Blessings Anyone?

Last month we had a wonderful stake enrichment. In one of the classes, the teacher was saying that we needed to let people help us more. When you help, or preform service, you receive blessings, and we all need to STOP BEING A BLESSING HOG! Let people have the opportunity to receive blessings by serving you! So...anyone wanna earn some blessings?

I know... I'm shameless.

My sister in law is getting married next week, and we are going to her endowment session on Thursday the 21st. I am in need of service in the form of babysitting. We have to leave for the temple at 8:15-8:30 am, and will be back around....12:00 - 12:30? Here's the catch. Amberlyn has dancing lessons from 11:00 - 11:45. Her dance class is on the corner of Ironwood & Combs in the Fry's plaza. So if you need to get some shopping done while she dances....!

I know I have crazy energetic children, so if you don't want both of them, I completely understand, and I don't mind splitting them up. Normally I wouldn't worry about dance, but Amberlyn has a recital in 2 weeks, and needs the practice. So....any takers for my shameless query?

Wise Guy

This morning Amberlyn's primary teacher called to say that they would be learning about the Word of Wisdom today. They would be having a healthy snack of pineapple, grapes, apples, strawberries, and carrot sticks, and asked if Amberlyn had any food allergies. (Very thoughful, thank you Sister Freeman!)

We went to church, and when I picked up Amberlyn from class at the end, she was excited to show me her yummy bowl of fruit! In the car on the way home, I asked her what she learned in Primary today. She told me they are learning a new song for Mother's Day! (I love the Mother's Day Primary singing time!) I asked what she had learned in Sister Freeman's class. She said she didn't know. Trying to refresh her memory, I asked what she was eating that she had gotten in class. She named all the things in her bowl. I asked her what all those things were. She paused and then slowly replied, "Umm... fruit." The inflection in her voice was like, 'duh mom'. Still trying to prod her memory, I asked if those were all healthy things. She asked with amazment, "How did you know that mom!?"

She's been asking me that latley, and evey time, I give her one of two answers. Either "I'm magic," or "mom's know everything". This time I went with "I'm magic." Still claiming she didn't know what her lesson was about, I tried to get her to recall the theme.

Me: "Did you learn about the Word........of........"

Her: silence

Me: "Amberlyn, the Word of what? What did you learn today? The Word........of.....?"

Her: "I don't know. You're magic, you tell me."

I guess she gets away with saying things like that because she's five.

Beauty and the Beast!

Last night we had a mommy daughter date! I heard that Beauty and the Beast was going to be playing at our local community theater, and I thought Amberlyn would love it! We got all dressed up!
We went to the theater and picked up our tickets at will call. We explored the lobby, got a drink, and Amberlyn got to give the usher our tickets and get a program, then we headed to our seats!
We waited for the play to start, and soon a tall man sat 2 rows in front of us. I saw another mom with a good idea, and ran out to the car to get Amberlyn's booster seat. Soon lights dimmed and we were transported to a small village in France! A few times I had to put her up on my lap so she could see a little better, and some of the microphones weren't working very well, but other that that we had a wonderful time! The cast was great! Belle was beautiful, Gaston played his part very well, with a perfectly pompous walk, arrogant shoulders and all! We ran into Amberlyn's swim teacher, and it turns out her son, the swim helper, was playing Maurice! After it was over, we got to go up and meet Belle! Amberlyn was thrilled!
We also saw a few of the other cast members, then headed to the lobby where I bought her a glowing rose, like the one in the story. We headed home, reminiscing our favorite parts. When I asked her what her favorite part was, she said, "The end." I thought she meant it was glad to be over, but after further prodding, it was because she liked all the singing and dancing at the finale! We got home, where she put on her Disney Princess jammies, complete with Belle, showed daddy her special rose, and drifted off to sleep.

I remember going to see plays with my mom, and I hope Amberlyn will remember the same!

So, she DOES pay attention!

Yesterday I bought a bunch of strawberries that were on sale. Today was jam making day! I had one batch done and was working on another. The strawberries were cut up, ready to go in the pot. Amberlyn asked if she could help. She held up the pectin that was in the measuring jar, and asked what it was. I told her that it was pectin, and that it helped to make the jam, jam. I said it makes the strawberries firm. She said, "You mean like a firm foundation?"

Our Easter!

We had a good Easter! We went down to Tucson on Saturday morning to see gramma & grampa. The kids dyed Easter eggs. Then they hunted the plastic ones in the back yard. Each kid had their own assigned color of egg so there were no fights. Every one had the same number of eggs, with the same stuff inside. (Thank you Gramma!)

After the hunt, they all sat and examined their precious finds. It was like Halloween!

We got a great picture of all the grandkids!

Then we ate. And ate. And ate. Yummy ham, potatoes, all the yummy Easter stuff! We sat and played games, and I fed Tommy chocolate!

Amberlyn helped gramma decorate some cookies!

Then she got to try on her dress for Aunt Amy's wedding! She totally got into it! I love her poses!

Then the rest of the clan headed off to a wedding, so we went to the mall and got Amberlyn some new earrings. We stopped for dinner at Little Anthony's. We left at 7:30, and the kids were both asleep at 7:41.

Matt had to work Easter Sunday, but the kids still woke up to a prize from the Easter Bunny! We got ready for church, they looked Fantastic!

After church we headed to Nana's house for more Easter food! Then the kids played while the rest of us played cards. We headed home and sang songs and went to bed. It was a nice Easter, with the exception of Matt having to work. We hope you all enjoyed your day too!

Grocery Sales

So I decided it was lame to pay SisterSavings for information I could get for FREE just by making a few clicks on my computer. SisterSavings is still a great place for menu ideas and such, but to get the best grocery sales, (which she now charges for) go here to get them for FREE! It's not the complete ads, but just the best deals, or things you may use the most. ENJOY! ValleyGrocerySales.blogspot.com

Camping trip!

We took a camping trip this weekend!

(For all those out there condemning me for not staying home to watch conference, I have 4 words: DVR, radio, internet, Ensign.)

We left Saturday about 10:30, and found a camping spot at 2:30. We went to Payson and drove around for a while, checking out different sites, trying to determine the one we wanted. A few were closed, some we're too busy for our liking, one wasn't far enough from "town". We finally settled on a campground called Ponderosa. They had sites with a fire ring, a table, and a camp grill. They had a bathroom a little ways away, (by bathroom, I mean a glorified porta-potty) but I still taught Amberlyn how to pee in the woods. (For any men out there who think peeing in the woods isn't something that needs "teaching", I disagree. Girls required certain rules. Like finding a tree to lean against that has little or no bark on it. Or making sure your feet are either "upstream" or well protected.) Sorry, probably too much information. Anyway, there was also a water spigot pump thingie for drinking water, lots of tall pines, and other campers that were not too close.

We set up our tent, Matt and the kids chopped and collected firewood.

(Matt, my hunter and gatherer)

The kids had a snack,

Something about being camping turns them into crazy children, especially Denver.

We made dinner. We were going to do foil dinners, but time ran short, so we cooked on the stove. Potatoes, carrots, onions, and meat, and barbecue sauce... great camping food! We made a dutch oven peach cobbler too!

I helped the kids make S'Mores,

which they enjoyed thoroughly.

Finally it was bed time! It was going to be a VERY cold night, so they got all bundled up in sleeper jammies, sleeping bags, and LOTS of blankets both on top and underneath.

After a good night's sleep, we got up to make breakfast. (Yes, Matt is wearing shorts. I packed his long pants for him, but anyone who knows Matt, knows he is ALWAYS wearing shorts.)

We made some hot chocolate and sat by the fire. The kids constantly fought over the stool, which Denver seems to have claimed victory over for the moment.

Exploring, running, climbing...

all a necessary part of camping.

By the time we packed up and drove home, they were both exhausted, and tuckered out on the way home!

It was a fun weekend and hopefully we'll do it again soon, or as soon as the night time temperature is a little warmer. It was COLD!

My little Tricksters!

My little tricksters flipping off the couch!

(no fear)

Denver's self praise!

(notice his "thumbs up" for himself)

It's hopeless.

My sister in law is getting married in just over 8 weeks. My other sisters in law and I have joined together to give each other support in trying to lose weight before the wedding. One of them has lost 9 pounds already. She rocks. I've been trying. I really have. I cut down on my sugar consumption. I try to walk more on my treadmill in the mornings to get my metabolism going. I eat a banana for breakfast instead of the donuts Matt brings home. I switched to 1% instead of 2% milk, and have been drinking more water. I watch my portion sizes at dinner time. I feel like I've really been trying. So WHY does the scale say I have GAINED 4 pounds!?

It lies.

Either that or I am dying. I think that there is a little bit of hypochondriac in all of us. My inner hypochondriac is convinced that I have an 8 pound tumor that is getting bigger by the day. That's why I haven't been losing weight. The stupid tumor is saving it for me!

Ya. That's it.

I've developed a huge cancerous tumor that is slowly killing me. I'm convinced it's on my ovary. I'll probably start planning my funeral. I haven't mentioned my inner turmoil to my hubby. I just told him I think I have a cyst. He'd tell me I was crazy if he knew the truth. I should tell him. So he can start cherishing every moment with me, since I will be gone in a year. That's how much time I have decided that I have. So I am going to throw the tv out the window! And cancel the internet! So I am not distracted and can spend all my time with my kids! We'll go to the beach, and to Disneyland, and go camping, and take long walks together. And we'll stay up late and stare at the stars, and name them one by one.

I guess I should go to the doctor to find out how much time I really have left. I made an appointment for next week with the 'girlie' doctor. So she can tell me I'm dying. Feel free to start sending your condolences now.

Amberlyn's Primary Talk

Amberlyn got to give a talk in primary today! She did a very good job! It was about obeying her mom & dad:

"I can obey my parents.

To obey means to listen to another person in charge, and being willing to follow their instruction.

In Colossians chapter 3 verse 20, it says “ ^aChildren, ^bobey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.”

The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that obeying the commandments leads to blessings from God. Obeying the commandments shows our Heavenly Father that we love him. Obeying our parents shows them we love them, too.

This is my family. I can show my mom & dad that I love them by obeying. Like when my mom asks me to turn off the tv and go get ready for school, I can obey, by doing it right away. Or when my dad asks me to pick up my toys, I can obey. This shows my mom and dad that I love them, and am willing to listen. When we don’t listen, and do what we’re asked to do, it makes our parents and our Heavenly Father sad.

I hope we can all listen to our parents and obey, just like the scriptures and the prophets tell us to.

I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

Here's a video, sorry the kids are a little noisy. You'll want to scroll all the way down and pause the music before you click play on the video.

Sew broken

Does anybody know how to fix my stupid sewing machine? It's so very broken. It won't pick up the bobbin thread, and keeps tangling the upper thread underneath the plate. Matt looked online and said he thought the timing was off, whatever that means. I called several places to try to get it fixed. The cheapest one was $60.00! My whole machine isn't even worth that much! It's an older model Brother that I got for Christmas when I was 18. Maybe I'll just get a whole new machine, because mine hates me! Any recommendations?

Such a mean mom

What a mean mom I am:

To have to put such a cute little boy in time-out,
(for riding his bike too far, and not coming back when I called him.)























and for making such a little girl pull weeds.
(She was out there anyway, and enjoyed helping mom.)

Wanna Prize?

I've seen this on other blogs, and I've wanted to do it, but I've never been in the top five. And technically, I couldv'e just done it anyway, but I needed the motivation of getting a prize to actually do it. Anyway, now I'm in the top 5 here, and now you're wondering what the heck I'm talking about.

Would you like to win a hand-made-by-me prize? Here's the rules:

~The first five people to comment on this post will recieve a hand-made-by-me prize. What I make is up to me. (You're welcome to leave a suggestion, or your favorite color, or whatever, but again, it's totally up to me;)

~There is no guarantee that you will like what I make. (But I hope you do:)

~You will recieve it sometime in the next year. (hopefully sooner rather that later, but I have kids, so we'll see how that goes.)

~You must offer the same kind of deal on your blog. (When you leave your comment, please let me know that you have posted something on your blog;)

That's it! Remember only the first 5 that enter and post will win something!
Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you won when you get it!

Of course it would break NOW

Of course it would happen when I have a deadline. I have to have a tutu out by tomorrow at 10:45 am. I sewed the first half just fine. Then my sewing machine decided it hates me. Well fine. I hate it too. How much do I hate it? Read here.

Denver's New Suit!

Well, if you read the last 2 posts, you saw this one coming. Aunt Amy is getting married in May. The little nieces both got absolutely adorable new green dresses for the occasion, and we couldn't resist the sweet little suits for the boys. All the nephews are getting new little 5 piece suits! Here is Denver in his new threads! His shoes are now too small, so a trip to Target is in order. But here's my shoeless little stud!