's things I came across a little treasure.

Moms little green recipe box!

Now, if you were so blessed as to have known my Mom, then you know she wasn't exactly known for following a recipe....she was just too creative for that:) She did, after all, write her own recipe book! But one thing Mom always loved was Lemon! If I had to pick just one recipe that she actually followed it would be her "Luscious Lemon Bar cookie" one.

Finding this little treasure made my soul sing, and my heart happy. This little goody is written in Mom's hand writing on the back of an old, Robbin egg blue, Smith's pharmacy envelope, with Uncle Stobbes name on the front. hehehe, just so Mom, I love it! I can see her and Aunt Cleo standing in Cleo's kitchen in UT, 38 years ago, laughing, and eating "Luscious Lemon Bar cookies", and Mom grabbing the closest piece of paper saying "This is HEAVENLY! I must get the recipe!".

So, my dear friend, this recipe is passed once more:) I hope you love it.

Luscious Lemon Bar Cookies
makes 3 dozen 11/2" squares

Crust1C. soft butter
dash of salt
1/2 C. powdered sugar
2C. flour

Combine all ingredients- mix well. Press mixture into 9x13" pan. Bake at 350' for 15 min. (or until browned)

Filling
4 eggs beaten
2C. gram sugar
1/4 C. flour
6 Tbs. lemon juice

if desired, add 1C. shredded coconut (I highly recommend it). Combine flour and sugar. Mix in beaten eggs and lemon juice. pour into the slightly cooled crust. Bake at 350' for 25 min. Or until set. Cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar. cut into squares, and enjoy.

*I'm heading to Utah for the weekend to visit my Judy, and I know it will be fabulous. I hope you have a wonderful weekend too:)

2011-09-22T11:49:00.000-06:00

Time for a good old fashion game of bowling for the Hall gang! We realized it had been over a year...maybe even two since our last bowling outing, so we had to show the kids our skills.

It didn't take long for me to realize our (Myself and the Craigsters) skills aren't so impressive these days...especially when Layla had a higher score than both of us!

That's about when I decided it was time for a little Crazy bowl! And we all (me and the one person that reads my blog) know that's something I totally rock at:)

We had the backward through, the spin toss, granny roll, granny roll backwards, left handed, boogy bowl, and eyes closed. It was epic, hahaha.

This round we had to do a little dance after we chucked the ball down the lane, and the kids dances were so funny. I'm glad I got them on tape:)

I LOVE laylas' dance! This little lady has got herself some moves, hahaha.
Check back in tomorrow for my FIRST EVER Fridays Fav...you are NOT going to want to miss it:)

play time

2011-09-20T19:15:00.002-06:00

Every day after school Carter comes home and says "Mom, I would like to have------- over to play!", and I always seem to have a reason why that won't work out today..."but maybe another day" I say.
After this same conversation took place 357 times I started to feel bad, so we invited his new school buddies over today.

It is basically the first time I have invited children I don't know very well over to play with my children, and parents I don't know at all to tag along. It was the craziest thing, the way I was nervous. You know the way you feel when you're having a birthday party, and you worry no body is going to show up? That's how I was today....so weird!

Layla and I cleaned the whole entire house, swept and hosed down the back porch, cleaned up the yard, arranged the patio furniture just right, prepared fresh carrots out of the garden, grapes, crackers and cheese, punch, side walk paint and brushes, got the Geo Trax out, and waited! We waited and read, and waited and played a board game, and practiced the alphabet and waited until we heard Carter come home. The look on his face was priceless! He looked around as realization set in. He knew all this was for him, and for the magical moment, I think he might have felt the depth of my love for him.

What a day:)

The friends did come. The boys played in the castle outside, had a berry war, painted, ran, built a train track, had some snacks. At the end of the day Carter will remember all the fun he had with his friends, but mostly (I hope), the feeling of his mamas love.

2011-09-19T12:51:00.000-06:00

This weekend I helped my Dad unpack some boxes....special boxes.

2 years ago my Mom and Dad thought they had sold their home on S. 19th Ave, so they packed almost all of their things and moved them to a storage unit until they had a new house. Sadly, the sell didn't end up working out, and they had already done all that packing.
Can you imagine? I would be livid if that happened to me! Rrarrrrr, tiger woman would make herself known.

Anyway, Mom Started getting really sick right after all that....and, you know that rest.

The boxes in storage took a big back seat to everything else (Like, they were clear back in the trunk, and the trunk popped open, and they totally came falling out of the vehicle kind of a back seat). We finally went to the storage unit a couple of weeks ago to haul some of the essentials back to Dad's house for him. I was putting some things in the closet, and saw some of Mom's clothes hanging up.

A rush of emotions over took me, and I suddenly missed her again with the same fierceness I felt the day she passed. My chest hurt, it was physical. I felt a something drip onto my hand, and realized they were my tears. However, as suddenly as the overwhelming emotions overtook me, they were replaced with deep feelings of Love. I have so much love and gratitude for my Mom, the things she went through, what she taught me, and the legacy she left.

Mom continues to play a very large role in my life. Not a day goes by that I don't think "what would Mom have said to me in this situation" or "would Mom approve of my parenting style right now?". I have flash backs of my childhood, and things she has said to me. I try to emulate her with my own children, and pray that I will do half as good of a job as her.

Love you mom.

new school year

2011-09-16T14:18:00.000-06:00

The kids have been in school for a couple of weeks now, and we are getting into the new grove of thing. Carter is in 1st grade now = all day school 5 days a week, and layla is in pre-school = 2 hours 3 days a week. Carter feels like life is really unfair right about now, because he doesn't get to be home all day on Craigs day off, layla only has to go to school 3 days a week, and benson gets me all the time; so we have been trying to point out the advantages to him of his new school schedule. Here is what we came up with.

1. he get's to be the only kid at breakfast with me and Craig every morning, because Layla and Benson are usually still sleeping.
2. He gets to pick what treat he wants in his lunch box.
3.Chocolate milk!
4.walks home with one of his favorite friends everyday (if it's not raining, snowing, hailing, blowing, or iceing).
5. 20 exclusive minutes with Mom (me) when he gets home from school to go over homework, read, and catch up with each other.
6. and the biggest advantage to going to 1st grade....(drum roll)........The big toys!

Carter is super excited about the big toy. Last year he was on the other side of the school, and they just have an old school style playground on that side, so he's movin' up in the world.

Layla was a little nervous about that first day, but I think she has been enjoying it once the jitter bugs went away. I talked to her teacher about this next thing, and she said it didn't happen, so that makes it kind of funny. Every day when I pick her up and ask her to tell me about school she says the same thing. "my teacher was mean today. She made every one put their heads on their desk....except for me, because I was being really good." She heard Carter say that once, and I guess it made a real impression on her.

The other thing she told me about school is that she is worried she is going to get too smart, and her brain is going to get too big, and her head band won't fit anymore!

....Ya never know.

p.s. I have a new format for my blog, and I can't find spell check...which I normally rely on Heavily:)

Brains

2011-09-15T20:22:00.000-06:00

It seems Layla has a new obsession as of late, and I have absolutly no idea where it came from. Brains. She has been heard saying things like, "let's squish that bugs brains out" or when I told her she is smart "that's because I have an extra large brain". When she got to the pit in her peach she yelled with excitment "yay, I found it's brain...but I am NOT going to eat it!". The other day we went on a little family hike on Craigs day off, and there were some tree roots visible on the trail, so she would say "there's a brain, and there's a brain, hahaha, and look guys...it's another brian." as she stomped on them with her happy little feet. I LOVE the stages children go through as they learn and grow, and the funny things they say and do. Layla is a constant stream of hilliarium (I may have just made that word up), always keeping things exciting at our home.

Bensons Birthday

2011-08-15T09:43:00.004-06:00

My Baby turned one! He is 1!

I have been reflecting a ton the past couple of weeks. I think it's in part because Benson just turned one, part because Craig and I just had our 9th anniversary, and part because that's kinda just what I do. I've been thinking mostly about where I was emotionally, mentally, physically, spiritually a year ago, and where I am now. I'll take the now...for sure.

I have three very active, happy, and healthy children. We spend our summer days riding bikes, playing in the yard, swimming, reading books together, and laughing. I have a Husband that works very hard, so I can be home with our little Chickie's. He keeps our garden/yard looking amazing (and looks so hot while he does it), is Loyal, loving, and serves the lord. I love our cute little house in our quiet old neighborhood were we all know each other. What more could a girl ask for? I thank the Lord for the trials I have been through, the lessons learned, and the light at the end of the tunnel.

I am so blessed.

Back to Benson. He is such a sweet little thing, and always tries (with success) to make us laugh. He loves his Daddy more then anyone, and thinks anything Carter does is hilarious. He loves playing peek-a-boo with Layla, but doesn't love it when she picks him up. He is master of going up stairs, but still working on the down part. Looks for every chance he can get to play in the house plants dirt, and rub it in his beautiful blond hair. His favorite food is watermelon...he thinks it's a full contact sport! Not kidding. I'm going to have to post a video of him eating a slice...fantastic. Benson has a great arm, and lets us know he is done by throwing his Binky, bottle, or food as far as he can with a solid grunt to add affect.
What a boy! I love watching him grow, and discovering who he is. Benson is a very LOVED little guy! Happy Birthday buddy.

Ice cream!

2011-08-02T15:08:00.005-06:00

What is better in the summer then ice cold ice cream? ...riding your bike to the ice cream shop with your sweetie's, and sitting on the grass under the shade while you eat that ice cold ice cream...that is the best! I'll tell you what else, my boys can make some crazy faces!

Especially the biggest boy.

What do you love to do with your sweeties in the summer?

p.s. today is my 9th anniversary, and the kids are sleeping over with cousins tonight:) Yay for me and my Lover boy, looks like we will be getting to bed early;)

City Slickers

2011-08-01T14:59:00.004-06:00

When I was 3 years old my family moved out to the country. We had chickens, and a rooster. It was Paul and My's job to collect the eggs everyday. It didn't take us long to learn that the Rooster was big, and mean, and scary, and could bite us. We developed a strategy before too long, and it worked pretty well. one of us would distract the rooster, and get it to chase us while the other ran in the coop and snached up all the eggs.

Our summer days were spend fishing in the gentle creek by the house, building secret forts in the sage brush, exploring our mountain, picking flowers, riding the horses, weeding the garden, and LOVING life. We moved back into town when I was 5, but I have always remembered those 2 years as the best of my childhood. Deep down in my heart I have always known the truth...that I am a country girl.

My Family had our reunion at a ranch in Lava, Idaho this year. They had a few cows to brand, so being the country girl I am I ran right over with the kids. How exciting! I just knew the kids would think that was the coolest thing ever, and decide they are really country in their harts just like me. We all lined up to watch them brand the first one, and I watched Carters face....as he nearly began to cry!

He hated it!

He couldn't believe they would be so mean, and hurt that poor little cow. hahaha, so my plan didn't work out so much. After the kids slowly drifted away, my siblings and I jumped right in the middle of all the action. Matt held the calves down, Janelle and I gave them their vaccinations, and Joanne and Judy painted the oil on after the ranchers branded them. We were real life cowboys....for about 20 minutes, and we were all ready to get back to our city life ways. It wasn't until the reunion that I learned all my brothers and sisters have always felt just like me, and believed they were really and truly county kids at heart. However, we have been shown the truth, and have come to the realization that we are really nothing but a bunch a city slickers. The funny part is that we are all surprised by this discovery, even thought we only lived in the country 2 of our 29+ years, haha.

My camera died after the first couple hours of our weekend, so I missed out on LOTS of great pictures, but here is was I got.

The first night we had our branding experience, dinner, and then broke up into groups and made up skits. I had a bunch of props and costumes, and the skits were hilarious.

The next day people went swimming at the Olympic size pool and platforms, did crafts, slept, at really good food, played games, watched movies on the projector, and stuff like that. Judy made reunion shirts that turned out so cute. the boys were blue and girls were pink, all with a brown logo with our name and stuff on them. The theme this year was code of the west, so we talked about that a bit.

The last day we just had breakfast, and packed up. We all went to Moms grave together. It was the first time we have done that since the headstone was placed, so that was touching. I feel like Mom was smiling down on us, laughing at our cheesy skits, and loving the way we take care of each other. What a weekend.

4th of July night

2011-07-11T14:47:00.002-06:00

As I mentioned in the last post, the kids and I went to Island park for the weekend of the 4th, but we came home in time to do fireworks and a pick nick with Craig.
We decided to get us some KFC, and have ourselves a pick nick at the park, but the Storm had other plans. On our way to the park it started raining buckets, so we drove to a parking garage and had our little pick nick in there. It turned out to be so fun, something totally different then we would normally do. After the pick nick we went home and lit our fireworks while listening to patriotic music. I loved having the music, it added so much to the whole experience. After our fireworks we drove Craig's truck to our secret location to watch the big show, where we all sat in the back of the truck and ate red vines. After the show Carter, Layla, and I lay down for the ride home. It was their first time riding in back, and it was a magical moment with the combination of giggles, stars, and fireworks all around....perfect:)

4th Of July

2011-07-11T14:06:00.007-06:00

My family has a cabin in Island Park, and every year for the 4th of July we have a BIG reunion up there that lasts the whole weekend. It's with my the 6 children in my Dads family, and all their children, and all their children....so it's lots of people, and lots of fun. Craig had to work this year over the weekend, but I thought I would be super woman, and take the kids up anyway.
My Dad rented a beautiful cabin near the family cabin for my siblings and I to stay in. It was so fun to go back to our cabin at the end of the day and sit in the hot tub, and play games till the weeeee hours of the morning. During the day we got to do all the fun camping stuff that kids love most.
At one point the ladies decided to take a ladies only boat ride, cranked up ABBA, and surfed behind the boat. It was my first time surfing, and I totally loved it. Even though Layla tripped while we were out, and her front tooth went through her lip; and Carter through the BIGGEST tantrum of his life because I was going on the boat without him...I'm still glad I went.

Ditch Day

2011-07-05T10:53:00.003-06:00

We are lucky enough to live in one of the few neighborhoods that still has irrigation water rights. Once a week the little ditch behind our yard fills up with water, and the kids get wet. Grandpa Hall (Craig's Dad) and Carter made this cool little boat together, so now on "ditch day" the kids take it out and float it down...so much fun! Happy Ditch Day.

1960's Date

2011-06-27T10:00:00.003-06:00

I found myself in the cutest little vintage store the other day looking at home decor items, and before I knew it I was trying on this little number. I loved the boat neck with the side tie, and the extended sleeves. Most dresses are too short for me, so I love it when I find a short one that isn't too short. I mean come on, we all want to show a little leg every once and a while, but not the whole kit and caboodle:)

Basically, this dress inspired me to plan a great big 1960's themed date with my guy. I made Craig an invitation that said "Hey cool cat, are you ready for a groovy time? Pick me up tonight at 7:00" I wore the dress...or course, and tried really hard to do my hair big, but I just couldn't get it to stay :( Where is aqua net when you need it!?! We went to a diner for some good grub, and made a swift return home to relieve the baby sitters (thanks Kim and Jeff). I google searched "60's recipes" and found a yummy fruit dip one. I also picked up some old fashioned coke bottles, popcorn buckets, and some other oldish snacks for our movie. We watched the original "yours, mine, and ours". I thought is was cute, but it was a little too slow for Craig. After the movie we did a little dancing to some hits from the 60's, which of course led to....ya know, good times;).

Annnnnyyywaaayyy, it's always so much fun to change things up, and keep them exciting. We still stuck with the regular dinner and a movie date night thing, but with a little flare. Our next theme date is already in the works, so you'll have to stay tuned to hear all about it...well, maybe not allllll about it:)

kindergarten graduation

2011-06-25T09:33:00.002-06:00

Sometimes you just gotta brag about your kids...right? You know you've done it! I certainly have, and now I'm about to do it a little more:) This past School year Carter was in Kindergarten, and he did so well. He came home one day with a flyer and said, "Mom, I'm going to win an Ipod!" so I read the flyer and found out the story. His School was going to hold a spell-a-thon, and he had to get pledges from friends and family for each word he got right. The ONE student that raised the most money from the ENTIRE SCHOOL would get an Ipod. So, being the loving Mother I am, I thought to myself "ya right, not going to happen", but I said to him "OK honey, if you work really hard anything is possible". longs story short...He WON THE IPOD! He got 52 out of 52 words right, and raised nearly $500. Also, he was the only kindergartner invited to the Young Authors Celebration. He was chosen because of a couple of the books he wrote and illustrated. Carters teacher would read his books to his class for story time sometimes, and she submitted his name for the honor. And wait, there is more. He also excelled in reading, he is actually a grade ahead, so he got to go to the library with 2 other kids from his grade and check out special books, which was a really big high-light for him. If you can't tell by now...I'm really proud of my little buddy for all his hard work. Ok, I'm done:)

Art Sale

2011-06-24T14:37:00.003-06:00

Remember Carters Art Sale last year? he did so well with it that he decided to have another go round...and this time he did even better! He is so persuasive and sincere that i just don't know how you could say no to him. He has such a great heart, and the funniest personality.
I love that boy!

Fathers Day

2011-06-20T10:32:00.002-06:00

I was just thinking the other day about My Guy, and realized we started dating over 12 years ago. I had no idea at the time that I would be spending the rest of forever with him, or how lucky I was because of that. I didn't know he would take a sad little shriveled up plant, and turn it into something beautiful. I didn't know he would find a baby bird that fell out of it's nest, and climb our 40+ foot pine tree to return it to it's home; while every bird in the state of Idaho swooped down at him, and I screamed his name in terror (true story). I didn't know he would give me 3 of the most amazing children in the world, and spend the better part of his Fathers Day at the hospital visiting and blessing the sick.
I didn't know lots of things back in the day...but now I'm old and wise.
I know My Guy would do anything for me and our children.
I know he works 80+ hours a week so I can stay home with our little Chickie's.
I know I never ever have to worry about where he is at night.
I know I love him with my whole heart, and I hope he knows how much.

Go team

2011-06-15T14:49:00.004-06:00

Have you ever put a child in a sport only to find out they are super interested in grass, or picking dandy lions? Such was the case for Carter last year...and Layla this year. After last year with Carter I decided not to sign him up again for soccer, but he surprised me when he told me he really, really wanted to do it again. Layla, Carters little shadow, wanted to do it too of course.
Carter surprised us again when he actually really was into the whole soccer thing, and loved going to practice and his games. Layla on the other hand....really wanted to pick flowers, or play on the playground, but at least she looked super cute in her pink shin guards!

Are you looking for a fun and cute Fathers day gift that you can do with your kids? I found this super cute "super hero kit" on www.alphamom.com that the kids and I are doing for our Daddy.
I hope you are having as beautiful day at your house as we are at mine:)

Too Serious

2011-06-14T10:05:00.002-06:00

Yesterday was one of those days when you really have to remind yourself that you love your kids, and to be patient with them. I was feeling like I had done a pretty good job of keeping my cool, but Carter saw it another way. He gave me a note that said,
"It is just not enie fun wen you are so serios...no."
Hahaha, so I guess I need to stop being so serious.

2011-06-13T09:50:00.003-06:00

Somehow Layla and I ended up having the house to ourselves, and no pressing appointments, so we decided to get some girly time in. We started the party off by making the chocolaty goodness you see pictured above, yum! I Love baking with Layla, the way she puts her little apron on, rolls up her sleeves, and is more then happy to "test" things out for me. We saw these Micky Mouse Caramel apples when we were in Disney land, and we could hardly wait to try it out ourselves.
After baking, we did our nails, and Laylas hair. Of course, we both had to put something pink on first, per request of layla. Haha, I love that little lady.

So What have you and your little Chicky's been doing to feel your summer days?

Goin to the chapel...I mean Temple:)

2011-06-08T23:18:00.004-06:00

I am so incredibly blessed to have the most amazing sisters, and sister in laws in the world! I love them all! ALL of them.
In my family, I'm the youngest of six children. I have 3 big sisters and 2 big brothers. I think they have always watched out for me, and been great to give me good advice. However, for the first time in my life I got to be the one giving the great (in my humble opinion) advice to one of them:)
My incredible, giving, loving, hard working, compassionate, funny, talented (I could go on and on) sister Annabeth tied the knot last month with her long time love Tyler. They got married in the Idaho Falls Temple, which is an especially special temple to my family.
I Loved going to the wedding planner with her to pick out all the decorations, arranging the breath taking flowers, helping her in the Brides room, Seeing how gorgeous she was, and giving her my almost 9 years of marriage worth of advice:) I'm so happy for her, and to see the cute couple settle down.

Cheers to You Annabeth and Tyler.

Um...really?

2011-06-07T21:30:00.003-06:00

Last month (actually it was April) My big Daddy made a bet...and he lost! As a result he had to grow a used car salesman type mustache for the entire month. To put the frosting on the cake, he decided to wear this little beauty to work. Nothing says "buy a car from me! I would never misguide you...trust me." like a man wearing a brown polyester suit, and a mustache. happily, that long prickly month is over, and I have my foxy husband back:)
Let's hear it for razors. Woooohooooo.

oops

2011-06-01T08:53:00.003-06:00

I wrote the wrong web site (thanks Abby for the heads up).
Go to www.mommygiggles.com
leave your tag line for the picture of Benson, and you could win a $15 gift card a amazon.com. Good luck friends. winning:)

So Funny!

2011-06-01T07:47:00.000-06:00

There is this new blog called
www.mommygiggles.com
and it is so funny. It's just a bunch of funny mommy moment pictures that people send in, and they post them. Every Tuesday they post a picture and have people leave their own "tag line" for it in the comment box. The winning tag line for the week gets $15 at amazon.com . Today's Tag line picture is of my BENSON:) Go check it out. I submitted the tag line "you want to stick that thermometer WHERE?" with my picture, but when I went to submit it officially today someone had already written that WORD. FOR. WORD...dang!
Come up with your own, and have some fun.

It's a Birthday

2011-05-30T14:53:00.000-06:00

Layla had a birthday, and now my baby girl is 4! For her birthday she wanted Kaiden and Kylie to go swimming with us, have a pizza party, and sleep over...and so it was. She got this pretty dress for Annabeths wedding before Annabeth really had colors, so the dress didn't end up matching the wedding colors, so the dress became her "birthday dress". This birthday was kind of stretched out over a week because of busy schedules, so we have lots of fun pictures.

This is my favorite! This picture is her response to "who is going to have a birthday this week?"

As you can see in those pictures...Layla is a ball of personality. She is so much fun to be around, and watch as she learns and grows. She is a princess (she wore that crown for a solid week), but she is a tom boy at the same time. The perfect combination of bugs and ballet.

Things I LOVE about Layla:
The way her little bum shakes from side to side when she runs.
the way she says a W when there is a L. "wipstick"
Her bold, sweet, energetic, tell it like it is personality.
I love (and hate) the way she sits down, shakes her bottom, and gets that certain look on her face when she needs to go potty.
I LOVE her skip/run.
I love it when she tries to comfort her brothers....older and younger.
Her imagination.
I love her beautiful eyes.
The list goes on and on and on, but in the end...I just love LAYLA.

San Diego Zoo - day 6

2011-05-28T14:22:00.000-06:00

We Cruised on down the coast to San Diego for a day, and visited the San Diego zoo. That place is ginormous! We rode the tram thing over the top of the zoo, the bus tour that takes you around, walked, and walked, and walked, and still didn't see everything. It was so beautiful! Not only to they have endangered and unusual animals, but they have incredible exotic plants and flowers. Craig, being the closet plantologist he is, enjoyed the plants more then the animals. The kids, on the other and, are very much into animal life right now. Half the time Layla is pretending to be one, so they ate the whole zoo experience up.

Day at the Beach - day 5

2011-05-26T13:59:00.000-06:00

I'm sure by now you have noticed that hairy animal growing on Craig's face, and are probably thinking the same thing I thought...why? Long story short, Craig lost a bet at work, sooooo...he had to grow a mustachio for the entire month of April. Now boys and girls, we know why we aren't supposed to make bets:)

After two long, exciting, sunshiny, amazing days in Disneyland...we were kind of pooped. We decided to spend the whole day hanging out on the beach. It was the first time the kids have been to a REAL live beach, so as you can imagine they were in heaven. Lisa and I walked down the board walk to check out the shops, and we found these star fish. A plan was hatched. We bought the star fish and snuck over to a rocky area, where we planted the two little specimens. The kids were busy looking at a sea urchin with Craig, so they totally didn't see us. I called to them to come look for shells with me, and within a couple of minute they both found a star fish...amazing! First Carter yelled out
"NO WAY! Mom, I found a star fish!" which got some heads to turn, then a minute later Layla screams "MOOOOOMMMM, I found one too!". All the other organic shell searchers where on top of us like flys on stink, with their jealous glances and stares in our direction. It was pretty hilarious if I do say so myself. One lady even told us we needed to report our find, hahaha.

The kids and Lisa where in the water doing this..

Craig and I were on the beach doing this...:)

Disney Land - day 3&4

2011-05-25T10:04:00.000-06:00

We spent day 3 & 4 at Disney Land. It was my first time going, and I couldn't believe how big it was. There was just sooo much to see and do, we almost wish we had 1 or 2 more days to spend at the parks. The first day we all did rides and stuff together all day(it was sooo fun), and headed back to the hotel for dinner around 6. Craig and I got the kids settled after dinner, and then the two of us headed back to the parks. We ran from ride to ride like we were little kids again....SO. MUCH. FUN! I love my Guy so much. The time we get to spend together is few and far between, so I treasure every moment we have. He works LLLOOOOOONG, hard hours at the Dealership, plus his responsibilities in the Bishopric, and all the other stuff he has going on, it just doesn't leave time for us to hang out. He works SO hard for us, and we love and appreciate him so much for doing it.

The second day we got a little later start. A. because we planned on being at the park late with the kids, & B. because Craig and I were tired. That day we rode on the rides all day again, went back to the hotel for dinner, and we all came back for the "world of Color" show in California Adventure. It was A to the Mazing!
Water, lasers, lights, fire, music, this show had it all. The kids loved it. After the show Craig was still feeling a tid bit sick from the tea cups, so he decided to turn in for the night with Layla and Benson. Carter, Lisa and I stayed until the park kicked us out around midnight. I loved the special attention Carter got that night from me, since he was the only kid there. We laughed until my sides hurt, he is the funniest kid ever.

I have a bazillion pictures that I want to post, so enjoy:)

I love this family Picture

happy Benson at the start of the day

...as the giant grasshopper prepares to eat their cute little heads off.

This was Carters favorite movie for at least 2 years of the 6 he has been alive, so it was fun to see him with his favorites.

Layla, you just gotta LOVE her.

I think this is such a cute picture

Grumpy Benson at the end of the day,this makes me laugh hard! "what are you lookin at"

sweet!

one of the few times I got to hold Layla

Layla and Lisa. Layla LOVES Lisa so much, she wouldn't even let me and Craig hold her hand or carry her most of the time. When I tried she would say "Oh, sorry Mom, Lisa is MY parter" as she ran back to Lisa.

This was one of my favorite moments. The kids were Sooooo excited to meet Mickey Mouse, and I loved the look on their faces when we walked into the room. I wish I had gotten a picture of their faces when they first saw him.

This is Laylas "I need a bathroom REALLY bad, but I don't want to miss anything fun" face.

Layla and HER partner.

Day 2

2011-05-24T13:23:00.008-06:00

The second day started in Vegas, we just walked around a little and looked for the more wholesome side of the strip that we could actually show the kids. haha.
As we left town we just HAD to stop at In-N-out to grab some of their greasy goodness, and off to Anaheim we went.

We met up with one of our Friends from Craig's mission, her name is Bobi. She is so good do Craig, and loves him like a close relative. We went to dinner with her at Ruby's, and I fell in love with their food. They have a great selection, and very family friendly environment with their 50's theme. I would recommend Ruby's on the pier if you find yourself in the neighborhood.

That night we got All settled into our rooms. We had two rooms that were connected. one for Lisa, Carter, and Layla, and another one for Benson, Craig, and me. After the kids were in bed Craig and I went to the grocery store to get supplies. We saved a ton of money on food by packing our own lunches, snacks, and water into the park. If you take your own lunch and snacks just remember no glass containers, and you won't have a problem. Something else we did that worked out well was our dinner plan. I prepared 4 Crock pot dinners at home before the trip, put them in bags, and froze them in the crock put. That way they were the right shape for it, and worked like ice blocks in the cooler since they were frozen solid. Each morning I would just put the meal in the crock put before we left the hotel, and when we came back at dinner time our meal was all ready for us. I bought a veggie tray, and some rolls, and we used those as the sides...viola, dinner on a budget.

Family Vacation

2011-05-24T11:34:00.009-06:00

About a year ago Carter asked us if we could all go to Disneyland. Craig told him that if he earned enough money to pay for his own 2 day pass ($110) then we would go...well, he did it. He has been so diligent and responsible with his money. I have been so impressed with him, and proud of his hard work and stick-to-it-ivness. Craig and I decided it would be really fun to bring our neighbor Lisa, who is 15, and our super ninja baby sitter. It was pretty much the best family vacation ever, and we all had an amazing time. We didn't have any major catastrophes, no broken bones, not even one item of luggage was lost...amazing! We kept our schedule loose, so we didn't have any stress about making it any where on time. It was lovely.

Husband with irritated look, Mom a Little too happy, baby screaming, 6 year old pouting, 3 year looking innocent...typical family snap shot.

Me and Lisa watching the fountain show

1 of 4 knows how to cheese it.

DAY 1

The first day we pretty much drove most of the day, but the kids all did a great job of not asking "are we there yet" every 5 minutes. we drove to Vegas, and checked in to our hotel, Treasure Island, and were very excited to find that we were on the 23rd floor, and had a great view of the pirate ship battle out our window. We had dinner in a rain forest restaurant, and Benson was pooped, so we settled the kids down for a movie after dinner. Lisa had never been to Vegas, so she and I walked down to watch the fountain show...that is my favorite thing in Vegas for sure. When we got back to the hotel Craig and the kids were all fast asleep, so we followed suit.

Twiners

2011-04-15T11:16:00.004-06:00

These are my Twin boys born 5 1/2 years apart. They love and adore each other, and Carter likes telling people Benson is his twin brother. It's funny to see Benson make all the same expressions carter used to make as a baby, but he has a personality all of his own. He is a sweet sweet baby, loves to chatter and laugh. Today Layla and Benson were playing and giggling together, I asked What she was doing and she said "we were just talking to each other in baby Spanish". Are you kidding me, that's the cutest thing I ever heard. Benson wakes us all up every morning with his squills and giggles, he is my little sunshine baby.

Jammies Day

2011-04-15T10:55:00.006-06:00

Every once in a GREAT while we will have a day where for whatever reason we don't have to be anywhere, and we like to call those days "Jammie Day". Such was the case on April first, everything I needed to do that day could be done from home, so none of us got dressed all day...and we loved every minute. This is what we did...

Built a snow lady

made funny faces

had a toe puppet show

read silly stories

made felt flowers

and played games on the computer.

I love days like this where we can just be, and love being with each other. These times seem to be fleeting, so I try to hold on tight to them when I can.

April Fools?

2011-04-15T09:48:00.002-06:00

One thing I've learned in my life is that God had a sense of Humor...and so should I. We woke up on April 1st to find snow, and we thought that was a great April fools joke. The kids rolled up almost every single little tiny piece of snow in our yard to make this snow man, but seeing how it was officially spring we just couldn't dress him in the typical scarf and had. Our snow man quickly became a snow lady when I broke out the luau decor which seemed more appropriate to me. At least we gave the passer buys something to smile about on that cold April fools day:)

princess!

2011-04-15T09:04:00.005-06:00

If you don't know Karen Hall you are missing out! She is one of the most creative, fun, hard working people I know, and the best Grandma Hall my kids ever had:) She planned this super cute activity for her ward for the Moms and girls, it was a princess tea party! Are you kidding me? That is basically every little girls dream to have a princess tea party with her Mommy!

The room was decorated just how you might imagine it, with the brightest most feminine colors and textures you can imagine...but all I could take pictures of was my own little princess. She was absolutely in HEAVEN! Can't you see it in her eyes!?! Layla giggled, danced, and skipped every where she went, it was the sweetest thing ever, and I couldn't take my eyes off of her. Karen had 4 long tables end to end lined up full of beads for the girls to make jewelry, 4 tables full of stuff to make headbands and hear flowers, and an area to make princess skirts. layla arrived at the tea party as a pink princess, and left as the Queen of red (which is totally her new thing by the way).

A great big Thank You to Karen for inviting us to her magnificent tea party (which was actually on her birthday), We love you very much Grandma Hall, and are so thankful to have you in our lives.

kids say the darndest things

2011-04-05T19:04:00.005-06:00

The other day when we had the balloon launch for Mom, Layla was looking up toward heaven blowing as hard as she could. Her face was turning read, and her little body was shaking because she was blowing SO HARD. I asked her what she was doing, she said "I just sent a kiss up to Grandma, and I want to make sure he gets to her". So sweet, it made me cry.

This story is most definitely inappropriate to share...but too funny not to. So I'm telling you now, if you are going to let yourself be offended...don't read it! Layla was in my room talking to me as I was getting dressed and ready for the day. I told her to turn around for a minute while I got dressed, but I guess she just had to peek. She suddenly stopped what she was saying mid sentence and exclaimed "Wow, you have REALLY fat ankles Mom!", I laughed and said "what?" as I turned to look at her. She then lifted up her shirt and said "my ankles are little, but I think they'll get fat when I'm a mama too". Haha, I don't have a clue why she thinks they are called ankles...but we'll just leave that one alone for now.

The other day I was at the pita pit (love it btw) with Carter. There were these two cute Hispanic families there, and they started talking to each other in Spanish. Carter looked at me and said "what language are they speaking?", I replied "That's Spanish". He considered that for a moment, and thoughtfully said "I wonder if they speak human?".

In a year

2011-03-29T22:57:00.004-06:00

It's times like this I really know I'm not a writer...because I don't know how to express what I'm feeling. I don't know how to say it, or even if I should. Will it be uncomfortable for you, the person reading this, if I write about feelings of sorrow, sadness, grief? Maybe, so if that's the case...you might just want to skip this one, and that is perfectly okay.

Don't say I didn't warn ya.

It had been a LONG, and emotional night. Judy and I had been working our booth at the spring fair all weekend, and we felt exhausted. Both physically, and emotionally. My swollen pregnant body ached, but not as much as my heart. I knew time was short. Mom had been in a "coma like state" for 4 days, but technically, she wasn't in a coma, because every once in a while she would reach...toward heaven. I wondered what, or who, she could see. Was it Amelia, my little sister that died during birth? Or maybe it was Great Grandma Nelson? Mom always loved her.

AS soon as the show was over we packed up our merchandise, and headed over to be with Mom. 5 of her 6 children were there, and my Dad. We gathered around her, and did our best to comfort her through her moans of agony...it broke my heart to see her that way. When she would slip back into sleep, we would slowly move back over to the table. We talked about all the incredible memories we had of Mom, and the mark she had left in so many hearts. Tears flowed down all our cheeks, happy and sad. we stayed until after 2:00am, and even than, debated staying longer. Somehow I made it home, and cried myself to sleep that night...I knew that was the last time I would be with my Mom in this life.

The next morning my phone rang at 6:58am,
"Hello" I said, as I slowly woke up.
"Sus, your going to want to come over here" I heard Joannes ever so strong and comforting voice say.
"Is she gone?" I asked.
Joanne began to cry "yes, she is gone".

I hung up the phone, and realized I was alone in my bed. Craig had already left to go to his bishopric meeting, I felt alone, oh, so alone. It was overwhelming, I couldn't bear it, and I HAD to have Craig. I NEEDED him with me, I longed for his comforting warm arms to embrace me like never before in our 8 years of marriage, 11 year courtship. I frantically called his cell phone...but there was no answer. I tried again, and again, and finally realized his phone was still there, in our room, ringing on the nightstand. I called the bishops cell phone, and he answered on the first ring, I asked to please talk to my husband as the blubbering tears began...the next thing I remember was Craig running to me, and we embraced in the hallway. He held me as my body trembled, and lovingly stroked my back. Not a word was spoken, nothing needed to be said. Slowly, but ever so surely, peace crept into my heart. I began to breath again, and was filled with an overwhelmingly undeniable feeling that everything was as it should be.

That was one year ago.

I have had an incredible amount of "life" happen in the past year, so much has changed. In some ways it still feels so fresh, like Mom just passed last week, but in other ways it feels like it has been years. It's kind of like I'm 'supposed' to be over it, moved on, life back to normal, but that just hasn't happened for me. Mainly, I think my 'normal' is just never going to be the same, so I have to make a new 'normal' for me, and for my little family. I really thought my heart would be healed by now, I mean, a year is a long time, but I guess some hearts need longer than others...and that's OK.

Mom always loved sunsets, and a good view. She taught me about this place with an amazing view, and I later taught that place to Craig...I'm pretty sure that wasn't what she had in mind when she showed it to to me, but hey, it was a great view:) Mom used to say "oh my word, that sunset is beautiful. Let's go watch it" or "Susie, there is great storm rolling in, lets go" and we would run and jump in the car to go watch from our spot. I went to our spot yesterday with the rest of the family, and we had a balloon release for Mom. The kids all wrote notes, or drew pictures for her, and we sent them off to heaven to find her.

Mom,
You know how much you mean to me, and how much I love you. When I look at our perfect little Benson I'm filled with love, but sometimes a little sadness creeps in knowing that you never got to hold him. I miss you always telling my kids how wonderful, smart, cute, fast, and amazing they are...and you telling me. I miss you Mom, so much, and I'm pretty sure that will never change, but we are good...moving forward. I'm so grateful for the pure love you gave to me, and everyone you came in contact with. you taught me so many lessons, in so many areas. Not a day goes by that I don't think "what would Mom do?" or "what would Mom say?" Thank you for your example. Because you did your job so well, we are all going to be ok here, until we meet you again.
Love, Susie

rely on my dreams

2011-03-28T17:21:00.001-06:00

It's a party

2011-03-22T22:47:00.010-06:00

Last summer the kids and I decided to make one last trek to Boise before Baby Benson made his grand debut. During the course of our visit Carter discovered that Boise had a Chuck E. Cheeses. Not only did they have one, but his oldest cousin worked there. That was it, his mind was set, he was going to spend his next birthday at Chuck E. Cheeses in Boise. If you know Carter at all, you know determination and persistence are two of his strong areas.
Month after month Carter would talk about how great his 6th birthday was going to be in Boise, with his cousins, at Chuckies. Craig and I tried talking him into going to outer limits here in town, or having a friend party, or going to Idaho Falls chukies, all without success.

Carter got his wish, we went to Boise, and chuck e cheese. Lucky for us, biggest cousin was working that night (and part of his job is to wear the mouse costume), so Carter got lots of extra attention...and tokens:) And as if that weren't all great enough, all of his cousins gave him their tickets...so he hat LOTS, and got some fun prizes. He was in Heaven, and kept saying over and over "that was the best birthday EVER" with emphasis on the "EVER". Thank you to all of you that helped make that night so magical for Carter. It is one I think he'll always remember.

While we were in Boise we went rock climbing at the Y, and to my surprise Carter climbed all the way to the tippy top of the rope ladder. Layla saw that little bell at the top of the wall, and looked up at me with big eyes while she exclaimed "I'm going to ring that bell MOM"....she did. It was absolutely unbelievable! the room of people waiting to climb was filled with cheers as we all watched this amazing little 3 year old girl, with the focus of a tiger on the prowl, climb to her goal...the bell. She rang that bell with pride, and then she looked down for the first time from the top of the 35 foot wall. Layla kept her composure, but she definitely didn't know what to do, she froze. After a few minutes and coaxing she made it back down, and I was one proud little Mama. What amazing children I get to spend my life with.

side note: notice the red ribbon Carter is wearing in all the pictures. It says "I am 6" he wore that ribbon ALL WEEK, it was Hill-a-rious. He was SO proud of himself for turning 6:)

any ideas?

2011-03-10T10:49:00.003-07:00

Hey, I want to change the color of my backgound behind my posts and stuff, but I can't see where to do that. Anyone know? I would love the help, because my blog is NOT looking so hot right now. Sorry if it hurts your eyes to look at it.

Surprise!

2011-03-10T10:17:00.006-07:00

We had a Surprise party for Karen, Craigs Mom, and it was super fun. I was in charge of decorating, and we wanted to do a luau theme for it. I had a few decorations of my own, but we all know the true decorations queen is the one and only miss Karen Hall. So the trick was to get her decorations without spoiling the surprise.
I told a little fib, and said I needed them for preschool, mission accomplished.
The party was at the daws house, so we went over early and went crazy with decorating. It was really fun, and I won't lie...it looked AWESOME!
Everyone worked together to make the surprise happen, and it all worked out. Karen was totally shocked when she openend her eyes and saw everyone there. It was the first Surprise party she had ever had, and you could tell she loved it. I have so much respect and love for my Mother in law, and have been so thankful for her in my life...especially the past year. She just seems to know when I need that Motherly hug, or a little break from my perfectly sweet children.
Love you Karen, and thank you for being a wonderul Grandma to my chickies.

snow fort

2011-03-10T10:09:00.005-07:00

We had this big snow storm the other day that left us with the perfect kind of snow for making a fort, and the best part...Craig was home to make it. Yay. Craig and the kids worked outside while Benson and I made them cookies and hot chocolate, good trade don't you think? They ended up with two, that's right 2 snow castles. After they built the castles the kids "decorated" them with pine cones and pop cans...so classy, right? Is Craig the best Dad in the world or what? I say yes, he wins the prize.

Benson

2011-03-10T10:01:00.002-07:00

My goodness, where does time go? It's hard to believe, but Benson is six months old already. He is such a little ray of sunshine. He loves to sit with us whatever we are doing, whatever time of day. The other night I was holding him, and apparently his dinner didn't sit well with him, because it all ended up back on me. The picture doesn't to it justice, but it was a good one. We love our little Benson.

hanging our with Grandma

2011-03-10T09:55:00.003-07:00

The same week Dad and Ann got married, Grandma Anna had a health scare. She thought it was here time to go, but we talked her into staying a little longer:)That grandma, she is a party animal, and doesn't want to miss out on the fun. We told her that if she went now, she would miss out on all kinds of fun this summer, and that did the trick. Thank goodness, we love her so much, and Cherish all the time we get to spend with her. This was one night the kids and I were hanging out with her, and she read stories to Carter and Layla.

Dad got hitched

2011-03-10T09:14:00.006-07:00

on January 7, 2011 My Dad, Gregory Romriell, married Ann Meyers. It was the first time we had ALL (me and my siblings) been together since our Moms funeral. We had lot's more fun together this time, but the presance of our Mom was still very missed. It's a strange thing to have your parent re-marry, one of those situations where you don't really know how to act...kind of like a funeral, Just kidding. When people ask me how I feel about my Dad getting married I just say "I'm happy for him, his wife is a really nice lady" which is true, but I have actually gone through a whole range of emotions, and it hasn't all been easy for me to accept. That being said, I am happy for my Dad and Ann, and truely hope they have both found the companionship and love they deserve. They are both such wonderful people, and have so much to offer.
At the wedding I found out the meyers and Romriells have one thing in common...they are both very late...for everything. When the time came for the wedding party to go in the cealing room, Craig and I were the only kids there from my side of the family, and I think only 1 or 2 (out of 9) of Anns kids were there, haha. Needless to say, the wedding didn't happen on time... at all. I feel bad because Craig and I had to rush back to the hotel after the wedding to save Cameron (nephew) from the kids, as a result I don't have any temple pictures. Sad.
After the wedding my siblings, grandpa, uncles, and aunts all went to our hotel and partied. The kids and I made signs for all our family members doors so we could find each other. We swam in the pool, and had a surprise Birthday party for Annabeth. The kids had so much fun with their cousins, and the grown ups stayed up till after 1am talking. It was a great weekend.

extreme fun

2011-03-10T09:05:00.004-07:00

There is this really fun place to take the kids when it's to cold to play outside. It's called Randy's extreme, and it's this gym with a climbing wall, foam pit, trampolines, and all kinds of other fun things. We took the kids there the day after Christmas for some good times.

buck up

2011-03-04T15:51:00.002-07:00

So, I'm really far behind on my blog! I have so much to catch up the blog on, and so little time to do it. I'm kind of in this place where I don't want to write about what is going on right now in my life, because I still haven't written about what happened 3 months ago. blaa, so here is my game plan...I'm going to buck up. I'll put pictures of things we have done, places we have gone, and if your lucky you might even get a short explanation:) I have LOTS on my mind lately, and it's so therapeutic to write about it, so the goal is to be able to do that again...after we are all up to date and everything:) Hang with me, it will be worth it in the end..maybe.

Christmas Morning

2011-01-31T14:24:00.006-07:00

The scene was set. Each ornament carefully hung, and each gift carefully placed under the glowing tree. The Stockings were filled with love, and other treats, while the warm plate of cookies were enjoyed. Everything was perfect, and ready for our children to awake, and fill the house with excitement. Craig and I layed in our warm cozy bed waiting to hear the squills of joy drift into our room as the kids saw what Santa had left for them in the night. We waited...and waited some more. I checked the clock and it was 7:30, so I crept upstairs to get a look..no one stirred. Craig and I got the video camera all set up, ate breakfast, and started to get bored. The kids finally woke up at 9:15! They stayed up so LATE on Christmas eve trying to catch Santa that they just couldn't open their eyes, hahaha.
We took our time opening gifts, and simply enjoyed every minute. My Dad and Annabeth stopped in a little later, and he read the kids a sweet Christmas story. We eventually got dressed and spent the rest of the day with the Hall family playing games, eating good food, and laughing. Life was good

Thanksgiving

2011-01-31T14:21:00.002-07:00

This is a shot we got from our Romriell Thanksgiving, and I thought it was too cute to pass, so here it is.

Halloween...way after the fact

2011-01-31T13:06:00.004-07:00

I was just fixing to print my 2010 blog book when I realized a couple key posts where missing...because I never wrote them, oops. How could I possibly leave out Halloween? Riddle me this will ya? We had a super fun Halloween this year. We spent it hanging out with grandma Anna, trunk or treating, carving pumpkins, visiting the pediatric unit, and eating LOTS of candy.
We started a new tradition this year. We were hanging out at Grandma Annas house with the Tolman crew when Judy announced to her family that they better go so they would have time to visit the pediatric unit at the hospital. I asked why they were going to the hospital, and she told me about their Halloween tradition. After all the trunk or treating, games, and parties are over they go to the hospital to trick or treat the sick kids. But, the "trick" is that they give half of their candy to the sick kids instead of asking for it. I thought this was a brilliant idea! The kids that don't get to trick or treat still get to enjoy some of the sweetness and fun of the holiday, and my kids learn to give...plus they will only be on a sugar high for half the time:)win/win. I love it.

Carters Creations

2011-01-13T22:23:00.004-07:00

Carter has been working on his artistic skills for a while now, and he has been so much fun to watch as he grows and develops into an "artist". He comes up with something new almost every day. Sometimes he will have a common theme for a while, and then he will change it up. He has kind of been on a Dragon kick lately, but here are some other things he has done.

The other day I was putting Carters laundry away in his room and I noticed this sign hanging on his wall. I laughed my head off, so I had to share it.
no running
no eating
no jupin (jumping)
no mesis (messes)
no mooveng (moving his toys)
no staken (stacking)
no crans (crayons on the floor)
no Layla
no visudrs (visitors, but he turned the no into a yes:)

First Hair Cut

2010-12-12T19:16:00.003-07:00

Benson was born with this amazing Hair. It was kind of a combination of gold, and this beautiful brown color. We couldn't tell if he would go light like Carter, or dark like Layla. His hair grew and grew, and I didn't want to cut it, because I loved it so much. After weeks a Craig commenting on Benson's old man comb over I finally gave it, and gave grandma a call.
Grandma Hall has given all our kids their first haircut, so we wanted to keep with tradition. I got a couple of before and after photos for you to enjoy. In Benson's defense, he isn't really making that funny face ALL The TIME, but he does it almost every time he sees the light on my camera...and we like to laugh about it. Love you Benson.
Thank you Grandma Hall for being wonderful, and taking good care of us. We love you lots.

Little Dancer

2010-12-08T17:21:00.004-07:00

Layla started dance lessons this year with 3 of her sweet little friends. They had their Christmas show last weekend, and they were super cute. If I can figure out how to post it I will. Let me just say, Layla was hilarious! I love this little angel so much, and love to watch her grow.

Oh Christmas Tree

2010-12-08T17:08:00.002-07:00

The other night we planned to decorate our Christmas tree, but making ginger breat houses took way longer than planned. So, plan B, we could do it the next night.
The next night Craigs old boss surprised us that he wanted to take us out for dinner, so we went to plan C...the next night.
That night Craig had to go to mutual, so we thought we could do it when he got home. We had a string of visitors after he got home, one of which was our Stake President (We got a new Bishopric on Sunday, so Craig was released as the first Counselor...for 5 minutes, before they put him back in with the new Bishop). By the time we were ready to do the tree it was pretty late, but we knew it wouldn't happen any other night that week, so we pressed forward.
It was fun to hear Craig tell the kids about all of his old ornaments, and to watch the kids try to find the perfect branch for each one. I love so many things about Christmas, and decorating the tree is at the top of my list.

ginger bread houses, mobile homes, and out houses

2010-12-05T15:08:00.002-07:00

Grandpa and Grandma Hall came over the other night, and we made gingerbread houses...the easy kind, with grahm crackers in stead of gingerbread. We kind of paired off into 3 teams, the Grandparents team, the girl team, and the boy team. When we were done we ended up with an out house from the grandparent team, a mobile home from the girl team, and a cute little house whith a car from the boy team...who would have thought.

A thanksgiving song..kind of

2010-11-27T07:46:00.000-07:00

I hope you had a great Thanksgiving...I know I did. This year was my families turn to have us for Thanksgiving, and all four sisters were able to make it, but neither of the brothers. I was nervous a little, because we haven't ever prepared a thanksgiving dinner without my Mom to head it up, but I think she would be proud of us. We pulled it together, and it was beautiful. The children, the mayflower replicas made out of paper placed on the tables as centerpieces, the hand made name plates at each table setting, the hand cut napkin rings with turkeys, Pilgrims, and Indians on them, the sparkling lights filling the room from the disco ball slowly spinning on the ceiling, and last but not least...the food. Oh the food. We ate like kings and queens...and princess of course (Layla was there you know).

The only thing that could have made it better would have been to have the rest of my family there. I knew before hand that a couple families wouldn't be able to come, so I recorded this little jig for them. My brother in law had his projector set up for the kids to watch movies in one room, so we played this on it after our feast.

It is kind of a scary thing to write a song, and share it with others, because it can be such a personal thing. In this case, it definitely is. I wrote "rely on my dreams" about my Mom after she passed away, and I didn't think I would ever share it with people, but I built up the nerve to record it for my family. I thought it would be a nice tribute to Mom, and help us all keep her in our thoughts on this day to be grateful. We do have so much to be grateful for in this year of trials. It has been a tough one for all of us, but I can see that we have been so incredibly blessed through our trials, and are coming out of them with deeper understanding, strength, gratitude, respect, and love.

After hearing the song, one of my sisters has been convincing me to share it. I have to say, I had a cold and was starting to lose my voice when I sang this...so it's not the best, but I hope the message can still touch your heart. Maybe remind you of someone you have loved, and are separated from for now.