Almost there.

I'm soooo happy! We finally get to have the wood floors refinished tomorrow. We have to move into a hotel for 3 days because of the chemicals they will be using. It should be interesting. We were able to get all of the drywall done and carpet in. After this we just have the master bath to finish and we will be back to normal around here. I guess I'd better go finish up the laundry so we can get packed. Here's how the walls look today, I can't wait to finally get to post the after pictures.

good ol' family fun!

One of K' spelling words this week is Rocket. We always look over the words on Monday and think of any clues to help us remember the word. One of his words was rocket so I said just remember E.T. came to earth on a rocket, so it's rock and E.T. together. (I know technically it's a spaceship, but I needed it to work for the situation). Both K and J asked me "who the heck is E.T.) seriously are you kidding me, my kids don't know E.T.?! It's a classic. I told them a little bit about it and they have talked non-stop about the movie ever since. Well tonight since we don't get FHE on Monday's with R's work schedule we had it tonight. I went to Target and bought E.T. while the kids were at school. Then for dinner we sent to sonic (kid meals are only $1.49 on Wednesday, ya can't beat that), then we came home, put a sheet on the floor and watched E.T. We had a short lesson in there too about making good choices. :)

Here we are just about to start the movie. R had to leave for Young Mens before it was over, but we sure had fun together, and the kids loved the show. I had forgot there was some yucky phrases in it, but other than that we loved it. Even little B was into it and kept meowing at it with a question sound in her meow. :) She wasn't sure what sound to make until he learned to speak.

Update

To view the blog I talked about below just click on the title New Blog and it will take you to the scrapbook site. Or it's on my side bar under The Happy Scraps.

New Blog

I've been thinking for quite sometime that I was going to start a scrapbooking blog to put some of my pages, card and other paper crafts that I love doing. Well I never got around to doing it so when Amy invited me to join her darling scrapbook blog I was sooooo exctied. She is so talented and a huge inspiration to me. Anytime I am stuck on a page she always has a fresh new perspective and great ideas. Any of you scrappers out there reading this go check out or blog, and feel free to join us in the weekly challenges that we started. The challenge this week was to make a card using only scraps. It was a lot of fun and so nice to use up some of those papers I've been holding on to forever. If you'd like to see the cards I made go check it out.

Motivation

One of our favorite things to do on Sunday Evenings is to sit and watch our home videos. Well yesterday we were watching the star wars party we had last year for K's birthday. HOLY COW! I've decided that for me the best motivation to keep me physically active is to stick in that disc. I know it sounds silly, but I had no clue I was that big. I should have done an Ocean themed party and been the whale, cuz that's what I looked like. Anyway. This morning I got up and was out the door running at 6:16. It was great. The neighborhood was still quiet the weather was beautiful and it was just so nice to get out and get 'er done first thing. I love starting my day like this and hope I keep it up. Wish me luck!

New tradition

In our last ward our Bishop and his wife had 7 kids. Once a month they would take one of their kids with them out on a date. The child gets to pick where they eat, and then they usually do something fun together afterwards. They have such great kids and you can tell they really enjoy being together, even the teenagers. I have always loved that idea. R and I have decided to start it with our kids and had our first date on Friday with J.

It was soooo cute. R talked to J about being a gentleman and always opening the door for a lady, especially on a date. :)

I wish you could see the grin he had on his face here. It was darling. Such a sweetie.

R also taught J how to pick and place his order. He felt very grown up.

After dinner we took J to Rawhide and had some western pictures taken. He was sooooo darling. He loved it and the excitement was just bubbling over during the photo shoot. The photographer got a kick out of him.

As we were leaving all on his own J picked this flower and ran up to me and said "this is for you since we are on a date". What a sweetie.

I love you little man and hope you never grow too "cool" to go out with mom and dad. We sure had fun with you and love to hear all of your many, many stories!

Spelling words

I can not get over some of the words K has in spelling. This week he had appreciate. That just seems really big to me for a 2nd grader. :) We work really really hard on his words all week long. Today when K got home from school I asked him how he thinks he did on his test. He said "well it was a little easy but a lot of hard". What a cutie!

Happy Birthday little sweeties!

Two of my nieces had a birthday this month so here's a shout out to them. They are both darling little girls. I wish we lived closer to them and they could know how cool their Aunt D really is. :)

First is my sister Becki's baby Kate. She is one now. Holy cow. She's getting so big and is so darling. =

Next is my brother Ric's little girl Amy. She is a sweet motherly little angel.

Happy Birthday little ones. We LOVE YOU!!!

Do you know what I love???

When I find a recipe that is fast, easy, inexpensive and most importantly GOBBLED up by my ENTIRE family. Nothing beats that. I never did make it to the grocery store this weekend, and had to come up with something using the few ingredients in my pantry. Then I remembered this yummy recipe. Scone tacos.

Ingredients:
2cups flour
1tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 cup water
oil for frying
All you have to do to make this is; mix the dry ingredients, add water, roll out and cut in pieces, fry in hot oil.

you can also put honey on these and have them for a dessert.

K loved it...

J loved it...

and even little B couldn't get enough.

Scrapbook heaven

Today was the Phoenix CKC Scapbook Convention and a huge Bazzill warehouse sale so of course Amy and I just had to go. First we went to the Bazzill sale, then lunch and the the convention. I had soooooo much fun. I forgot to take my camera but here is a look at some of the amazing deals I got. I got so much stuff for soooo cheap. I came in way below my budget, Yay!

I love, love LOVE Bazzill cardstock, especially for making cards. These packs of paper were .50 each. That is a screaming good deal I just had to stock up.

I love these button and they are typically 4 bucks at the scrapbook school. I got these for 2 bucks. Don't you just love all the cordinating colors.

Here are some fun little brads and ribbon I got for $1.00

They had this one dollar booth just like the dollar store and I found these awesome chipboard letters. Gonna have to do a cute page with these!

More dollar section stuff. Aren't these tiny brads sooooo cute!!!

Now I've got to get some things made with all my fun new supplies and post them on here. Thanks Amy for going with me and for the great time I love how we love all the same things. It's soooo fun to shop/scrap with you. I especially love how you get excited about the silly little things I do (like ribbon in a cup) ha ha :) And Thank you Ryan and Tom for being so sweet about us getting out and getting a nice break. (we were gone ALL day) You are such good daddies!!! I can't wait for next year.

gotta vent...

I can not believe how rude some people can be. My extremely bad day yesterday is turning into an ever worse wednesday. I've already cried twice today and it's only 9:00 a.m. I just don't understand how some people can be so inconsiderate of others and you know what if you don't like me, pretend! Even the kids at the park yesterday were rude, and the parents don't do Jack about it. I don't get it. I originally thought the insurance guys were great but now, I am ready to rip their heads off. I want my house put back together and I want good customer service along the way IS THAT TO MUCH TO ASK FOR?! seriously! Ok, I'm done.

Happy Birthday Rob!

Today is my brother Robs b-day. I love this pic of him with his youngest 2. It is exactly how Rob is with the kids soooo loving and sweet with them. I love the bond he has with each of his kids. Rob is truely one of my biggest heros. He has always been the best protective big brother ever. If anyone treats you wrong, he is always there to make it right or give you advice on what to do. He is always out helping someone and asks for very little in return. He has such a big heart! I want to be like him in everyway. I sure do love you and hope you have a wonderful day, You deserve it!

Happy Grandparents Day!

Today is Grandparents Day. I had wanted to make some cute cards and stick them in the mail along with pictures from the kids but I never got around to digging my scrapbook stuff out as I had hoped. (A must do for tomorrow if I plan on keeping my sanity).

Anyway...since I didn't get anything sent I just thought I'd do a Blog shout out to our wonderful Grandparents.

I wish I had a picture of R's Papa and Grammy. I look forward to Grammy's weekly phone calls just to check in and see how we are doing. It is nice to know she thinks of us so often and she is always so supportive and gives good ideas for whatever we have going on.

Then there is R's mom "Grandma Kiki" and Granpa Charlie. Ever since K was teeny tiny Grandma Kiki would always tell him "I love you with ALL MY HEART". To this day whenever he refers to Grandma Kiki he says "Grandma Kiki, the one who loves me with all her heart" It is so sweet and has really made a huge impact on him. Thanks!

J our little pack rat has held on to every single card Grandma Kiki has given him. They are soooo cute and fun and usally always have stickers. Boy does she know what he likes.

This is Granma Kiki and Grandpa Charlie on their bike.

R's Grandma Goodman or otherwise known as Grandma Goody is one of the sweetest persons I know. Her home is always spotless and so welcoming. I really admire her. When we lived in Utah we would often walk to the library. Grandma's house was on the way to the library

and we would usually drop in and say hello. To this day the boys still remember that and ask about her often.

My Grandma Mitchell is so fun to be around. She loves to play board games and is quite competitve which keeps things fun. She always has a bowl of candy to munch on while we play. Grandma is soooo sweet and I don't think I have ever heard her complain. She is always so happy and easy going. I love to hear her tell stories about "Bobby" my dad. Especially how he would never go to sleep on Christmas Eve. I use to get the biggest kick out of that and would try to use that as my excuse to get to stay up. I love her soooo much!

R's parents are so fun. The boys love going for rides on Grandpa Moody's motorcycle. They also love some fishy game he lets them play on the computer. They have the biggest DVD collection I've ever seen the kids love to pick a movie to watch while we are there and think it's even better than Blockbuster. :) Grandpa sings the silliest songs and it amazes me how he can come up with a song for any situation. They are very supportive of the way we choose to raise the kids and offer great advice when we need it. We sure love them.

My parents are such fun Grandparents. My mom is the Queen of parties and turns every visit into a party it seems. She really knows how to make her grandchildren feels loved and important. My dad is so silly with the kids. He can talk just like donald duck and they kids LOVE it. They always jump right into what ever the kids are doing and play along with them. I wonder sometimes where they get their energy. :) They sure are fun.

HAPPY GRANDPARENTS DAY! WE LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Randomness and ideas wanted

So you may have noticed my little weight loss ticker thing has not moved. Technically it has... I need to add 2 more pounds to it, not take away. Oops...I did not eat very wisely on our Vegas trip but I went running Tues, Wed and today though. I'm recommiting myself to eating healthier and continue my workouts. I love to work out, unfortunately I love to eat too. :)

Our house is still a wreck. How did we ever live in a tiny apartment?! That's what I feel like we are living in. The bedrooms are still torn apart and all our our stuff is in the living and family rooms along with us. We have the drywall guy coming on Tuesday and I get to go pick out our carpet on Monday. YIPPY! They say the wood floors will take 3 days to do and we can not be here because of the chemicals they will be using. My scrapbook stuff is still buried and I haven't done any real scrapbooking in soooo long. I did make a few cards yesterday, but no pages.

So it's my turn to plan R's and I's next date. I am fresh out of ideas though. Do you have any good ones. He planned the last date we went to the driving range and hit golf balls. It was so fun and different.

My friend Becky Cluff takes B for me every Wednesday. She came to me one day and said she just loves B and would like to watch her one day a week for me to give me a break. Isnt' that just the sweetest thing ever. Becky has been such a great friend to me. I want to come up with something to give to her are do for her as a thank you. Any ideas?

What's your favorite meal to take to a family? I took meals to two different friends last week who were sick and I'm taken something to my friend who just had a baby but I want some more ideas of something yummy to take. Any suggestions???

August b-day and Eternal families

Well I am once again behind on my August b-day postings. (at least the cards were on time right?) Anyway, here is a special shout out to all you August b-days.

Our niece Emily (in the middle) turned 1 August 10th. She is soooo cute and I'm so glad she is apart of our family.

Our niece Rachel shares the same birthday as little Emily. She is such a sweet little girl and great big sister. She is always smiling and lots of fun to be around.

Matt turned 18 on the 17th. He just moved to AZ and I'm so excited. Hopefully we'll get to see him somewhere between girls, work, friends and life. Matt is a musician and has such amazing talent. I could listen to him sing all day long.

Mandy (Ryan's sister) had a b-day on the 31st. She is an easy going fun person to be with. She is also so hip. She has such great style and always wears the cutest things. She's definately very girly even though she was raised with all boys. :)

Our Best Friends Tom and Amy celebrated their 7th anniversary on the 31st. We got to see them in Vegas that day and had fun traveling and hanging out with them on our last trip. They are sooooo much fun and we have the greatest laughs when we are with them. We'll be in serious withdrawal if they ever move, but I'm not going to think about that right now. :)

We hope you all had a great day and know how much we love you! Thanks for being such a special part of our lives.

A year ago my sisters famiy adopted the cute little baby in this picture. The first week of August we heading to St. George to witness the Sealing of this adorable little baby to her sweet little family. We are so glad she is ours now and that we were able to be there and enjoy some fun times with family. CONGRATULATIONS and thanks for the fun visit.

We love you Grandpa Charlie (continued)

Okay, so I'm thinking J does not quite understand which "yellow" trucks we shout out "We love you Grandpa Charlie" to. While running errands yesterday we saw this truck and he got really excited and said it. :) It's been a fun little game for us all.

We love you Grandpa Charlie!

When Grandma Kiki was here last December she taught the boys to say "I love you Grandpa Charlie" when ever they see a "Yellow" truck because that is who he works for. Well...on our trip to Vegas I don't think K missed a single yellow truck. It was pretty cute. We sure miss all of our Grandparents. We love you!

Vegas trip continued

After the triathlon we took the kids to Circus Circus. We all had so much fun.

Here are the boys on the carousel.

Look how wrapped around her little finger she's got her daddy. I LOVE IT!

There weren't many rides that B could go on, but she loved all the ones she tried.

She also had fun watching the boys go on their big scary rides.

waiting in line for another fun ride.

It amazes me how my kids are able to turn anything we are doing into starwars. They loved this ride and decided to pretend that they were flying in their own starwars spaceships. Soooo cute.

I got a little nervous watching my "babies" on this ride, but they had no fear!

For dinner we went to one of the famous Vegas buffets. It was so yummy and we all got stuffed.

Mom and B at dinner.

It was fun to slip a way for the weekend and have a mini family vacation.

For Labor day R we had a small little BBQ

R grilled corn on the cob, and it was YUMMY!!!

We had a nice relaxing day but B was happily "laboring" away in the kitchen on labor day.