More baptism

Alyssa felt like an angel (or a princess) in her white baptism dress.

I think she looked like one too!

She received a set of scriptures of her very own for her birthday.

The little bow in her hair was the same bow that was tied around her wrist on the day she was blessed. It will be kept safe until her wedding day where we will somehow incorporate it into her third white dress.

Alyssa radiates goodness.

She is kind, gentle and such a happy little girl.

Yep, she's definitely going here someday.

I can't wait!

Homecoming

After a day of rafting down the Provo River, Kara came racing home to get ready for her first date dance. She had 50 minutes to get ready. That is not really a lot of time for a girl, especially after rafting in dirty water all day. With Rylee as our personal hair professional and 20 minutes left until pick up, we thought all was well. She was actually going to make it....until the doorbell rang. Her date came 20 much needed minutes early. I was dying, as I tried to entertain him upstairs (do you want to watch some Nascar?). Kara and Rylee were dying as her hair was only half done and her date was probably dying because they needed to be someplace at 7 (There was a mis-communication about the pick up time). Rylee did an amazing job fixing and kind of finishing the 1/2 done hair, we threw on the dress and she ran upstairs.

Her date was a football player, fellow student council member, and a good friend- Grant or "Baby G". Despite the rushed departure and the fact that I barely had time to even get this picture, she was happy, looked beautiful, and was looking forward to a great night.

And then she was off. My little girl all grown up. When did it happen? I don't know, but it sure is fun to watch her experience all the great things about being a teenager, being in High School, and being a fabulous young woman. I'm loving every minute of it and I hope she is too!

Thoughts on a Sunday

*This is one of my favorite weekends of the year. I love General Conference. I decided this weekend that I really think we should start having Conference 4 times a year. I think I will write to the Prophet and tell him that. I love the counsel that is given. I love being at home with my family. And I love the spirit that I feel and the desire I have to be better. Yep, I could use that at least 4 times a year.

*We are now at the time of year where soccer and football seasons overlap for about 2-3 weeks. It is madness because that means we have about 10 games a week. It is crazy and busy and exhausting and my boys are loving every minute of it. Me, not so much.

*Speaking of soccer, Ethan came home from one of his practices and told me that his coach told the team they would be moving up a level next season because they were so good. His exact words, "the people who made soccer said we are moving up to play 8 year olds." Wow, I didn't know the people who made soccer had time to watch some little 6 year olds running around, but I guess they do because the rumor was actually true. Gotta love those Lemonheads!

*Three of my boys need new church shoes. Every Sunday they squeeze their rapidly growing feet into their old church shoes and complain all the way to church. I promise every Sunday that I will buy them new church shoes THIS week and then I forget, because I am not thinking about church shoes during the week. It's a vicious cycle-you get the picture. Needless to say, they still don't have new church shoes. I am going to try really hard to remember this week.

*I have been nesting like crazy lately. I am cleaning out closets and garages and drawers like a mad woman. You would think I am having a baby or something. I am definitely not, but am acting like I am. There's not much I love more than a clean, organized clutter free house. Mine is getting there. I love getting rid of things, de-junking and simplifying my life. It feels good.

*Ethan and Ashlyn have been playing so good together lately. Every morning after the kids go to school they trot on up to the playroom and just play. They play a lot of barbies (Eto is always an animal, never a barbie), school, cars whatever. I love to just listen to them pretend and be friends. It warms my heart and allows me to get ready each morning in peace. It is wonderful.

*One of Alyssa's favorite things to do is play church. Today she played "conference." The only difference between church and conference is that she added a pearl necklace to her dress up dress like the General Primary President wore in her talk. She then gave a pretend talk about a person who died. I asked her what her gospel point in the talk was. She said there wasn't one, the person just died! Oh well, I guess she isn't totally ready for the big pulpit just yet.

*I have started Christmas shopping. I actually started over a month ago. It makes me happy. I am ready for the holidays to start. My little pile of presents in my closet is starting to grow. Yea!

*On a very sad note I lost Nanny McPhee. Nanny McPhee, the very appropriate nickname for my mouthguard, is gone. I have searched high and low for her. I tore my bed and bedroom apart looking for her. She is really gone. It's too bad too, because she cost over $300! Ouch!

And those are just a few of my million thoughts this week!

More Bling

Because I am so new at blogging, I can't figure out how to put more than 5 pictures on each post. I had more "Bling it On" pictures that I wanted to document. So here they are.

My supply table and goody bags. In the goody bags I had emerald soda (just green soda), a ring pop, gushers (which are shaped like jewels), razzles, jewel rings, and some little candy bars.

The blinged out table. Black table cloth with silver confetti stars, big diamond jewels, netting and Alyssa's three tiaras. Silver balloons.

One of my favorite touches, that probably went unnoticed by the party goers. The jewel glued onto the end of the spoon!

The end result of the "Bling it On" party. Lots of bling, glittery nails and 6 very happy 8 year old girls!

Bling it On!

When I asked Alyssa what kind of birthday party she wanted, she said, "I don't know, something with jewels and stuff." That's not much to go on, jewels and stuff, but I brainstormed and came up with the "Bling it On" party and it was a great success!

We started out the party by making some bracelets and anklets. We had to start getting our bling on. It was so easy. I had a big bag of diamond jewels from a previous project that I dumped in a bowl. Then I put masking tape inside out on their wrists and ankles and they stuck the jewels onto the tape. They loved it. (By the way, kara made one and wore it to school and got tons of compliments on it!

We then talked about birthstones, they picked their birthstone from a little jewel jar and then we glued them onto the silver happy birthday hats I found at the dollar store. We then added more bling to our faces by putting sticker jewels by their eyes.

It still wasn't enough bling, so they went on a diamond hunt in the basement (after an explanation that you have to mine for diamonds) where they found their honkin diamond rings (Walmart) and then another hunt in the living room for a cheesy dollar sign necklace.

When they were adequately blinged out we played princess princess where's your jewel (just like doggy doggy where's your bone) where they had to guess who had the diamond and the ruby.

They were assigned jewel names like ruby, pearl, opal etc. and had to go by those names for the entire party (the girl who was named opal wasn't totally happy about her name:)) After cake and ice cream and opening presents the final activity was to get glitter nails. They picked their color and the final touch to all the sparkly fun was their beautiful glittery manicure! There was definitely a lot of BLING at this party.

Fridays Favorites- My Scout drawer

I am completely involved in Scouts. I have to be with 4 boys. I don't really have a choice. What I do have a choice on is how I approach the whole scouting thing, my attitude about it and how my feelings towards scouts will affect my boys. I made the choice when Tyler started 6 years ago to love Scouts. And I really do. I love Scouts. I truly believe my boys are better boys because of scouting. They have been exposed to things they never would have without scouts. They have learned a lot. I have learned a lot. We have learned together and most of it has been really fun. (For example, the dentistry merit badge. How can it be bad for a boy to learn how to really take care of their teeth, what happens if you don't, and about a possible career in dentistry. It was one of my favorites!)

Scouting, in my opinion, does require a little bit of organization. When we started I didn't know what I was doing. A great lady in my ward gave me a sheet of paper with her scouting suggestions on it. I have clung to those suggestions and my path along the scout trail with my boys has been a lot easier because of it. One suggestion was to have a scout drawer. I followed that suggestion and have been so glad I did. I put everything in it. All the scout books, any merit badge earned, merit badge worksheets, merit badge books, calendars from each den. This way I always know where my stuff is. I just recently had to help Tyler fill out his Eagle application. We went to the scout drawer and had all the info we needed right there. It was a lifesaver and saved tons of time. My very full and overflowing scout drawer is definitely one of my favorite things!

Tradition Tuesday-Autumn is in the Air

Every fall we pile into our car and head up the canyon on our annual leaf drive. We usually do it on Conference weekend, but the last couple of years that has been a little too late and we missed some of the best leaves so this year we did it a little earlier. It was a beautiful Sunday in September. We cranked the church music on the radio and winded our way through the majestic mountains of Utah.

The kids love to point out all the different colors of leaves.

Red, yellow, orange and green.

The views are breathtaking and every time we go we feel blessed to live only

5 minutes away from this canyon and these sights.

We always stop and the kids collect some of their favorite leaves as we breath the fresh mountain air and take in the beauty of Heavenly Father's creations. We love the fall. We love our leaf drive (despite some bouts of car sickness). We love this world we live in.

We'll be back.

We'll definitely be back!

Until next year!

Thoughts on a Sunday

*Kara asked someone to Preference this week. It is not until November. We happened to be at the mall for another reason and we stumbled upon a formal dress for $10! Of coarse, I bought it. We have nicknamed it Banana. And you know what? So far, banana is looking like the number one choice!


*Ashlyn's new word is freaky. "Mom this barbie looks freaky." "Mom it is freaky in here." "Mom, the song 'Thriller' is so freaky!" Where did this come from? She's 3!

* I got a ticket this week. Five of the kids were in the car with me. I think they were scared to death. Ethan was in tears because he thought I was going to jail. I was nearly in tears because I just don't need this right now and it has been a really long time since I have gotten a ticket. It was not a happy morning.

*I am trying the new Avon revitalist anti-aging serum because I am an old lady. It is supposed to make you look ten years younger. So far, nobody has mentioned that I look younger. Actually, one man at church told me I looked like I was 18. Does it count that his wife sold me the magic serum and he was standing right there when I bought it? I didn't think so.

*Brandon made himself a tinfoil yamika. He wore it to Scouts. Is that sac religious?

*Tyler had his first flag football game on Tuesday. I am so happy to say that the fun is back in football , just as it should be. Such a contrast to last year's tackle football experience. He had so much fun and scored 3 out of the 4 touchdowns. It's going to be a great season!

*I went to help in Bryson's class this week. When I walked in, one kid asked, "Whose mom are you?" I told her I was Bryson's mom. She said, "Oh, Bryson sure doesn't talk much." Nope he doesn't! He really just doesn't.

*It's very hard to get anything done around the house when you have soccer games all day on Saturday and soccer and football games every week night. Trevor and I agree that we definitely need one more day of weekend to be able to check anything off our very long to do list.

*I've been reading Little House on the Prairie to the little ones. Sometimes I wish I lived back then. Sometimes. This week I spent a good part of the week dealing with peaches. Canning and making jam and peach pies, I connected a little with "Ma Ingles' this week because I felt very old fashioned as I canned and stuff. I think I might have my kids start calling me "Ma."

And those are my thoughts in a nutshell!

Friday's Favorites -Get a bowl..quick!

Years ago when one of our oldest kids got sick for the first time, we had minutes before the big upheaval. I yelled for Trevor to grab a bowl. To my utter disgust he came running up the stairs with my saucepan in his hand! A big silver pot with a handle was his choice for the barf bowl and he got there with seconds to spare. (He could have at least brought the lid along so we could cover up the vomit!) Sick! Now was I expected to just wash it out and then go cook up some soup or stroganoff or something? I don't think so. Since that sickness we have also had many episodes where we have had more than one kid sick at the same time. I sometimes felt like we were ships passing in the night, each with a full bowl in hand headed to different bathrooms to empty, rinse and return.

One saucepan could not have handled that sickness.

So now, some of my favorite things are my throw up bowls. I got them at the dollar store. I have 6 of them. They are kept upstairs, where all the bedrooms are and hence all the sick kids would be. They are next to the towels which are also a necessity during this type of sickness. The kids have written messages on some of them with sharpies, like 'feel better soon' or 'it stinks to be sick' The best part, we don't have to eat our food out of them when they are not being used! Thank you very much.

And yes, I tidied the closet before I took this picture.

I sure wish it still looked that way.

Shoeless Joe

ONE of the many things we did on our wonderful vacation to Oregon was to visit the beautiful Oregon Zoo with our fabulous hosts Uncle Brian, Aunt Sarah, McKay, and Ellery. We had a great time (so great in fact, that the kids didn't even hesitate when I asked them to do "jazz hands" for this picture.).

We enjoyed the bear exhibit, which coincidentally, was the temporary home for the bears from our own Utah Hogle Zoo. We think they were happy to see some familiar faces and also don't know how they will go back to their boring Hogle Zoo home after living in this lush environment.

We feasted on elephant ears, which were delicious, and thoroughly enjoyed our day until "the shoe incident." We were all admiring the zebras and about to move on the the next animal when Brandon noticed a random little shoe that had fallen into the zebra home. We all laughed and felt sorry for the poor kid who only had one shoe at the zoo. We all decided that not having a shoe at the zoo was quite possibly the grossest thing ever. We then moved on to the giraffe enclosure. After we looked at the elegant giraffes we were ready to move on when Ethan came running up crying that he had dropped his shoe. We assumed he was joking; what a funny kid. Nope, no joke. Ethan had actually dropped his shoe in the giraffe cage RIGHT after we had talked about and laughed about the poor kid who had done it at the zebra cage. We could see the lonely little flip flop way down on the ground, but there was absolutely no way to retrieve it.

Ethan was beside himself.

The rest of us were disgusted!

There was nothing we could do. He kept begging us to get the "zoo keeper", who in Ethan's mind could fix anything at the zoo. We never found a zoo keeper and our poor little Eto walked all over the rest on the zoo with only one shoe. GROSSEST THING EVER! One of the funniest things was one time I saw him trying to hop on one foot. Unfortunately, he was hopping on the shoeless foot while holding his lone flip flop leg up in the air. Hopefully, some other family will get a good laugh when they see that little flip flop at the bottom of the giraffe cage, and feel sorry for the poor boy who had to walk around the zoo with only one shoe!

Tradition Tuesday-The Utah State Fair

I don't think a year has gone by since I married Trevor, that we haven't gone to the State Fair. Every September we make the trek, rain or shine. Last year it was rain. Right as we pulled up it started to pour. Really pour. We were not deterred. We ate our dinner under a very full and dripping tarp, huddled close together for warmth. We sloshed around in the water mixed with hay mixed with I don't want to know what else in all of the animal barns. Our hair, jeans and shoes were all wet. And believe it or not, this trip was the one my kids remember the most, a really great memory.

It also might be because they got to hold an alligator that night too,

in the pouring rain.

This year when we went it was blue skies and perfect temperatures. We did everything we always do. We looked at all the animals including the cows who REALLY needed to be milked, the goats with no ears, the rabbits, chickens and, of course, the pigs with their piglets (the favorite). We admired the giant vegetables, examined all the crafty entries, especially the Lego ones where every year we swear we could make something so much cooler. We marvelled at the giant sculpture made out of butter. We browsed the vendor shops and then we ate.

Actually, we ate the whole time and this year took it to a whole new level. We ate all of the stuff we brought from home, popcorn, licorice, cookies, and soda. Then we purchased the traditional funnel cakes. This year, because Uncle Mark was with us, we added fresh cherry lemonade, huge chicken legs (sick!), and the new favorite- hot, fresh, buttered corn on the cob. We were like Templeton from Charlotte's Web.

It was disgusting and great all at the same time.

And then to end the fun filled evening at the fair, we took the traditional zip down the big yellow slide! It's a must. The only ride our kids know they can go on, or the only one they know we will pay for.

I can never get a good picture of the big yellow slide. By the time I get all situated they are already down and I always forget the flash (How about those eyes on Ashie?). Oh well, maybe next year at the great

UTAH STATE FAIR!

Thoughts on a Sunday

Since I started blogging, I haven't written in my kids journals. I am OK with this because blogging is so much more fun and I can put pictures with the stories. But, the one thing I miss is writing down the little things, the day to day occurrences and the funny things that don't necessarily have a picture to go with it. I have nowhere to document those and so I will attempt to start my thoughts on a Sunday like my wonderful sister Sarah. In time, I hope to come up with my own original name for it, but until then, here are my thoughts on a Sunday:


*Tyler went to his first Stake dance last night. He really didn't want to go and has had no interest in dances whatsoever. But, he has good friends and they forced him to go. He almost backed out when he found out it was church dress, but after reluctantly putting on his shirt and tie he shuffled out the door. He came home at about 11 and I think I detected a little spring in his step. He actually enjoyed himself. And after claiming he wasn't going to slow dance at all, he ended up dancing every single slow dance. I am proud of him and so very thankful for his friends who didn't give up on him.

*Kara went to a missionary farewell today for one of her friends. Is she really that old? I so remember the days of going all over the stake to my friends farewells. Those were good times.

*I made my second attempt to potty train Ashlyn this week. It didn't go well. When your daughter holds her pee for 12 hours one day and 18 hours the next you just have to give up. It was either that or have her bladder explode. I chose to give up. She had actually become kind of depressed and lethargic during the process. Today, being back in a diaper, she is happy as a clam, laughing and chatting and running around the house without a care in the world. I put the singing potty chair back up in the closet....again. I don't know when we'll see him again.

*Ethan has scored 3 goals so far this season. He is thrilled. He keeps telling everyone he has scored 3 goals in his whole life! He loves soccer and is enjoying his team, the Lemonheads, very much.

* I have been so busy this week that I haven't had much time to talk to my sisters. I miss them.

*It's caselot time and so my food storage room is overflowing with boxes of cereal and canned goods that need to be put away. I still wish we didn't have to eat, so that I didn't have to go through my food storage and actually rotate it. But we do eat, we eat a lot, so I am grateful for these caselot sales that help keep my pantry stocked.

*Trevor and I went on a date last night. It was the first one in a long time. We needed it. We went out with some friends. We ate and talked and laughed a lot. Just like I am thankful my kids have good friends, I am thankful we have good friends. They uplift and inspire me. I wish we could do it more.

Until next week!