Evolution of Alli

Our G Funk

2012-02-09T09:30:00.000-08:00

"Deciding to have a child is monumentous. It is deciding to forever have your heart walk outside your body."

This has never been as true to me as it has been recently. Watching my girls do dance, and have friends outside of people who I would have picked for them, to Graden starting his wrestling career. It's all been so much for me as a mother.

This is my kind boy.

Thoughtful, silly, lovely, squishy, and positively kissable. He is at the age where he can actually carry a USA Wrestling card and participate in tournaments. This has all been discussed since I was pregnant. When he would be able to wrestle.

That time is now.

He has practice twice a week. Jason does Monday's and I do Wednesday's. I thought I could handle it. It was much harder than I could have ever imagined.

It was clear that Graden is painfully shy with a rowdy group of boys. He was obedient to the coaches, but not accretive enough to grab a partner to line up, so he had to be matched with somebody. I watched as he looked at other boys running to find a partner. He just stood there. And my heart melted for him.

I have kind children. I am thankful for that. Jason and I had a frank discussion when he got home that we are going to have to "teach" Graden to be aggressive. I would rather teach a child that, than have to teach a child to be meek. He will have to learn that there is a time and a place to be rough. I hope he will grasp to the concept. Considering I have have taught him for 4.5 years now to always be sweet and kind.

My heart was outside of my body.

My heart was with him.

Here we go!

2012-01-24T09:56:00.000-08:00

Natalie and Taylor will be turning 8 on March 24th, 2012. I cannot believe we are already here! It really does seem like just a minute ago they were babies, and I was tired! Ok, I'm still tired, but they are older now! They will have an interview with the Bishop, and there tell him if they have made the choice to get baptized into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I am so thankful for my own membership in the church. Times have not always been easy for me, especially as a teenager, and therefor my testimony struggled. But He never left me.

The girls attended their baptism preview on Sunday. I am glad their birthday is in March because I don't think they could stand to wait any longer! They got these amazing towels for their special day. They snuggled them all day. When Natalie woke up Monday morning I went in their room and as she was making her bed, she said that she was so excited she wished she could have been baptized yesterday :) Silly girl! I told her how sad Grandma and Grandpa Blue would have been if they missed it.

This subway art was displayed on the table. I LOVE IT! (Thanks for the post Cherie!)

And in other news.......

I don't have room in my life for HATERS. My priorities are my family, health, calling, and a million other things before I worry about what other people think about me or my family.

I found myself questioning this on Sunday evening. I received an email that was not so charming.

I'm not going to get into it, but it left me feeling like...."Am I crazy???" "Did we make the right choice???"

Well folks, we did make the right choice. Jason and I parent with the help of the Holy Ghost. We follow the promptings that are given to us. We use these gifts to guide our kids to happiness.

So to all my haters out there......

Haters gonna hate.

Bye...bye...

{New Beginnings 2012}

2012-01-12T09:48:00.000-08:00

The purpose of New Beginnings is to welcome the girls that will be turning 12 that year into YW's. The Beehive, Mia Maid, and Laurel class symbols are recognized.

Also the theme for the new year is introduced. D&C 115:5.

"Verily I say unto you all: Arise and Shine Forth, that thy light may be a standard for the nations;"

So we ran with the Arise and Shine Forth! We welcomed our ONLY beehive coming in 2012.....Emily H! Welcome sweet Emily! Cannot wait wait to have ya!

We had a wonderful spread of breakfast goodies along with an amazing skit about rising and shining everyday!

{My job was the sun....you likey???}

{ I love this picture of Ursula and Bronwyn! She is our new Laurel President! This was her first activity conducting! She did an amazing job! And looked like such a beautiful 16 year old!}

{A couple of beehives. As though you could not tell!}

{Emily H. and her mama! So proud}

{Dina's spread!!}

{Carli acting "natural"}

{Claire also "acting natural"} {?????????}

{This really is Bailey acting natural}

{Our fearless stake leaders}

December in Parts

2011-12-22T15:07:00.000-08:00

December has been so busy! I love it. But also wish I had a clone that I could split my responsibilities with.

I'll post more after Christmas, but here are some pre-christmas shenanigans that I got into!!!

Our Annual Relief Society White Elephant gift exchange! This was the first, and most hilarious gift of the night.

Cherie was thrilled to get a Santa head!

See.....

Graden participated in his preschool Nativity Program. It's always amazing! He was Joseph. This was his list for Santa.

Mary~Joseph~Baby Jesus

Do to the boy girl ratio, we had wise girls instead of wise men. I love their costumes! Very flashy ladies!

On the same day I had the girls party at school to do. I made a bazillion sugar cookies for them to decorate. They had an art project and ate a huge feast of snacks too. It was fun!

The first day of vacation the girls were invited to a Gingerbread making party. They had a terrible time......can't you tell?????

Not sure what happened in Taylor's chimney, she says Santa exploded. Ew.

Nattie's says BSU on the door! Kinda like our house!

I've enjoyed this time of year. I don't always. I know that it's because I started Christmas shopping in August. We are on a tight budget, so spreading it out like that took a huge weight off my shoulders.

We even added our own little family gift exchange into the mix this year. It was tough all going out with each other, but we made it happen!

Tappin' away!

2011-12-12T12:16:00.000-08:00

The girls started dance the beginning of the school year. It was a tap/ballet/tumble class. A friend in my ward teaches it. They had their first recital on Saturday. I think they were more excited to wear make up. I told them they cannot wear it for real till they are in middle school. Natalie quickly did the math. She was not pleased.

Here they are all ready to go!

Taylor was super excited! She posed herself. Should I be worried???

Natalie! She was a little more unsure of how to pose! But did great!

There were little girls as young as 2 dancing in another group. It made me sad I never did it with the girls when they were younger. Ugh... Oh well. This is the only "extra" thing they do. But in March they will turn 8 and have activity days and start taking piano. I may have to figure out if it's too much! We'll see!

Some "Ketchup"

2011-12-03T16:08:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday was a busy one for us.

Jason and I went to the Wyoming/BSU game. It was beautifully sunny, but as soon as the shade hit us, I was more than grateful for the $1.24 I spent on 4 hand warmers from Walmart. To say that I molested mine is a total understatement. Like if I rubbed them more they would get hotter??? LOL!

We came home for a moment of quiet, and then rushed off for a birthday party at Wahooz. It was really fun, and I know it cost the parents a lot of money, so we blew our bedtimes out of the water and let the kids stay and play till 10!! (If church were earlier than 11, I would have easily crushed those dreams.)

Our kids got to ride to Go-Carts.

Have you ever thought for sure your kids COULD NOT do something only to totally blow your mind? That is what the girls did. I thought there was no way they would be able to drive. By themselves. Alone. Without Jason or I. Did I mention they would be manning a go-cart ALONE?

Well they rocked it! Did a great job!

Graden however was a wee bit too short to ride alone, so in the 30 degree weather, he and Jason hit the track!

Burke and I spent a lot of time walking the arcade. Burke touched every button, lever, handle, blinking light he could find. (And reach)... :) We ended up on a bench waiting for Jason and the bigs' to get done with their second round of laser tag. We watched videos on my phone, sang Once There Was a Snow Man. It was darling.

Then this kid sat down that looked somewhat like my nephew Mason. I COULD NOT convince Burke is was not Mason. He kept saying "Matin, Matin.." And he was going to touch him! I caught him just in time!

We all came home exhausted. Totally. But it was a great day!

{Especially when Jason and I got on the WRONG shuttle back to the car....}

But I won't mention that! Ha!

Breaking.....

2011-11-21T12:20:00.000-08:00

DAWN YA'LL!

1. I had no intention of going to the mid night showing. It was pure peer pressure from one Tamra Lords. The queen of Twilighters. And all the shenanigans that follow.

2. I was being a brat cause I was not going with Candace. WOMP. So kill me.

3. As it turns out we were broke when the movie came out. Go figure.

4. I go to buy a ticket with some spare change I scrounged together. THEY ARE SOLD OUT. Another go figure.

5. Text my friend Jared who is the manager of the Edward's in Nampa. He hooked me up. Saweet.

So the night begins~

I had stake auxiliary training that night for YW's. It was delightful. But I begin to feel a scratch in my throat! WOMP!

I braved it anyway's and picked up my friend Julie, her daughter Maddie, another friend JaeCee and her cousin Nikki. We ventured out to the theater.

WHAT??? A line around the block???? Kill me. :) All was well. Tamra was already there causing a ruckus, so we jumped in line with her! It went really fast!

We got in the theater and it was not even packed! Saweet! We chatted, laughed, checked out Pinterest, made fun of these 12-14 year old girls that were doing cheers on the floor. All was good. I was decked out in red, black and white! And these killer earrings from my friend Cindy!!!

This stunning picture I took and text to Cindy and Cherie at another theater. I will be nice and not post the one they sent to me. For it equals this one in beauty.....wink!!!

Ok. Here is the truth. I have only read each Twilight book once. Years ago at that. So I knew the premise of Breaking Dawn, but had forgot a lot of the details. I thought the honeymoon scene was done tastefully. Although if I had a teenage daughter sitting by me, I would have rather died. :)

The most disturbing parts for me was when Bella became so ill with the baby. I was totally NOT prepared for the graphic depiction of her. I was so sad! And kinda barfy! Ugh!

It was bad news when I woke up on Friday after 6 hours of sleep. I was sicker than a dog! TERRIBLE! My sister Megan came and got my kids so I could nap. I was down for the count till Sunday. I was awake for 2 hours, slept for 2 hours. I kept telling Jason I felt hollow. Ugh. Thankfully he was home and able to be Mr. Mom. He did great!

So this is the start of our Thanksgiving vacation!

He is all business when we play. Burke? Not so much!

Beloved

2011-11-16T17:45:00.000-08:00

Be.lov.ed (adj.)- Dearly loved.

These are my beloved.

Thanks to Julie Shepherd for our family pictures!

this and that

2011-11-12T14:39:00.000-08:00

Once again we had a blast at mutual! We did Zumba on the Wii! It was super fun! Then we made smoothies! The girls danced their hearts out!!! So did the leaders!! WOOT WOOT!

Graden has been struggling on not wanting to go to school. He bawls. But he always has fun once he is there. It's just the leaving the house part he hates. I am worried about kindergarten. Jason thinks he will go just fine with the girls. I hope so. This is a battle I do not want to go through everyday!!

Taylor had a speaking part at the Veteran's Day program. She did a great job! I am so blessed to be her mom! She is a beautiful, wonderful little girl. Love you bug!

Natalie had one too! She nailed it! Good for you sis!!!!

Here is dweedle dumb. jk! He was holding and kissing these dollies so sweetly. And for a brief moment I let myself think of what it would be like to have one more. Then he chucked a doll across the room. Dream squashed. ;)

Burke is 2. Like it or not!

2011-11-07T19:20:00.000-08:00

I pick not.

But it's not up to me, so I have to suck it up. :(

Burke was born on 11-06-09 at 11:06am.

I knew I was having him the night before, but did not tell anyone. My c-section was scheduled for the following Friday, but he was ready.

So was I.

This is what two years will do...

We had a little Elmo party for him on Saturday night. He helped Daddy spiff up the house that day! What a great little dude!

Burke was blessed enough to have G'ma Blue here for his big day! Poor G'pa had to stay home! :( My big kids all have a "movie" chair. So Teri decided Burke needed one too! She found this black one at Big Lot's! Sweet! And boy does he know that it is HIS! ({insert high pitched scream of "mine" here!}

He is o.b.s.e.s.s.e.d. with motorcycles right now, so he got several of them in all sizes, shapes and colors. He loves all of them!

What? A big one??? Sweet!!!!

He liked ~~blowing~~ spitting out his candles this year! Remember last year and the pushing the cake away debacle? LOL!

He's 2.

He's loud.

He's loved.

Nuff said....

All Hallows.....

2011-11-01T17:41:00.000-07:00

We had another wonderful Halloween this year! Also lucky enough to have Bailey with us to help with the carving on Sunday!

A wonderful time was had by all! My goal was to get the kids in bed by 8:30 and I did!

{So I treated myself to a pedicure today!}

HOLLA!

Nanny McPhee VS Natalie

2011-10-29T10:40:00.000-07:00

And the winner is??????????

Natalie!!!!!!!!!!

We have been battling Nat's "Nanny McPhee" teeth for weeks now. I'm not a yank them out kinda mom. I've had friends offer....but I felt too bad for Nat.

But durning the shenanigans of Saturday morning chores Burke bumped her in the mouth with his elbow really hard. The craziest one fell right out. But it left on lone catty whom-pus tooth. SO I YANKED IT! Then screamed at the top of my lungs!! And gagged a little!

Now the battle has begun. Taylor thinks it's totally "not fair" that she lost both her teeth on Trunk or Treat day. Nat tried to make it better by saying she might lose both of hers on Christmas. One can hope right??

Fire Station #3

2011-10-26T14:26:00.000-07:00

Graden's class was able to visit our local fire station on Tuesday! I missed this field trip with the girls because I had gone back to work at Key Bank. So I was thrilled to be able to go this time! Jason even took the morning off to go with us as well.

For the longest time when you would ask what Graden wanted to be when he grew up he would say "a fire truck!" I'm sure this was his way of telling us a fire man.....I hope! So this trip filled his face with joy! He was thrilled, listened so well, and was just happy to be there!

Fire Station #3 is the one on Locust Grove just past Ustick. When you call 911 for an emergency it will be this station that responds. It will be Captain Tyler Rountree and his fellow fire fighters that will come to your aide. Their door is always open, and treat are always welcome!

Corn Angels and Midget Pumpkins

2011-10-21T09:03:00.000-07:00

Linder Farms, we thank you again. I had the privilege of going on another field trip with Someday Preschool.

It's was super chili, so I am very thankful my sister had a blanket in her car so I could wrap Burke up. This was the longest he has let me hold in in forever! I loved every minute of it!

Graden ditched me as soon as we got there. I had to wrangle him in for this one picture together! I am glad he is independent though. I have never really had a "clingy" child. They have all been willing to venture off on their own and explore.

Burke picked a pumpkin that was just his size. He must have been really worried about the "you must be able to carry your own pumpkin" rule.

Fearless~

Sweet Butterfly Class

On his own Graden started making corn angels. It was rather cute. Before we knew most of the kids were lying down trying to make them!

Thanks for stopping by! We are all doing well. We are fully blessed, loving each other, growing up, slowing down, hanging on, and always laughing.

Alphabet soup

2011-10-17T18:08:00.000-07:00

Nattie has a tooth that is hanging on for dear life. It's seriously grossing me out.

Jason and I decided that it is about time that Graden start wearing a white shirt and tie to church. The black polo with skulls is cool and all but....... ;)

When you have had a tough day at church fulfilling all your duties, you need some R&R.

Cause staying in the nursery for the ENTIRE 2 hours and playing with your friends is REALLY hard work! I guess there is a first time for everything!

Ding.....Dong.....Ditched.....

2011-10-06T09:07:00.000-07:00

{Please sing to the tune of Popcorn Popping in your head!......or out loud.....it's up to you. I like it out loud!}

Thank you CB for ditching such a delightful gift on my door step. Just for the record, CB is NOT Chase Browne as my kids so hopefully thought it was! That would have been a huge ding dong ditch from California! :)

"Gooder than ever!!!"

2011-10-02T21:46:00.000-07:00

I have never been the best about watching General Conference. As a youth, it was a "free" card for me. No church. :) I was really looking forward to GC this month! I was excited to hear President Monson, and find out where the new temples are going to be built!

As a mom, I find it difficult to get my kids to watch. I don't blame them. We struggle through Sacrament. But I was determined this time! Taylor was the only one who was really into it this time. Nat sat in our front room and listened. I can understand that. I have a hard time sitting and watching. But if I am in the kitchen or working on a project (such as de-cluttering my laundry room) I can hear EVERYTHING! Bananas I know. So Taylor got a pad of paper and drew a picture of each speaker, and wrote their names down. Later she came into the laundry room and said Mom: "I feel GOODER then ever!!!.....I have like this crazy feeling in my tummy!!!"

I mustered all the strength I had not to bawl in front of her! But I was able to tell her that she was feeling the Spirit. And that what she was feeling is amazing! I was so proud of her. I guess I will get my kids one by one! :)

My friend Cherie over at BakowBabble posted the most wonderful quotes of GC. I loved all of the same ones! She did a great job!

Take a step back BOB ROSS!

2011-09-29T14:34:00.000-07:00

We painted with none other than BOB ROSS for mutual this week. He is the real deal Yo! This activity was right up my alley. I love art, and painting, and don't do it often enough. It soothes my soul. Stacy brought 3 colors. White, Gray and Black. The purpose was to teach the girls that we know we are firm on things that are black and white in our lives. Like: Will I smoke? It's a yes or no answer. But what about: Will I hang out with people that smoke? Is that more Gray???? Maybe more for some than others.

So we followed along on a VHS tape and a 12 inch tv and painted our little hearts out! The girls all complained that it was too hard! Bob was going too fast! Mine is ugly!! Look at hers! It's way better! Ugh! I screwed up!! I kept telling them that it is all about perspective. Sometimes you have to walk away from something to see what it really is.

When I got home I posted some of these pictures on FB. And what do you know? They loved their pictures! They were seeing them from afar and loved them!

Here is mine~

We are missing Claire. She went and turned 16 on us and left for Laurels. BOOO!

Celebrate with me!!!

2011-09-24T19:51:00.000-07:00

I decided that this was the year I was going to take the girls down to the Women's Fitness Celebration 5K Run/Walk.

I threatened their lives that if they complained they could not come back with me till they turn 11!!! I think that did the trick! I got them some fairy wings and matching tutu's and they were in heaven! We rode the shuttle bus to the park and had a really fun time.

As I have gotten older my anxiety has increased 10 fold. Especially if it is out of my normal routine. I was doing really well until the Life Flight helicopter did a fly over. It just hit my panic button! I was just praying it did not crash. (I know that is terrible and morbid. I think I have a thing called "Bad Thoughts OCD")

The girls griped a few times but it was legit. We waited in the same spot at the starting line for over an hour. And mostly in the shade. So it was chilly!

Once we got started they were awesome! They received several comments of how cute they were. I could not agree more!

Cute huh?

Better Days.....

2011-09-23T08:07:00.000-07:00

I know that they are ahead....I just have to keep pushing forward!

{The Story}

I have started running! ............................................ Did that allow for enough time for you to get back in your chair???? Carrying on....

I run at night and Jason either follows me on his bike with a flashing light (for safety, not too warn people I am coming) or runs with me.

On a whim I decided to run further than normal. I got into the subdivision behind us and a little black and white Boston Terrier runs up to me. There were people up ahead of us and I thought it was theirs. Turns out THEY thought it was ours. Honestly, I think they were just happy that it was no longer their problem. For sure the dog was going to follow us. It looked as though he had broken a run leash of some kind cause it was still attached. The only problem was that I intended on running up to Locust Grove. That road is busy at any hour. Jason was afraid it would get hit so we cut through the school and back home. We got the dog some water and I took a picture of it to post on FB. I was actually worried that it was one of my friend Julie's dogs. They have 2 that look similar. I did not want to have the dog get hurt, especially if it was hers.

ANYWHO'S...... The dog was barking up a storm all evening. Jason got out of bed at 11 and took the dog back to where we had found it. (Not the most shining moment of character, but we were worried our neighbors around us would freak....and we could hear him over our fan...so we knew he was loud). Our neighbor Paul saw him when we had jogged home. So that morning I got a text from his wife Sarah saying that Paul thought it got out of our gate last night and put the dog in his backyard. (AREYOUKIDDINGME???????) It can run back to our house, but NOT IT'S OWN???????? Gimmie a break. So Jason goes over and gets him from their yard (cause he is royally bugging their dog) and puts him in our back yard. This is all just till we can either find the owner on FB or Craigslist. OR CALL THE POUND.

Later in the morning as I was getting ready to leave I glanced out to make sure all was well. I saw that the dog got wrapped around our small picnik table so I went out to free him. That is when I saw Cowboy (our bunny). That dog had killed him. K.I.L.L.E.D him. To say that I lost my mind was an understatement. I nearly died. Thankfully none of my kids knew what happened. The girls were already at school. I hysterically called Jason and screamed and bawled what had happened. I ugly cried all the way to my friend Jacki's house.

I am just so mad. I tried to do something good for another person and I got punched in the face. HARD. Our whole family did. I was so shocked at the compassion of friends. My sister and my friend Ursula (my YW's president) offered to come and "clean things up" for me. Seriously? Who does that?

When the animal shelter people came to get the dog I was further traumatized when she said, "Oh, I know this dog. We sit it about once a month!"

ARE YOU KIDDING ME AGAIN????????????????????? I know that this entire thing is just a terrible turn of events. But so sad none the less. Our kids are really bummed that now we have "no pets". Jason took care of Cowboy when he got home. He thinks the dog broke his leg and Cowboy bled out. Not that it helps me in any way. I feel totally responsible for the entire thing. STUPID! UGH!

Moral of the story? I'm not sure. Will I still help stray dogs? Probably. Will I think things ALL the way through before I just toss something in my backyard? Heck yes.

Thanks for your kind words on FB, and the cookies and hugs. They mean a lot to a hurting Mommy.

Smith Girls 2011

2011-09-18T18:49:00.000-07:00

My sister Megan (Second Oldest) held a huge party for her husband Matt's 40th birthday this Saturday. Very seldom are we all together in a non-family situation. It was funny to see people put together that their are 4 of us. Like it's some kind of anomaly.

Either way, we had a delightful time and I am honored to have such amazing women as my sisters~

Julie Ann~ Megan Sue~ Jennifer Elaine~ Allison Leanne~

September 2011

Someday Preschool 2011

2011-09-06T13:49:00.000-07:00

Graden started his last year of preschool today. He was thrilled to go back to school. He has felt rather lonely being stuck with me and Burke all day.

He is attending my sister Jennifer's school again. It was formerly known as Happy Days Preschool. She never really dug that name. This year she made the change to Someday Preschool. Not because they only go to school somedays. But that there is promise in someday. I love it.

We celebrated by going to McDonald's after. Burke really hammed it up for me! He thought he was so funny!

Utterly Disappointed~

2011-09-04T19:18:00.000-07:00

I received news of a friend this weekend. She has made what I would consider and utterly bad choice. It's shady, and dishonest, and schemey. I would not call us good friends, but I would be there if she needed me. At first I just thought it was so lame of what she did. And I was a little mad. But now I am feeling the worse out of all the feelings. DISAPPOINTMENT.

As a Mom I have not ever really felt this feeling till tonight at dinner.

We don't have problems behaviorally with any of our kids. They are all sweet and delicious. And every now and again have their sour moments.

Tonight as we were getting ready to say the prayer I asked Burke to offer it. He is still a beginner and gets rather distracted. So they are short, sweet and to the point. As I was slowly said each word for him to repeat Taylor became irritated that is was taking too long. She sighed really loud and Jason got after her. Then after we said amen, (from a 10 word prayer), Taylor blurted out "Great, now can we pray for reals?"

I don't know why it hit me so hard. But it hit Jason even harder. She was immediately sent to her room with out eating. Where she bawled at the top of her lungs. Jason went up a few minutes later. I'm not sure what he said but he came down alone.

We decided that she would eat dinner alone, after we were all done. As Jason was up talking to her I just became overwhelmed with disappointment. How does she think she learned to pray? I can remember hundreds of meals where Jason and I sat patiently and listened to the girls first prayers.

The feeling did not last long, and while she was eating alone at the bar I told her I love her. I cannot hold a grudge against my child. Just like Heavenly Father does not hold them against me. I am so very thankful for that.

I've got my hands full...

2011-09-02T10:02:00.000-07:00

Natalie and Taylor were the EASIEST babies and toddlers. They were content and happy and most importantly, they entertained each other. Twins are the best!

Graden was awesome too. Just quiet. He did his own thing, seldom got into mischief.

Well, could I be lucky enough to have all my kids be that way?

This post will answer that question:

This is on top of me having to actually put our bar stools on the bar cause he pulls a HEAVY chair over and climbs up them. It was a real shocker when Jason and I heard him turn the garbage disposal on.

He is talking up a storm.

His new favorite things are goger-gygles. (motorcycles, said with and angry face)

He is smarter than smart.

I love this freak.

Lego my Son

2011-08-30T20:47:00.000-07:00

Graden has been asking me for weeks for Legos. And to be honest, we held him off of these just like we did the girls and Barbies. So while we were at Target today he laid the dimples on thick. And I caved. He wanted a big huge set! Um.....no. So I was able to show him the ages on the boxes. And he knew for sure that some were for "babies" as he called them. So we settled on a Moon Man with a Rover.

As of this evening we are missing two wheels. : /

{PS...Thanks Cherie!!!!)

Professional 2nd Graders!

2011-08-30T08:08:00.000-07:00

Well it's done. 1st grade is in the history books and we have moved on to conquering the 2nd grade. The girls are beyond thrilled! Here is a little gift they gave to their teacher today!

The girls made a crucial mistake this morning. They made their own lunches! And now I know they can............Bbuuhahhahahahahaaaaaa!

I sent them off on their bikes happy as can be! They will do awesome! We are very proud of them!

Lot's O' Happenings

2011-08-27T20:29:00.001-07:00

I was really hoping that things would calm down before school starts, and it just seems like it get's busier by the day.

Jason started school this week. He works at the Blue and Orange store in the mall from about 7-3 then has class Monday-Thursday. His Monday class is at the BSU campus, so he goes straight there after work. But Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday he is at the Meridian campus. That was a great surprise for us! So he usually can come home in between. His classes are supposed to be from 6-9. But most nights he is done around 7:30. EXCEPT for his Philosophy class on Thursdays. That professor comes in from Nissa, OR. So he uses all the time. (My volleyball night....but I can still go!!!)

Needless to say he has had a long week. And when Jason get's tired he get's quiet. And when he get's quiet I think he is mad. And when I constantly ask if he is mad? He get's mad! Amazing how that works! It will take some adjusting, but I know we are on the right path!

We are all ready for the girls to start on Tuesday. They have Mrs. Anala. I am not sure the spelling of that. My girls are thrilled! They really liked her from what they saw last year. They even had her sign their year books. Oh to be in the second grade! Their clothes are all washed and hung, hair cut, room clean. We decided to separate their shoes this year. They each have a laundry basket under their beds with their own shoes. We had some "those are my shoes" drama last year that I am trying to avoid!

Graden starts on the 6th. So I have some time to get his room cleaned up! It needs it!

The Browne's came for another visit! It helped my summer along knowing they were coming! They got to stay for a week. Reagan was really sick, and was not the happiest camper, so we played more after she got to feeling better. We swam of course. The kids have a blast at Christines.

Candace and I got to sneak away on Tuesday and go see THE HELP. I had sent Candace the book earlier in the summer and she loved just as much as I did. We loved the movie too! There were only 8 of us in the theater. And I think that she and I were the only ones that had read it. Cause we were reacting to what we knew was coming, and the rest just did as it happened. It would be great to see it with a full theater of readers!

This is just a silly picture I took of Burke Saturday morning. He was a hot mess. This is what an almost 2 year old looks like after an Otter Pop treat and playing out front. And as you can see he is sporting the white trash onsie. LOL! I cut the sleeves off some of the long sleeve onsies.

I also took him in for his 15 month and 18 month check. I know.....LATE! But he needed shots and to be honest, I could not have done it this winter. It was a bad one for me depression wise, and the thought of him getting shots was too much for me. He only got 2 and cried, but did great. The other kids though.....When I turned around with Burke in my arms the big kids were all huddled up covering their ears! I think it was worse for them! Hahaha! That is true compassion!

He weighs 21 pounds and is in the 5%. BUT, he is in the 10th% for height. And 45th% for his head. LOL! I told the nurse he falls in the Pip Squeak category!

So thanks for stopping by~ You rock!

Derby Date Night~

2011-08-16T07:43:00.000-07:00

I won 4 tickets on FB to the ROLLER DERBY! hOlLa!!! I answered a trivia question from Zip Idaho. We invited the Robertson's go with us. I had one of my young women babysit for us. Kristine :) We headed down town last Saturday night!!!! I love DT Boise. Mainly because I love to people watch. And boy was there some watchin'! (And some smellin' too;/)

As we were walking to the Quest Arena I saw this utility box that was painted with these really cool owls. Um.... yes please!

So I was really excited about going to the derby. Do you remember my post about the movie Whip It with Ellen Page, Kristin Wiig, and Drew Barrymore? Well, I think I secretly want to be on a roller derby team. Jason and I thought of a name for me on the way home. (Some of the names we saw were "Thigh Master", "Rasta 4:20", and some other ones that were in reference to being a druggie, or gay.) I'm not gonna lie. I am a goodie-2-shoes compared to some of these more beastie women. So I thought a good name for me would be...............drum roll.............."PEGGY SUE-ME". Eh???? Good one huh? Ok, I'm a dork...

It was NOT NEARLY cool as the movie Whip It, but we had fun. We headed to PIE HOLE for some yummo pizza next. We sat outside and listened to some live music and basked in the cigarette smoke. Ugh! We thought we could escape the cloud and do some walking around. We found this really cool outdoor art studio where artists have leased some space. Here are some that we liked!
The Star Wars one is for the Brownes. :)

After we walked off our pizza, we headed to Apsen Leaf. It's a self serve frozen yogurt place next to Pie Hole. IT WAS HEAVEN! They have aprrox 20 flavors of yogurt. You pay .44 cents an ounce, so I tried to be really careful deciding what I wanted. Jason and I were going to share. So we picked Cookies and Cream, Oreo, Choc/PB, Angel Food Cake, Strawberry, and Raspberry. I had them all neatly poured onto the side of our giant cup. (This is where 6 years of working at TCBY really helped!!!) There were TONS of toppings to choose from too. Be did just a few of this and that but my favorite was little tiny cubed cheesecake pieces! Um. HEAVEN!!!

{proof of heaven!}

We came home, the kids were in bed, the house was spotless, and Kristine was at the sink doing dishes!

So that brings me to ask you this......

How much do YOU pay a babysitter????

{Funner Summer}

2011-08-10T08:45:00.000-07:00

Could somebody please tell me where the summer went? It will go down in the history books as a fun one, but a FAST one! Here are some funner things, and some not so much :)

I scored on a mess of clothes for the girls for B2S. (back to school) I have $48 in store credit at Kids Again and took more things in to consign and got another $14. So I had a tab of $68. I was able to get a dozen + shirts, 8 pairs of jeans and a denim jacket for $22. :) Most of the shirts were on summer clearance and I snatched them up! I also got the girls several pairs of shoes at Payless for $6 a piece. They are all set! Whew! We also got all their supplies! I am on top of it this year! Last year at this time I was prepping for 3 tonsillectomy's. Not cool.

Burke fell into a speaker on our living room floor on Monday. Another not cool. He was fine though. Did not even break the skin.
I thought this was cute. They are watching Shrek on my bed.
I got a new doo from September. I even have some spikies in the back! I like a funky hair style.
We took our YW boating to Black Canyon Reservoir last night. I had never been there before. It was amazing. I love how the docks are against grass, and they are not floating. I know the girls had a GREAT time! (As did their fearless leaders)

Here is my beautiful Stacy!

Here I am "trying" to knee surf.

BAILEY THE BEAST! She rocks with water sports!

Bronwyn having a blast!

Bailey dreaming of Nebraska.

Our fearless Bishop surfing.

Moi~

Some of the leaders taking a break!

Crazy tubbing girls!

I told the girls that if they are brave enough to steal my phone and take pictures, then dumb enough not to erase them, I will post them. This is Jamie and Claire. I told Jamie she looks like Sloth from Goonies. She did not know who that was..........Baby Ruth??????

I had to bring my arthritis stick. It takes the pain out of my shoulder. Stacy thought it may work on her jaw. I think it just cleared her nose. :)

I had a HUGE crash off the tube. I have no idea how it happened either. I guess I flipped on the water forever before I actually sunk in. I am sore today.

THE BEST PART???????? I was soooooo cold when I got home, but was equally as tired. Jason had poured me a super hot bath with Epsom salt. Ahhh......I sat in the tub and told him all about the trip and we ate watermelon. It was delightfulness.

Zip Away!

2011-08-06T12:35:00.000-07:00

We smashed through our ninth anniversary this week! We were married at high noon in the Boise temple on 8/3/02. A beautifully hot day!

Every year we talk about what we are going to do. It usually consists of a movie and Chili's. It is usually in our budget for a hot date like that. But this year I decided to break that mold and do something more daring! So I started planning early and saving quarters. I hid a Mason jar in my undies drawer and every chance I got to snag one I did! No quarter was safe! I also sold a rug and made $50 and had another $50 in an account we never use.

I got a wild idea to do a zip line tour. I had heard that there was one in Horseshoe Bend, only 30 minutes away! I checked out the website and got pretty jacked. It was a 3 hour tour, 6 lines, and so close to Boise. The only bummer is that it was $75/person. YOWZA!! But I was determined to make it happen! When I told Jason about my plan he was pretty excited! But he really through a wrench in the system when he said he wanted to get a hotel room that night too! But luckily with all those cheapo sites that help you find a room, it was easy!

So Friday night after work we headed up to Horseshoe Bend. It is such an easy drive. We got to the place and waited to take a suburban up to the trails. That was the bumpiest ride I have ever been on! Some of the turns I could not even see the road in front of us! Those guides are great though and drive it so often, they know those roads like the back of their hands! We were with 8 other people.
Here we are all rigged up in our gear!
Jason coming across the second zip line!
A shot of me in the trees!
This is me coming in backwards! My bad!
Me and my honey!
SUPER JASON TO THE RESCUE!
We finished up with the awesome tandem zip lines~ Jason won. Cause he's fatter! LOL!

Click HERE to watch our tandem ride together!

{After watching this I have to laugh cause who knew Jason was Hawaiian? What's with all the "hang loose" signs honey?????} LOL!

And like previously mentioned what would be a an anniversary with out Chili's???? After about a half an hour discussion with Jason I decided that I was going to have a real COKE with my dinner. It would be the first one in 35 days. Do you think I enjoyed it?
"H" yeah I did! I polished off three refills. And in my defense, there was A LOT of ice! :) I am not in any rush to go out and buy a Pepsi right now. It feels great to have some self control!
After Chili's we headed to our hotel. Springhill Suites by Marriott. I really wanted to sit in the hot tub and we had 30 minutes till the pool closed. Much to my dismay, it was more like a luke warm tub, so we went back to our room and I took a lobster bath. (It's when my feet are so red I look like a lobster)

We lounged and watched CABLE!!!!! Oh heaven! We got a great night's sleep and woke up in time to battle a million people for a continental breakfast. :( We ate quick and went back to our room, snuggled up, and watched MORE CABLE!!!! And Jason did not even watch Sports Center. He let me watch some Jersey Shore, (I've never seen it), and some Celebrity Rehab, and this morning we watched Flip This House New Hampshire and Fabulous Flips Las Vegas! It's the simple things really!

This was a great anniversary. Not as much because we did really fun stuff, but because I spent it with my partner in life. He is my partner in everything.

The more tender your feet......

2011-07-24T19:17:00.000-07:00

The more tender your spirit.

Those were words spoken by a teenage girl about Trek. I could not have said it better myself. It is so true. But not just your feet. Your body, your mind, your everything!!!

There were so many beautiful and marvelous things that happened on Trek. It is not for the weak in spirit. It was the hardest thing both physically and mentally I have ever done. And for that, the blessings I have received have been insurmountable.

For starters, I could not have done it without this man. He kept me going when I thought I could go no more. He took care of our kids and our camp with pride. He made sure everything was as easy as it could be under our circumstances. From setting up camp, to packing the handcart, he is a man's man. It was no easy task, and he did it without complaint. (Or at least none that our kids could hear! I may have....)

Thank you for allowing me to do this Jason. It changed my life forever. And I know it strengthened our marriage.

This is the last passage of water we went through. It was more a mixture of manure and mud really. We still had another day to trek and my feet were still fine, so I chose to jump the water. But I did not have to. The day prior we had heard a devotional about the crossing of the Platte River crossing. We were told of a 16 year old GIRL that carried 17 members of her company across a frozen river.

When I came to the place that the women were crossing, there was a girl, approximately the same age, with one foot in the muddy water, helping others across a thin log. She sacrificed her own dry shoes and socks for us to keep ours. We live amongst amazing youth.

MA & PA Blue in all their glory!

A tender moment within our sweet and loving little...cough...cough...10kids!

Rosalyn~ What a wonderful YW she is! She was so helpful and has such a wonderful spirit.

Marlon~ Ok, we are in the same ward as Marlon. But he did not know that! He was so funny and sweet. And occasionally bored.....(that was quickly fixed by making him go get water, or our food box)! His brother's Brando and Hyrum were on trek too. If we could not find Marlon, he was with his brothers. I thought it was sweet.

Bri~ What an interesting character. She was quiet, and then would say the funniest things. One of which is that she thought we should do the trek in Nebraska next time because it's flat.

Trenton~ He is 12. Need I say more? He was fun to have around. He loves candy and was always into some! To the point where I had to hide the Jolley Ranchers I brought for the kids to have while walking! Trenton also announced during a devotional that the spirit was telling him to go see Harry Potter. (It was the night it came out). I gave him the look. You know the one!

Chandler~ This boy pulled our handcart 99% of the time. We had to pull him off to take a break. But then he was right back on. I want my daughters to marry a guy like Chandler. He was the best son a Ma and Pa could ask for!

Nathan~ This guy is a wonderful person! He was delightful, and helpful, and just such a pleasure to be around. He is a spiritual giant! Another boy my girls to marry! He loved our rice baby David. He even fashioned several outfits, and slings for him to wear!

Bailey Rae~ Well, we all know how much I love this one! SO MUCH! She was thoughtful and kind. I needed her on Trek. She kept me sane, when I thought I may lose it!

Jared~ Our other 12 year old! What a sweet boy this one! His Mom was so worried about him going. Her prayers were answered! He was amazing to have! His hand was always on the cart! I miss this guy!

Megan~ Our mini ox. Megan pulled for 2 straight days! She was funny, and adorable! I thought it a pleasure to be her Ma!

Alex~ This guy got some serious blisters starting day 1. He NEVER complained. If we needed anything he was right there to help! I loved having all these awesome boys!

The last 1/4 mile we were given the chance to walk in barefoot. We heard the most amazing story of sacrifice. How could we not do it? We were the second to last handcart and actually walked closer to a mile barefoot. It was dirty, rocky, and there were lot's of little thorns. But Jason said that the Spirit was so strong you could not feel them.

(Megan's tootsies)

We had such a spiritually significant time that I am finding it difficult to blog about. They are tender and personal. I hope you understand. But in these words and pictures, I hope you get the feel of the love we had for this special adventure!

On a funny note. One night we played Mafia with the Barne's family. That is one hour of my life I will never get back. And I have no IDEA what happened. And I as the police! LOL!

Boom and a Crack.....

2011-07-05T09:24:00.000-07:00

We had so much fun visiting with Candace and the kids! I am even more excited that they are coming back in August! We enjoyed the pool, s'mores and lot's of laughing!

My friend Dina has a cupcake business called Crazy Cupcake Lady! Every Sunday night she designates a place and posts clues or pictures on FB. The first 2 people there get the cupcakes. It was rather fun! We came in 2nd and enjoyed delish Andes Mint cupcakes! Although there was some speculation we cheated....I assure you it was all on the up and up :) Thanks CCL for the fun night! This is her daughter Bailey in the Victory Picture with us!
Our friends the Miner's invited us for a swimming/BBQ party. We had a blast and a close call, but all was fine! Brandon is actually Jason's new boss. He won't be working at Centennial next year. Sadly, not coaching either. With his school schedule for BSU, we would not see him until the weekends. So we had to make some sacrifices and coaching was one. Jason was truly broken hearted about it. But I am thankful he put us first. Thanks honey.....

I am in love with Lilly. She reminds me sooooo much of Natalie and Taylor when they were her age!
This is BAILEY! (as previously posted) She hung out with us for a while before fireworks last night. We headed to her house and sat in the drive way to watch all their crazy neighbors literally light the road on fire. It was fun though! Good times! Thanks Gardners for having us!
And last but not least. During our YW's meeting we were talking about Trek and what needs to be done to get ready. I mentioned that I have got to QUIT drinking Diet Pepsi or I am going to be crippled by headaches while Trekking! Well. In case you are ever in the same room as Dina Gardner and Ursula Tingey......Don't mention that you need help quitting something. Cause these two ladies are NOTHING BUT A HUGE HELP. ;)
Ursula came straight to my house and confiscated my stash. SERIOUSLY. My world was NOT refreshed. It's all for the best. The next day was hard, but by today, I am drinking lot's of water and seem to be on my way!

ToOt ToOt~~~

2011-06-30T11:32:00.001-07:00

That is the sound of my own horn. Cause I'm tootin' it! We met our Trek families for mutual last night. Jason and I had delivered cookies the Sunday prior to introduce ourselves. The kids were all delightful. There were only two boys that were not home. At mutual we were to make our family flag for during trek. It's to identify your family. We also have blue bandanas. We also had to make a verse to The Handcart Song. The guys actually worked on that and did a GREAT job. They came up with this for the first verse:

"WHEN ALL THE BLUES WENT ON THE TREK,

THEIR FAMILY WAS A TOTAL WRECK.

FROM BIG TO SMALL WE LOVED THEM ALL,

AND AS THEY WALKED THEY GAVE THIS CALL......."

Then the chorus is: (this part is the same for everybody)

For some must push and some must pull, As we go marching up the hill;

So merrily on our way we go, Until we reach the Valley-O.

As for our flag, I really had no idea what we were going to do. So we went to Walmart and as I looked at some fabric I had a great idea. I was a tad intimidated. Mostly because some of the flags I had seen prior were incredible. But I presented to the kids and they loved it. We cut out all the pieces there and I came home and started hot gluing. (I bought iron on fabric glue and it did not work. Why I stray from hot glue I have no idea. It's a gem every time!)

The people/handcart are all hot glued on. Then for the letters I used Heat n Bond. I cut out letters with my Cricut. I am so proud of the way it turned out. I put our names on it with a fine tip marker and then added some detail.

I know it is probably over the top, but it makes me happy. The work was minimum, and overall I think the kids will love the flag.

Jason and I are in front of the flag. We are the host family for Bishop Berg and his wife. They will make camp with us and eat with us if they want. We are to also include them in family activities.

We have been collecting our supplies. And to our surprise we actually had a majority of what was needed. The clock is ticking and we are so excited to go! We also have a big family reunion the week before, so July is going to be crazy for us!

Snarky

2011-06-29T13:55:00.000-07:00

Hi. My name is Alli. I am sarcastic.

Hello Alli. Welcome to the SARCASM support group.

I can be snarky. I am not sure at what point in I decided that being sarcastic was a good life choice. I would like to say that I was born this way, but I don't think the Lord installs the ability to give somebody a good tongue lashing. Over the years I have honed in on my skills. I primarily use them for good and not evil. Although sometimes I can feel somebody creeping under my skin and the one liners start compiling in my head.

I would like to say that being sarcastic is a fault. But really I am blessed to be quick witted, and light on my feet with my words.

My friend posted this picture on FB and I had to steal it. It made me laugh. I was still in bed with a full bladder and thought I better hold off on posting it till I was, you know, emptied!

So have a good laugh on me. And have a happy Wednesday!

2 pigs and a dog.

2011-06-25T12:09:00.000-07:00

Well good day to you! Thanks for stopping by!

My allergies have been so killer this year. One night last week I used an entire roll of toilet paper just blowing my nose. BOO! But I am feeling better!

If I looked how I felt this would be it:

Not sure what was up with Graden.

And there is no excuse for this! :)

We hit the Meridian Dairy Days Parade this year again. It was fun and the kids got a TON of candy. (oh joy)

Our friends the Robertsons were in the parade! I am so glad they saw us! They were walking with the adoption float! Look at how DARLING Ashlyn is! Serious??? I could eat that girl up! Sadly, Collin's dad passed away the next morning. We are so sad for their family. He was a wonderful man.

Every summer my wedding ring shrinks. Ok, my finger swells to the size of my thumb. It kills me not to wear it, but it is humanly impossible for me to get it on. And if I do squeeze it on, I would have to call 911 to get it off. And they would have to use the Jaws of Life. No way. So each summer I treat myself to a new wedding band. Come on! $6.88 at Walmart and I have a new ring and a green finger by the end of the summer! This was my pick this year. Way more realistic than the 3 carat whopper I picked last year! hehe!

Now on to the MOTHER OF A LIGHTNING AND THUNDER STORM from the other night! Jason and I sat on our porch and watched. One of the thunder's scared me sooooo bad I flinched and nearly pulled every muscle in my neck! IT WAS HELLA SCARY YO!!!

I would like to name this the Second Coming Cloud. Cause you betta be on yo knee's prayin' somewhere when this bad boy rolls into town again.

Yep. He's mine.

We have had time to spend with the Browne's. Oh blissful joy! We have enjoyed Candace's MIL's pool. NICE!

And this is what happens when you do not communicate with your spouse. You end up with two Guinea Pigs and a dog over the weekend! I agreed to babysit my sister Jennifer's pigs for a couple of weeks while they travel to New Mexico. (Not the Old Mexico like my girls thought). Rocco and Jack Jack are fun to have! (Odorless I may add!!!)

And Jason agreed to watch the Hazen's dog Meeka while they go to San Diego for the weekend! My kids are in HEAVEN! It's all going very well so far. Meeka is really chill and so are the pigs!

Nuff' said :)

2011-06-17T20:51:00.000-07:00

Although for just a visit, my heart seems fuller with her here.

Thank You Heavenly Father for my CanDance.

Genious {Not me, I sure stole the idea}

2011-06-16T10:11:00.003-07:00

A friend of mine posted on FB how her kids were loving a new method of doing chores. So of course I had to ask......

It's basically a bowl or jar with folded up chores that they pick randomly. So far.....it has been 95% awesome. We are working out the kinks as we go! It has chores like sweep the floor, wipe down the table, pick a window and wash it, put laundry away, mop, and some special ones to like wrestle dad, 5 minute break, sing a song....etc... They get a star bursts for each chore they do. (not for the fun or silly ones though) I put some harder ones in there today. Taylor had to sweep and mop, and Nat had to clorox wipe each toilet. For those I made them worth 2 starburst!

Graden's slips are green and at his level. I am lucky to get him to do anything. So he has to vacuum, put toys away, etc... He does not like starbursts either so he get's another treat!

The road bumps we have hit are if one get's done faster than another they get more slips, therefore more starbursts. DRAMA. So tomorrow I am going to give the girls their own color. I hope that helps. Nat also got the two fun ones today as well, and that did not go over well! :(

So far our summer has been pretty darn clean! And I like it!

Sew awesome!

2011-06-05T18:49:00.000-07:00

My MIL is SEW awesome! When she came for Spring break she was working on the most

a.d.o.r.a.b.l.e. skirts for her grand daughters. She picked out the fabric that she thought
would best suit each girl! The style she picked for my girls was RIGHT ON! I loved it! Well,
she finished up and sent them in the mail this week! Nat & Taylor were so excited to open
the package! It even had Graden and Burke's name on it too! (They got fruit snacks and
smarties! Thoughtful for them to not be left out!!)

Sunday!! They were dazzling in their new skirts! And the best part??? They TWIRL! Like really twirl! Like I had to tell the girls not to twirl at church cause people could see their undies!!!
The skirts look like they were purchased they are so professional! Teri is a methodical
seamstress! (Although she is scoffing right now!) TAKE THE COMPLIMENT MOM!

Well, she ain't the only one that can sew in this family!! Totally joking! I just thought I
would hem the girls jeans into shorts for the summer! My sewing machine does some really
cute stitches! I did several designs! This was just one of them! (PS.....how do twins, who
share pants get holes in the right knee only in EVERY pair we own??) Let me know when
you think of the answer!

I am thankful to have such a giving MIL. She is wonderful about sharing her talents with her
kids and grand kids! We are blessed to be her family! Love you Teri! (Is this not better than
being in the list of my blessings??? You got your own post woman!!!!) ;)

Negative Nancy

2011-06-03T09:44:00.000-07:00

Or Debbie Downer. Or Wanda Womp. Or Alli Blue? Nah......

I decided somewhere along the way that life is too short to worry about things you have no control over. That does not always stop me from trying, but I generally have a pretty firm grasp on my reality.

Instead of listing all the things that I want to pull my hair out over, I thought I would list all the things that bless my life. (And of course not ALL of them, but the ones that come to me. Or before Graden wants lunch. Whichever comes first!!!)

My marriage.
My children.
My faith in the gospel.
Jason's job.
My kids have insurance.
Chex Party mix and Diet Pepsi.
This warm day.
My new neighbor I met today.
Faithful Friends.
Laughing at Denny's.
Volleyball (even when hit with the ball).
Netflix.
My sisters.
Judy.
Creativity.
My no soliciting sign.
My iPhone.
Candace and the kids coming for 2 weeks.
Jason going back to school.
My kids' teachers.
People in my ward.
My calling.
MIA MAIDS.
Trek.
Health.
Reality TV.

Well, this is just my short list. I have many more. I know sometimes it's hard to see the good when all you feel is bad. But it's there. Just have to open your eyes, and your heart to them!

Botanical, Zoo and the #31!

2011-05-29T16:01:00.000-07:00

The month of May is so busy! But it's almost over and so far we have made it! Both Graden and the girls had field trips and I was able to go to both! Thankfully! The boys and I went to the Zoo. A week later than planned because of rain, but we had a great time on a chilly day! I think it is so funny when I am with my boys and people think it is great that I have 2 boys. Then when I tell them I also have 2 girls.....the face is priceless! Sometimes you would think I said I had 20! lol!

I love this picture of Burke because he is trying to pick this poor penguin up off the ground! He is so small that he is able to lift more than his own weight. He is awesome at balancing too. He is crazy strong! {Or so he thinks??}

Here are some pictures of the girls and I at the Idaho Botanical Gardens! I had not been in years. It was green, and lush, and beautiful!

Oh, and I turned 31! BOOYA! My big day fell on a Sunday and mine was filled with church and meetings! Go figure! When I came home from my YW's meeting the front of the house had this BEAUTIFUL sign Jason had made! I knew I was in for a treat!
Say hello to the Hill Billy Birthday Party! I think he used every decoration in our party box! All the kids past birthday parties were represented! It was AWESOME!
Candace sent me this a.d.o.r.a.b.l.e necklace from ETSY. Sorry the picture is side ways. It's a charm necklace. A tree, an OWL...and the oval says ALLI. So cute huh? I love it! And I wear it everyday!

I also finished the book THE HELP! It's a must read if you have not! It will be released in the theaters August 11th! Better read it so you are hip to the know!

{I'm seeing GREEN!} ....and BLONDE!

2011-05-11T13:13:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time I heard that this little show was coming to Boise and thought....Hmm...That might be fun!!! So I got on the horn (FB) and spread the word that I wanted to go to WICKED! And what do you know??? Lot's of my friends wanted to go too! So I collected the money, purchased the tickets, and waited. And waited, and waited and waited! And before I knew it, May 10th rolled around and it was time to go!

This has been a crazy week for me because of Jury Duty. I am quite the citizen you know. And although I was excused Monday, and was still on call. But Tuesday came and not service was needed! WHEW! You wanna know why? CAUSE THAT WAS MY DAY FOOL! ;) I prayed and prayed that I would not have to go. I have had a hair appointment with September for 6 weeks. Nothing like getting your hair done on a big day! My dear friend Jacki watched the boys for me and I headed down town to her salon. It was delightful! Nothing like the sound of foil and the smell of bleach! Ahhhh......

PA-DOW!

Around 5pm we met up at the Cheesecake Factory for an early dinner before the show! I have been there a handful of times before but never realized they have a snacks and small plate menu! Um....Yes Please! I ordered the Stuffed Mushrooms and Crispy Artichoke hearts. They were delectable! I usually order a soda, but my friend Julie taught me how to make "Poor Man's Lemonade" at Denney's after volleyball on Thursday nights. You just ask the server for a bunch of lemon and put it in your water and add Splenda. I am not a fan of Splenda but it is actually better than sugar! (And it's free!!!) HOLLA!

My friend Erin sent me this COUPON for free Cheesecake! It's good for a while so snag it! Kendra and I devoured a piece of Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake!

Buh-BYE!

I am not quite sure how this happened. Tessa's friend Tina asked to see my ring. Then before we knew it she had everybody in the van's ring on! Good thing she is totally pregnant otherwise I think she would have made a run for it!

If you like it then you should have put a ring on it!

The show is about to begin!

If I could only use one word to describe the musical it would be

~BRILLIANT~

I was so emotional at the end. It went by so fast! I loved every second of it! It was the most beautiful, touching story about true friendship. Maybe that's why it was so hard for me. Alfie and GaaaaaaaaLinda were such good friends, Alfie leaves, it was just close to home for me. I felt the Spirit so strong when they sang about being better after knowing each other! You were missed Candace! Truly!

{Race for the Cure}

2011-05-08T12:51:00.001-07:00

I attended the Race for the Cure on Saturday with some of my friends from church. We were team Susie-Q. In honor of Tessa's MIL who is battling cancer. We had a great time. The weather was rainy in the morning but the skies cleared by the time we got down there. I love that part of Boise too. So green and stunning! Makes me miss it!

Here are some pictures of the fun day for a great cause!

My family had a camp out in our backyard the night prior. I was thrilled to see the tent was still up, and still had all of the blankets in there. I love nothing more than to snuggle into a warm tent. Oh how I love it! I also love coming from a cold building into a warm car!

Today is Mother's Day. It was a wonderful Sacrament meeting. Our seniors who are graduating spoke. They were all so good. Made me teary some of them!

Last night I also got the surprise of a blog-time! I won the Leelou custom blog makeover from Green Jello with Carrots! HOLLA!

Come to mama!

2011-05-05T11:30:00.001-07:00

I don't do these very often, mostly because I am not lucky enough to win! But this one I am PRAYING FOR! A custom blog makeover from Leelou blogs! Seriously! Did I die and go to blog heaven! If I win you can even help me chose what I put on it. And if you are opposed to owls??????? That is just too bad! :)

CLICK HERE!

Check out all the fun thins you could win too!

{Perfect Pedicure's and a flower Pot}

2011-05-04T13:34:00.000-07:00

Graden invited me to preschool for a special Mother's Day pampering session! (Little did he know that I have been before with the girls! But he was so good at keeping the special events secret!)

So my friend Kendra watched Burkey (otherwise known as JERKey, but that is a different story). I came as instructed. Wearing flip flops and no polish. Hmmm......what could this mean????

How about a PeDiCuRe?????????
(If you have never had the chance to let a 4 year old give you a pedicure.....
YOU ARE MISSING OUT)

Graden started by offering me a beverage. I picked lemonade. It was delightfully refreshing. Ahhhh.....

My sweet handmade gift~

Don't forget to tip your pedicurist. So not cool! Luckily mine is easy to please!

This is only part one of many Mother's Day events for us. Wiffle ball tourney will be on Saturday. Then Mother's Day on Sunday. Oh, then MY BIRTHDAY next Sunday. Oh how I love the month of May!

You be the JURY....

2011-04-29T09:37:00.000-07:00

On the 15th of May I will be 31. I have never served on jury duty. I have always felt left out! I was jealous of Jason when he was asked to serve. He was never picked to be on a jury, but he got to go to the courthouse and see how it worked. I think that although inconvenient, we, as citizens, should be willing to serve. I try to think.... "What if my child was injured and someone (not me) was put on trial for their crime???" I would want a jury of people who are willing to be there.

Well my wishes came true. A few months ago I got the questionnaire in the mail to select jurors. I was thrilled. Jason thought I was insane. I mailed it back the next day and have been waiting for my number so I could call in and see if I had to go!

On Monday I received a call and did not recognize the number. So I let it go to voice mail. It was a message from the Jury Commission office stating that I was requested to serve on Wednesday April 27th. It also stated that if that did not work that I could call that same number back and request a postponement. I did. I chose option 5, got the email, and requested a postponement. I had no childcare, and asked to serve this summer. I never heard anything back.

Fast forward to Wednesday. Normal day. Getting ready to put Burke down for his nap, and then playing Guess Who with Graden. I get a call from a number that I don't recognize, but I know is ok to answer. It is a jury commissioner lady SCREAMING at me that the judge is WAITING for me and I need to DROP what I am doing and DRIVE to the courthouse IMMEDIATELY. Needless to say I was beyond flabbergasted and not quite sure what to say or do. She just kept going on and on about the fact that I talked to somebody and said I would be there. I NEVER TALKED TO ANYBODY.

I was able to stay calm. Burke on the other hand tested his lung power SCREAMING while I was on the phone. Everything I was trying to tell her she was not buying. She thought I was lying. About all of it. Emailing, not talking to a person on Monday......I could have died.

She let me finish what I was saying then she replied: "You'll be receiving a letter". Then hung up on me. I was totally numb. Shocked really. And scared.

So today when I was coming around the corner from dropping the girls off at school I could see somebody parked in front of my house and walking up to my door. I pulled in and kept the boys in the car. It was a lady giving me a summons punishable by law. She was very nice and I explained the story to her and she felt very badly. But I was still screwed.

I have to report to the courthouse on Monday the 9th of May at 7:30am. No calling in, nothing. I am freaking out. What do I do with my kids??????? Hello? How do I get them to school. How do I get Graden to and from preschool?

This is how I am feeling!!!!

Then the Lord blesses me.......

I have had some really great people drop by that have blessed me so much. And they had no idea any of this was going on. My friend and neighbor Cindy came over just minutes after the crazy phone call. She brought me cookies and this tile. And I bawled. I told her the story.

Then my friend Tamra stopped by last night with the ADORABLE bag full of Diet Pepsi and chocolate! It had the nicest note inside. She had no idea any of this was going on either.

Will I survive this? Yes.
It's all about your attitude.

{Eggs and Cake}

2011-04-25T09:04:00.000-07:00

Saturday we celebrated Easter and Graden's birthday as a family. It was quite the bash! My sister Jennifer filled and hid over 300 eggs for this PARTY! Along with 3 coveted golden eggs! One of which Taylor found! With a little help from Mom! Graden has really enjoyed playing Donkey Kong on the Wii. So I asked Jennifer to make a DK cake for my boy. This is what she came up with......

As you can tell....He loved it! I always feel bad eating such awesome cakes!

We also played some music outside and the cousin's got their DANCE on!

Here is my sweet 4 year old. He asks me everyday if he is still 4. Yep!

Here is a picture of all the cousins including the Frogley kids (Keaton, Kole and Evi). Although I cannot see Kole in this picture, but I know he is up there somewhere!

Comparing some legs. One of these kids is going into Nursery in a few weeks. The other one is not even one yet! ;)

The Browne's stopped by on Friday night to say goodbye. I tried to keep it as low key as possible. I know my girls were really bummed and did not want them to get upset. We kept it casual. No tears! Just hugs!
I talked to Candace last night and they are doing well. They had help moving in and the Bishop's wife has already brought dinner! My friend Tricia's husband works for Apple as well (Scott's boss) and they had them over for Easter dinner. It makes me feel good knowing that there is a ward wherever you move to take care of you!

Miss you CanDance!

{FOUR heavens sake}

2011-04-21T08:35:00.001-07:00

I specifically told Graden to quit growing. Then yesterday he went and turned FOUR on me. Seriously? Four? That cannot be right!

Let's play "Did you know".......

Did you know that I got pregnant with Graden AFTER Jason lost his job?

Did you know that I was so violently ill that I could not stand up straight for almost 7 weeks?

Did you know that I had to go to the ER just to be filled up with liquids so I wouldn't die of dehydration?

Did you know that we sold our house and moved while I was pregnant with him? Packed up an entire house 7 months pregnant and had TWO Two and a half year olds!

Did you know that while prepping for my c-section I had an allergic reaction to some medication they had given me and I stopped breathing?

Did you know that every single night this is the face I see?

Did you know that Jason and Graden are best friends?

We are so lucky to be Graden's parents. He is a very good boy. He can be kind and mean all in the same 10 minutes. He can be hilarious daily. He hates bedtime. Loves tubby time. Sometimes loves Primary. Loves BBQ chips. Hates almost everything for dinner (But does not complain). Loves Burke, until he wrecks whatever he was playing. Loves his sissies, until they boss him around one too many times. Loves to snuggle me at night to avoid going to bed. (And I soooooo fall for it every time)

We had a very low-key celebration last night. A few gifts, cupcakes, dinner, and Chase came over to say hi!

Chase got him a fishing pole that I already had to super glue back together! (It was that popular) And two pictures in frames. It was awesome. I wonder how many times he will ask to go to Chase Browne's before it sets in that they moved?
I headed to mutual after the little party. Stacy had prepared a lesson on Finding Christ. It was awesome. At the end we blew out eggs. To represent the empty tomb Christ was not in, although still sealed closed. Let's just say that being in a bathroom with a bunch of teenage girls is really.........LOUD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Are we there YET?????

2011-04-19T13:38:00.000-07:00

It's funny how things work out. I have had dozens of people ask if we are going on Trek. {For those that don't know, Trek is like re-creating the Pioneer trek across the plains! Handcart, and authentic dress and all!!!} We were not asked and people are always so surprised.
The upcoming Trek is in July. Candace and Scott were asked to a Ma and Pa. They will have to care for 10 boys and girls ages 12-18. They will be their "Children". I was so JEALOUS! I have always wanted to go! Well, with Scott and Candace moving {WOMP} we were asked to take their place as the Ma and Pa! YAHHOOOOZA!
I cannot be more excited! Jason is even missing a wrestling camp for this! Talk about sacrifice! (scoff, scoff!)

We are all set! We will be trekking for John Christian Jensen and his wife Ansine Elisabeth Nielsen! I am so excited about it! I am sure this will be one of many posts!

[441 Miles]

2011-04-15T08:28:00.000-07:00

There are so many things I could blog about. The funny things my kids say, the haul I made at Goodwill, mowing season starting, warm weather, the temple in Meridian......

And yet my mind travels the 441 miles to Sacramento. Why there? Well, that is where MY Candace is moving in T-minus 8 days. That's right! You heard me!

Scott has been offered a job in sunny California. Something to do with Apples? My kids are confused! He is working for Apple Corporate. {You know....like iPhones Taylor said!}

She told me the week before spring break that Scott had applied, on a whim, for this job that he would probably NEVER get. That very instant I received a very firm confirmation that he was going to get that job. And I needed to prepare myself for her leaving. I am not sure if having more time would make it easier. This is one band aid that is going to hurt like hell whether it is ripped fast or slow.

I also decided that I would not let her see me sad. This was equally, if not harder for her. I knew that she would need my support, love and encouragement. She did not need my drama. And that if I was the BFF that I said I was, I would support her and not bring her down. That is easier said than done. But I have had help from Heavenly Father. I had my "ugly cry" in the shower last Saturday. {Like snot all over my face in the shower cry} Jason knew that I had bawled {I get "puffy face syndrome"}. I explained thru my tears that this IS me doing the BEST I can. No more tears after that. Don't cry for me Argentina. ;)

So she is moving. So I have a place to crash in Cali {That sounds funny coming from a normal person}. So she will probably lose some weight cause I won't bring her a 44oz Pepsi a few times a week. So I will have to accept that she is a little further away than a few blocks. So she will have to make some new friends. {None of which will compare to moi, but will hopefully make things easier for her}. So what. It is what it is :)

Scratch the BFF. We are BFE's. Best Friends Eternally.

Love you CanDance. xoxo

{SeVeN the SeQuEl} * {Sping break}

2011-03-29T18:43:00.000-07:00

Ok, so these pics are out of order. But I just don't have the gusto to fix it! So we are going to deal alright?

We had a great Spring Break! Jason was home all week, only had 2 wrestling practices so that was nice. And we were all healthy. Here are some things we did: Took the kids to McDonnies. I snapped this picture of Burke in the play area. The girls got him up there! He looks like an alien!

Played some kick ball out in the street. Worst $2.50 ever spent. The ball died a few hours later! Burke and Jason got some snuggle time it!

This is where I am bummed the pictures are out of order!! This was the cake my sister Jennifer made for the girls birthday party! It was deeeeeeeelish! And rainbow! HELLO!!!!!!!

The view of the cake! She topped it with the Lalaloopsy dolls! It was adorable!

Me and my new owl blanket that I paid $3.86 for at Fred Meyers.

More of the AWESOME cake! Um, this is Jason as guests were arriving! Trying to catch a nap in!

Grammy giving some pre-party back scratches!

Nattie waiting for hers! They both wore the aprons G'ma Blue made for them! So cute huh?

The top of the cake!

My table decor. I used the Fisher Price doll house my sister Megan got girls for their 3rd birthday! I am so glad we still have it! The little Lala dolls fit perfectly! It has been so nice to see my girls play with dolls again! Did you know that the average age girls quit playing with dolls in 1950 was 14? Now it is age 7. Sad huh? So you can see my happiness for them to be excited about dolls!

My sisters went in on their gift this year! They got them the large Lala dolls! Cute huh? Jason and I got them pillow pets. A major favorite with them!

We also got the girls Leapsters. And one game. We took one back the night they got them because it did not work right. Then the next day the batteries were dead. They were also way too easy for them too. So we took them back and got this Wii game! It is so fun! They all love it!

{e.x.h.a.u.s.t.e.d.}

2011-03-25T22:53:00.000-07:00

I am beyond tired. I have had the busiest week ever. Starting last Friday night..........

Ate Los Betos Carne Esada Tacos {regretted it later at Walmart. And of course the front bathroom was being cleaned.......waddle to the back one......insert sad face here}
Worked 12 hours straight selling Cents of Style product at the State Cheer and Dance Competition in Nampa. {killer}

Made 2 batches of these TO DIE FOR rolls. { dashizzle}

Had Grandma and Grandpa Blue in town all week for my girls 7th birthday! {lunch at school}

I guess they get tired too! {Resident "bed hopper" Graden}

Celebrated Taylor and Nattie's 7th birthday. {sigh}

Went to a "Moosical". {a.d.o.r.a.b.l.e.}

Love these ladies. What a joy and a blessing to be their Mother.

2011-03-16T13:51:00.000-07:00

My hubby is a BRONCO!

I have not mentioned anything because I was not sure he would be accepted, but he knew he would. :) I think they call that Faith? We got the letter today!

He is going to get a teaching degree! I could do a back flip I am so pumped! I know he will be gone a ton, but it will be worth it!

I am proud of you Jason. I know you read my blog. And now the whole world knows it too!
LOVE YOU JAB!!!!

ps....I've always wanted to make out with a hot college student! Know I live with one!!! LOL!!!!

Silly and Sopping Wet

2011-03-14T14:51:00.001-07:00

March is a busy month for us. The girls birthdays, Spring Break, etc. This year we are doing a family party. We decided to do a friends party on the "even" years. They saw these dolls at Walmart and really liked them. LalaLoopsy dolls. So my sister is going to make a cake for each of them of a doll head. Kinda creepy when I word it like that! :)

Burke was attacking Graden the other night! It was awesome! Then he would scream! Love those dorks!

This is a shining mother moment I would like to share!
I did not realize it was raining and the girls walked home in it. I secretly think they loved walking in it. I told them to make a sad face!

Burke and I playing footsie!

Jason had not been home on a Saturday morning in MONTHS! He has had wrestling for what seems like forever. So Burke took advantage of Daddy in bed!

Saturday was beautiful and the big kids headed outside. Poor Burke is just too little to go out unattended like them. He heads straight for the road. He is so tiny I am sure a car would not see him. Or the driver in the car is what I mean! ;)

THE STREAK! My little wiggly man likes to be naked. So I let him run around for a while one morning. He took his diaper and made a run for it! I love that naked butt!

Homemade fries? YES PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Life is good.

{Must Craft....or Die!}

2011-03-08T16:02:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I get this crazy, thirst quenching urge to craft. Lame? I think not! Well last night I had the chance to visit my friend Tonya who is the proud mother of the cutest little baby I have ever seen! Like no joke! They were approved for adoption and not too long after that they were headed for Detroit! Collin and Tonya brought Ashlyn home a few days ago. I popped over just as soon as I could. I think I held her for an hour and a half! BABY HOG!!! I shared her when I had to! But quickly snatched her back up! Tonya's brother and his wife Megan came down from Idaho Falls and decorated the nursery for them. The news of Ashlyn came so fast that they loaded up and were off! I think it is the sweetest thing ever. The nursery was beautiful. Kinda like Neapolitan ice cream! Brown, white and pink. Megan had made these adorable crafty wall hangings. So guess what I did today? You're right! Headed to Hobby Lobby! (Curse you Dina and Bailey)

So I bought 4 different kinds of semi-coordinating fabric. I did not want matchy matchy!

I also bought 8 wooden embroidery looms in 4 sizes.

And at last a 12*18 black frame.

In total I spent $25 :)

Plain wall:

Cute fabric:

Voila!

Why yes those are owls!

I cut a template out of an owl I sketched. Then interchanged the wings! I also painted to looms black. I had black flannel to back the owls.

Not bad for $25 bucks eh???

{Greetings and Salutations}

2011-02-25T15:53:00.001-08:00

The truth: I have been depressed lately. It is much easier to deal with now than when I was younger and could not articulate my feelings very well. I am wise enough now that when I feel it coming I tell people to avoid falling all the way into the whole of despair than is constantly lurking around the corner for me. Winter is by FAR the worst time for me. After the holidays, cause I can put my mind to work for those. Something to be excited about. But after Christmas I usually start to slide. I like to consider myself a "high functioning" mental case. Most on the outside I am sure see a busy Mom, a happy camper of sorts. But over the years I have mastered the art of the "happy face".

I was hit with some major-ish family "blek" kind of news in January. I spun out of control a bit. I keep all my "baggage" all tidy and kept away and every now and again I get tipped Topsy turvy and it all spills out. It takes days or sometimes weeks for me to gather all of it together again and regain my footing. I am thankful for family and friends and Jason who helped me greatly this time. I'm feeling much better now. Just longing for Spring and tan lines! ;)

So I have taken pictures and need to blog them. My kids are my anti-depressants. Staying in bed for days like I did as a teenager just does not work when you are the Mommy. So here are my meds....in all their glory!

Over the past month or so we have~

Taped our eyebrows up and laughed!

Had a "romantic" family dinner on Valentines Day!

Got some fun Valentines!

Went to the wards family dance! Very fun!

Had some McDonnies~

Played at indoor park.

Goofed with Mom!

Cried~

Made friendship bracelets~

Tried dipping for the 1st time!

Smiled.....alot....

Painted....

by numbers!!!!!

Went to the library!

And crashed!

So as you can see that although I struggle with depression, the Lord has placed in my some times dark heart, RAYS of magnificent light~

2011-02-20T21:07:00.000-08:00

Did you think I died? It's funny how blogging works for me. Sometimes I just get burned out. But it's usually because I have nothing to say. But this time I think I have so much going on on my head that I am not sure what to say! Shocker! I want to be really honest this year and open up, but once you open things you cannot always put them back. Now I am talking crazy so I will end this post. I will sort through my thoughts and post more later! Maybe ;)

Hmmmmm?????

2011-02-03T21:17:00.000-08:00

I will buy you lunch if you can tell me what is missing in this picture! A friend posted it of me on Face Book. Lunch as in Costa Vida, or McDonnies, or whatever you like that will not break the bank!

Oh my......

2011-01-31T18:25:00.000-08:00

I am worried about the next 10 years.....if this is what they look like now!!! We signed the girls up for a little week long dance clinic at Centennial. They would learn a little routine and perform during half time of a boys basketball game. They were super jacked. And nervous. They practiced last Tuesday-Friday from 4:15-6. I have no idea how parents go from here to there driving their kids around. I was BEAT! They were a little spent too. But we got all homework done of Monday so that helped!
Unfortunately Jason was out of town at a tournament.....story of my life. My mom and I took the girls for their big debut! I did their hair, and because daddy was out of town.....I did their makeup too. Just a little blush, and glitter. ;)
They are growing up so fast. The performance was maybe 2-3 minutes long. They were SPECTACULAR! Here are some pics of my stunning little liberties!

On a sad note.....Jason missed the dance by minutes. The bus pulled into the lot as we were leaving!!! TERRIBLE!!! He was truly sad!! He loves his girls. Although, I think they scare him more than anything!!!

My friend Cherie hosted a craft night at her house the same night as the performance. So I missed most of it!!! :( I had a chance to chat for a while. We made these cute felt heart wreaths. I had not cut my felt yet, and was not looking forward to it. I knew it would be a LOT of cutting! Luckily my friend Jacki cut too many and gave me her leftovers. I had not decided on what color to do, but since there were pink, red and white cut for me....those sounded great!!! The girls helped me fold all the circles! We had fun on Sunday after church pinning them all in! Yes, I am in my pj's after church. DUH!

And this is Burke....not being helpful.

I still love you Polly Pocket. :)

Another Centus~

2011-01-31T11:01:00.000-08:00

Remember last Saturday when I wrote that alien-ish story? Well this weeks prompt is good too! If you don't know what I am talking about, read my last post!

The prompt is in red:

She lifted the stack of letters from the ancient chest. These were of no matter to her. It was the chest she needed. After closer inspection she knew it was the one. The engravings were just as her odd, quirky professor had mumbled about. But what were the mumbles?? She tried to recall the lecture. Something about ever impending doom? That's what he normally babbled on about. I needed to decode these symbols. Our lives depended on it. I grabbed an old weathered page from my pocket. I had torn it out of his journal. He was dead now...

Saturday Centus

2011-01-22T18:17:00.000-08:00

This is so fun! And it stretches you. I love to write. Always have. My friend Cherie posted this on her blog and I had to give it a whirl. Jenny Matlock's blog gives writers a challenge. This Saturday it was to write 100 (plus the prompt) word Sci-Fi story. It was hard but I did it! The prompt was "BEAM ME UP SCOTTY". Try it! It's good to stretch your brain! And let me know if you like it!

My wrists and ankles were blistered and bleeding, but that was the least of my concerns. I knew they would be back. Twenty minutes max is all I would have before I could smell them coming.

My mind was sharp and alert given the last 24 hours. Walking along the trail behind the barn, to seeing a light near the edge of the corn field. I should have listened to my stomach. Next thing I knew I was naked, plastered to a cold table. Like for an autopsy. But I was alive. Oh no...the smell..."Beam me up, Scotty".

Golden Globies

2011-01-17T07:48:00.000-08:00

I am not a huge award show fan. "Yeah, you're rich!" We get it! I do however like the Golden Globes. I like how the celebrities are sitting at tables like normal people. You never know when the camera is on you. (Like when I saw Angelina Jolie re-apply her lip gloss! Faux Pas!....my theory.....maybe she is half normal) ......Nahhh........

I love love love the choices of clothing. There were a lot of Ewww Pretties. (good ewww) And a few What Were You Thinkings, and some plain old.....Now That Is Just Too Bad's.

So in order of TIJTB, to WWYT, to EwwwwP, here is my short list!

Enjoy.

Tilda Swinston: TIJTB.

This ensemble is just plain scary. I will get her some street cred for being modest, BUT modesty can still be beautiful. Miss Tilda looks like she took a dip in the Butter Cream bucket. Head to toe transparency is just not what I call red carpet.

Megan Fox: WWYT??????

Now you may be saying: "I like her dress". It's not about her dress, it's about her face. WHAT DID YOU DO TO YOUR FACE????? Nothing frosts my cookies more then a DROP dead gorgeous woman getting plastic surgery, and then ending up ruining a perfect face. I think she falls into the alien category now. UGH.....

Michael C. Hall (Dexter): WWYT?????
Once again, not about the tux. I'm just saying that if you know your beard is a different color than your hair........either shave or wear a hat.

Helena, Helena, Helena......

Two words: ODD DUCK.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now onto the Goodies at the Globies!!!!

Favorite Couple????????

Nicole and Keith

I love that she towers over him, not afraid to wear heels, and he is still beaming! Cute cute cute!

Best Dressed Dude was a tie! Between:

Zachary Levi (Chuck)

So dapper!

And Ryan Gosling.

I love a velvet suit!!!

DRUM ROLL PLEASE................................

Ewwwwwwwp!!!!!!
Eva Longoria(soon not to be Parker)

I just thought that she looked a.m.a.z.i.n.g.

Happily Ever After

2011-01-14T17:05:00.001-08:00

Our New Beginnings this year was based off of President Uchdorf's talk in Conference. You can find it HERE.

I was given the "challenge" to decorate the gym. Apparently I have the "touch". Hahahahaha! Most of the decor was borrowed by wonderful people in the ward. It was a beautiful night. My feet still hurt.

I wish for all the YW to know that they to may have a Happily Ever After. That they can BECOME anything.

Dina's Delicious Desert Table

My dress was used as a focal point of sorts. {and no, it does not fit.}

The symbols of the YW Organization

I made these cute "etched" jars. You modge podge a mason jar and while wet, roll them in Epsom Salt.

The look of the gym.

Amazing women. Stacy on the end was feeling rather short!

The reason we do it!!!!!

PS.....Thank you Dina and BAILEY for making me a Picnik whore. It's all I do now! LOVE IT!

www.picnik.com

Worthy News and some not so much-

2011-01-07T09:38:00.000-08:00

I am not sure if you have been following the story of Ted Williams. It's a great one. He was pan-handling on the side of the freeway in Ohio when a video journalist read his sign and asked Williams to speak. To his astonishment the sign was right. "I have the God given gift of voice". When I was telling my mom about the story I said that if I were to ever hear the voice of God, I think this is what it would sound like. It's amazing, deep, rich and has a huge story behind it. I won't go all into it. You should google him and read for yourself.

The reason why I am posting this is because we all have had our down and out times. I don't think that most of us became addicted to crack and became homeless, but I know that I have struggled with depression for my entire life. I know that there are times when my lows are really low. That is why I am so thankful for a Father in Heaven who no matter how low we get, never leaves us alone. Ted was granted a second chance. The job offers are rolling in. He was reunited with his mother Julia after 10+ years of estrangement. She had some words for him. But the most touching part was that when they saw each other Ted called out "Mommy....Mommy". I think that no matter how old you are a child still needs their Mommy.

The Lord is forgiving.

In other not so news worthy news.....

This man gets scum bag of the year award. And we are still in January. 2011 is gonna be a long year for Mr. Edwards.

A new year, a new me....

2011-01-04T10:32:00.000-08:00

Well, a new year, same me, but more honest this go round!

As you may have noticed I changed the name of my blog from Ramblings of a Blogaholic to the Evolution of Alli: A story of how a girl went from there to here!

I decided a while back that I was going to take a new approach to my blog this year. That I was going to be more HONEST. Now, I am honest, but I don't think people really know who I am. I only let you see what I want you to see. And I only let people get a certain distance to me before I decide they are too close and I push them away in one way or another.

So I thought I would capture a pretty regular day in my home.

Exhibit A: LAUNDRY. My arch nemesis. This is what my family room couch looks like almost all the time. I am thankful I have a front room where people can sit if they stop by. If the laundry ever makes it in there....I'm screwed.

This is me at 11am. Still in my jammies, hair in a pony nub, glasses on, teeth not brushed. And yes, I have gone out in public today. Natalie forgot her lunch and I had to run it into the school. My thought? I'm sure they have seen worse. I hope.

Exhibit B: MY FLOORS. This is a pile of who knows what that I swept up today. I know I just swept, so this cannot be more than a day or two of grossness. You can thank Burke for the giant Rhode's rolls that he chucked off the table last night during dinner.

PS. I have a very strict rule on sweeping up my children's precious treasures. If it's on the floor more than once and I have to rescue it from this pile? It goes bye bye!

Exhibit C: CRAFTING/SEWING. This is fabric for a birthday gift for my sister Megan. I bought it a few weeks ago in hopes of making another reversable apron. Her birthday is today. Sorry Meg.

And last but not least in my post of shame.

Exhibit.....I lost track. Anyways.

This is a basket of shoes I asked the kids to collect so they could be taken back upstairs to their rightful spots. I asked them on Sunday and it is Tuesday. That's right. I have walked past this basket for 3 days now. It is accompanied by other miscellaneous things that end up at the bottom of our stairs.

Now let's get one thing straight about this post. I am not airing my dirty laundry, it was clean. And two, I do not want you to feel sorry for my kids. :)

No really, in all seriousness I just wanted you to take a step back and realize that nobody can do it all. We all have piles of crumbs, or clean laundry calling our name to be put away while we watch the Bachelor.

Nobody is perfect. But everyday we can sweep a little, or tackle a basket or a project.

Happy Father's Day~

2010-12-27T20:32:00.000-08:00

WHAT? You heard me! Happy Father's Day Jason and Scott! It's only been 6 months since Candace and I got your gifts! I ran into a really good deal for Fast Lanes indoor Go Cart racing in May. I was able to talk Candace into getting them too so we could go together! Nothing like an expiration date to motivate you! Dec 31st! Woo! We almost did not make it!

Jason was the only one that had raced before. Although Scott was a Pro. Candace and I were the only girls in the race. We did pretty good too! I actually had a TOTAL blast! Who knew I was a Speed Demon? I kept up with those boys pretty darn good! As well as the other 8 dudes we did not know.

Candace and I are going to start a street gang.

This is going to be on our posters:

Giving my stud a Victory kiss before the race. What victory you say? Marrying me!

We are blessed~

2010-12-25T18:49:00.000-08:00

I know you really cannot tell how blessed I am in this picture of Jason putting me in a head lock. But I am. We had a wonderful Christmas. We had so many special Santa's that made it a miracle! We are blessed beyond words~ Literally, I cannot breathe in this picture.

I don't think Graden can either! He is getting the royal tickle treatment from cousin Austin!

The girls had a great time at the Crazy Cousin Extravaganza. We all did!

This is my favorite picture of the night~

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Miracles

2010-12-20T13:23:00.000-08:00

We all know that the Tabernacle in Prove burned down. It's a sad story. But with every storm there is a silver lining. Look at this picture and deny the power of Christ. It's impossible.

A Bon Voyage of sorts~

2010-12-19T07:15:00.000-08:00

When Jason was out of work a few years back, I went back to work for Key Bank as a Teller. I am thankful they let me come back. It was a good job for me. Pay was good, benefits, "bank hours". But the best part was my co-workers. These 2 people are the only reasons I survived for a year and a half of working full time.

Andie is in the middle. She is a beautiful firecracker that makes me laugh. Get the two of us together and we are a comedy duo that cannot be stopped. She works for Dillards now. Runs the boobie holder department as I like to call it. That is what she does all day. Lift women's boobies (pretty or not) into bra's for fittings. I think it takes a special person to do that! She is getting ready to graduate from Boise State this January, then move to Reno with her equally as funny boyfriend Bob. (That's really his name, not an alias ;) I wish them both the best of luck. And when there are weddin' bells, I will make the trek to Reno to shake a cow bell at them. And maybe shout things at them too. All good of course. :)

Brock is the handsome boy on the left. To be honest, words cannot really describe the friendship I have with this boy. We ended up having lunch around the same time each day. And our break room was rather small. So we would end up eating and talking for the hour or so. It turns out we were both LDS. And he was born and raised in Eagle, ID. My mom's brother Johnny Patten had raised his boys there as well. So Brock's dad was childhood friends with my cousin Jeffery. It's a small world in the Valley.

Brock was my supervisor and boy did I like to push his buttons. He was the best boss I ever had at Key Bank. Always stood up for his tellers, and knew the business inside and out. We have maintained our friendship even after I left the bank. About once a month he takes me out to lunch. He even came to see me with Andie after I had Burke and had made him the cutest fleece blanket. (It's still Burke's favorite cause it have fringed edges)

Brock's older brother Brain passed away the day before Thanksgiving this year. He sent me a text and told me that night. My heart broke for their family. I am so thankful I was able to attend Brian's service. It was beautiful~

So last night we met at The Cheesecake Factory and had a Bon Voyage dinner for Andie. I am so happy to have these amazing people in my life. Andie is like my fraternal twin sister and Brock is the bother I always wished that I had.

Graden's Program

2010-12-14T12:21:00.000-08:00

Man I love this kid. I mean like squish his bum cheeks love him. He is funny, and smart, and creative, and loud, and snugly, and looks just like me, and is smelly, and is my #1 big boy!

He had his first Christmas Program at school yesterday. It was awesome. 10 minutes of parental bliss. What can you expect from 3 year olds? He said his parts and sang his songs like the trooper that he is!

When I was ready to do his hair I asked how he wanted it. He said down in the back and pikey (spikey) in the front. So that is what he got.

Oh, and by the way. This is his "real"smile just in case you were wondering. ;)

When there was 2....

2010-12-09T18:10:00.000-08:00

Before we were chasing 4 kids, we had 2. I've never had "just one". Or our "first". It's always been a different ball game for us. It's a funny thought. Scary actually. I am no superstar by any means. I struggle with my own day to day tasks. And to be honest, I really just wanted to be pregnant. I had not even given much thought to the "outcome" of being pregnant. (Cough, cough) And yet, in my own selfishness, the Lord sent two of his sweetest spirits to our home. TWO? You're joking right? That's what I said to the ultra sound nurse. Her reply? "Oh honey, we don't joke about things like that."

Why so sentimental you ask? Our computer crashed. Not crashed, DIED. As in the Motherboard fried. That is what my kids could say about me at the end of the day! ;) he he he!
We happened to have a very old hard drive that we have not used in 4 years or so. Well, like looking for a $20 bill in an old coat pocket, I started looking through old files. But what I found was priceless.

Old pictures of my 2. Of Nattie and Scooter. We don't even call her that any more. We did because she "scooted" first. Hence, Scooter. I sat and cried as I scrolled through the pictures of my girls. Most of the both of them. Happy, dirty faces, silly smiles and sucking thumbs. I really started missing these little girls. Once I had Graden they became "The Sissies" as we call them. They lost some of that "first born" glory.

I just wanted to share with you my girls. When it was just the 2 of them. To this day they are still best friends. They still drive each other crazy. They still suck their thumbs. They still hang onto the same, now grungy babies. They are still His sweetest spirits.

You see why now?

Book Mobile-Me Please.

2010-12-06T14:29:00.000-08:00

I have been book mobiling. It's the bomb times 9.5. I like it way better than the library. I either hit it at Walmart on Fridays from 1-3 or Khol's on Saturday from 2-4. Did you know that the books and movies on the Book Mobile are a zillion times better than the ones in the actual library? Run an tell dat. HomeBoy.

Here are two movies that Jason and I have watched that were really good.

Henry Poole Is Here. Such a great movie. Rated PG. It's about Faith. We both really liked it. I think the little girl, Milly, is adorable. I also like me a Wilson Brother. ;)

Whip It. Drew Barrymore's directorial debut~ A DOR ABLE. In a grungy, funky roller derby kinda way! I love Juno, (Ellen Page). This is a smart movie. PG-13. It's about being more than who you are. And that boys are stupid.

I will put a disclaimer in there though. I get psychotic when I cannot figure out who somebody is in a movie. It kills me the entire time. The roller derby coach sounded like a Wilson Brother. Luke or Owen. They both sound exactly alike. Well, there is another brother named Andrew. He is the coach. Knowing that will make the movie less nerve racking if you see it.

Blue Turkeys and other funness~

2010-11-28T17:28:00.001-08:00

I (I would say "we" but let's get real), had the chance to host Jason's entire clan for Thanksgiving.

His Grandparents Clifford and Audrey Nielsen of Hillsboro, OR.

Parents Graden and Teri of Rainer, OR (or somewhere darn close).

His big brother Adam, wife Keri, daughters Kate and Haylee of Roseburg, OR.

Younger sister Darelyn, husband KC, kids, Keller, Emery, Amelia, and Unice(December)...and that is not her real name. But if you have a suggestion, they are open to them! Of Springville, UT.

And his other younger sister Valerie, husband Jayson, and kids, Ella, Clayton and Easton of Bend, OR.

Can you believe these crazies traveled into the depths of winter hell to have dinner with us? Well, we are pretty cool, so I guess I can! ;)

They arrived at various times on Wednesday. We chatted and the kids played and the majority of them headed for the hotel. On Thursday I put the Turkey in and Teri and I headed to the church. I was able to reserve it for our family dinner! Talk about a miracle! We slaved away while the husbands played with the kids in the gym. Tossed a football and shot hoops. I know the little girls played on the piano in the Primary room. I was in the kitchen most of the time, so I am not quite sure what else went on!

We are your traditional Thanksgiving meal. My mom made the stuffing for us. Cause for me it's not Thanksgiving unless I have her stuffing. She ate with my sister and her kids. (Missed you guys) :(

I had this great idea to have a Minute to Win It game after we ate. In theory it all sounded great in my head. But hind sight is 20/20. I never actually practiced any of the games. So the feather in the air one and the Johnny Applestack one were flops. But the stack the nut one was really fun. Haylee won! (And Adam) We also played This Blows. Where you blow red dixie cups off the table with a balloon. Pretty fun too! The best was the Oreo cookie face one! Everybody played. Even Grandma and Grandpa Nielsen!

The kids swam at the hotel after dinner and then headed back to our house for a wicked rad dance party with BLACK LIGHT AND A STROBE LIGHT!!! Yes please! (This is what we will be getting our family for Christmas!) I think that was the highlight of the adventure!

All the siblings had to return home Friday :( WOMP! But......not before Adam and Keri treated us to TUCANOS BRAZILLIAN GRILL! Um........heck yeah! I done died and gone to heaven! Yeahaaaaaww! I porked down so much food! I cannot wait to go again with our birthday club cards! Thanks dudes!

All in all, it was a wonderful get together! We are all so busy and these gatherings are becoming further and further apart. So goes life I guess.

Thanks everybody for coming! We just love you all so much!

And on that note? I'd just like to end on the Pineapple! (inside joke) :)

(Google Images)

Whooza....

2010-11-15T11:58:00.000-08:00

Whooza is the kind of word that sums up the last 48 hours. I am really not sure where to start. Let me roll back about 3 weeks..........(pretend the screen gets fuzzy and you hear charms like in a dream....)

I was asked by my visiting teacher, Stacey Miner, to attend Mia Maids @ mutual that week. She was very vague about why I was coming. I agreed. I love mutual. And Stacey. While I was there she relayed a story about her cousin in Utah. That story can be found HERE. She then uncovered a box that had several copies of JESUS THE CHRIST by James E. Talmage. She then challenged the Mia Maids and myself to read this book. We need to finish by April 6th 2011. (Insert Whooza here) She told the girls that she was not sure why she felt prompted to invite me to mutual and participate in the challenge. I agreed to read the book along with the girls. I went straight to the Craft Warehouse and got super cute owl paper and made each of us a bookmark. I gave them to Stacey at church the following Sunday.

FAST FORWARD TO YESTERDAY~

Well actually, this last week. I'm sure so many of you sit and wonder why I never talk about my calling. (not) If you know me, you can insert another WHOOZA here. This last year has been the biggest challenge of my life as for callings go. I'm not going to go into it. I will however go into the best part of my calling. Candace was the 2nd counselor in Primary. We were called the same week. She had a baby a few days old, I was very pregnant. We both thought the Bishop was crazy. But we accepted our callings. It took a few months but we became VERY good friends. Like, take to the grave type of friends. Like, I'll watch your kids even if they are puking friends. Or, I want to tell her a story before Jason kinda friend. These are the friends that are few and far between. And I only have a few. I'm weird with friends. Always have been. We had gone on a GNO to get ice cream Saturday night. Kinda impromptu. We talked about everything. Including how we have come full circle this last year. And the fact that we were actually excited about this upcoming year in Primary. I told her that I try not to think about other callings. Especially Young Women's. :( That is where my heart is.

Now onto Sunday....Hang in there.....I swear this story has an ending.....

I woke up thinking about Sharing Time. Then the phone rang......DUN DUN DUN.......jk. It was Brother Botkin. He wanted to meet with me. (Stomach in throat here) I hung up the phone and ran to Jason. I started asking a thousand questions that Jason had no answers to. When he got here I just sat on my coffee table. Numb and Dumb. That's how I felt. And I think I wanted to barf a little too. :) He released me from the Primary Presidency. (Whooza) Then called me to be the Mia Maid advisor. (Triple Whooza) Remember the start of this story? About reading the book with the girls? And Stacey not knowing why I was supposed to be there? ("spiritual" WHOOZA)

There were a lot of tears at church that day. A lot. Mixed emotions. Gratitude for a Father who knows my heart. Guilt for leaving a friend. Bewilderment for thinking I knew what was a head of me. Excitement for the Mia Maids. I am sure people thought somebody died. Those kinds tears were shed. I just don't think people realize the year Candace and I had. The mountains we climbed and valleys we crossed.

So the moral of this post? I can't remember. But I know that I will go, and I will do the things the Lords commands. I know the Lord provides a way he wants me to obey. ~

"I got'cho back bro~"

2010-11-10T19:11:00.000-08:00

There is no doubt in my mind that Graden and Burke will have each others backs in life. Just not like this I hope.

Sorry Dude.

O~N~E~

2010-11-09T11:14:00.001-08:00

I have been putting off this post. Because once I post this, it's a fact. Burke is one. *tears*

In case you noticed I didn't post his 11 month milestone. I think I was in denial that my baby is getting older. I have never been like this with my other kids. But Burke being my last has been hard. Don't get me wrong. I want him to grow. I cannot wait to hear what his voice will be like. Or see his personality develop. I think it's more me. Never being pregnant again. Never nursing a baby. Ugh.....enough about me........

"Burkey~Burger"

"Burger Butt"

"Mr. Pants" (Jason's nick name for him)
We had a small little party for Burke. Family and the Brownes.

Here is what we got him.

(Mom and Dad: BSU hoodie)

(Kids: Scout. The cute Leap Frog puppy)

Funny story about Scout. He comes with a USB plug to personalize him via your computer. I had to go to Candace's to use hers. I plugged him in and got to work. I thought it would be so cute if Scout would say "Hi Burke". It uses the name often. Well, guess what? Out of the 5,000 names "Burke" is not one of them. WTH????? They had very odd names on there too. I was sooooo bummed! So you can use a nick name instead. They did not have "Burger Butt".....shocking I know. But they did have "Dude". So now when you turn him on he says "Hi Dude, let's play!"

We had deli sammies. Very easy. I hate getting stuck in the kitchen at my own party. So it was build your own, or don't eat!

Candace at the kid table!

He was actually happy to open gifts. Although he was sleepy. The party was at 6pm. And it was the same day as the time change. So really Burke thought it was 7. (Bedtime) He hung in there and did awesome!

His mini cake. That he would not eat. Only shove. Video HERE!

Happening~

2010-10-27T11:17:00.001-07:00

Man we are busy. And we are not even that involved with outside activities. Between life, church callings, school and kids I feel like I am a Circus Master!

Graden and Jason have started the Patriot Reserves again this year. To my surprise, Graden is just as tall as some of the boys. Last year you could tell he was tiny. This year not so much. He kept up too. He only made it through warm ups last year. Last night he did almost everything. I just love to see Jason so happy when he is out there with Graden. Click HERE if you want to see a funny moment I caught on my camera.

We are gearing up for Halloween. Exciting. I also found out that we are hosting more than just Jason's parents and Grandparents for Thanksgiving. We are also having all three of his siblings and their kids! It is going to be soooooo much fun! Most of them are staying in hotels, but for the most part we will be playing here. I am thinking of fun things to do. I get Disney's Family Fun magazine and they had lots of great Turkey day ideas!

On a sad note~ Blogger killed my stalker list. So I have not been able to check your blogs unless I have your address memorized. Most of which I do not. So if you have not already left it on FB, will you leave your blog address in a comment? I miss judging you. JUST KIDDING! I miss your bloggity blogs~

WORD~

punkin' pickin'

2010-10-21T12:41:00.000-07:00

Each year my A M A Z I N G sister Jennifer takes her classes to the Pumpkin Patch. In years past it has been to the Berry Ranch. Blah is all I have to say. It is gross compared to Linder Farms!

I had the chance to take Graden there on Wednesday. It was beautiful weather, great families, and just an overall wonderful time. And yes, I had my camera~

Me and my main squeeze~

I LOVE this picture because without words you can see the thoughts running through Graden's head about Quincey's very colorful hat!

Found one!

And I found one too!

One sunflower tall!

Miss Jen and her adorable caterpillar class :)

And there were ponies. One of which we had a front row seat to see him poop his brains out. It takes a lot to disgust a boy :)

We even played in a GIANT vat of corn kernels.

~Thank you Miss Jen~

Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

2010-10-04T14:27:00.000-07:00

For Laura~ (and baby)

4 cups luke warm water
4 TBSP yeast
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup powdered milk
1 cup oil
2 eggs
12 cups flour
2 TSP salt (add salt after everything is added/all the flour)

1. Combine all ingredients except last 6 cups of flour. Mix well using kneading arm.

2. Then add remaining flour one cup at a time. Knead for 10 minutes. Allow dough to be sticky.

3. Remove from bowl and divide into 8 pieces. Roll out on floured board (to a square), spread with melted butter and sprinkle cinnamon & sugar, and brown sugar.

4. Fold top half over to bottom of dough. Cut into 3/4' wide strips.

5. Take each piece and twist each end, then roll dough around itself. Place in greased pan, touching each other.

6. Cover and let rise until they double in size. Bake at 350' for 25 minutes.

Frosting:

1 cup powdered sugar
1 TBSP water
1 TSP vanilla
(this makes a tiny amount: keep doubling til you have enough)

General Conference~

2010-10-03T14:04:00.000-07:00

The words fill my heart.

And these fill my tummy~

Stolen Camera and a hadsome dude.

2010-09-25T09:27:00.000-07:00

A family that we just loved from our old ward invited us to their daughters wedding reception Friday night. It was delightful. The kids had a blast doing cart wheels in the giant backyard. This is a pic I snapped of me and my mini munchkin. Do boys get any more handsome? I can smell a heart breaker........

So, if I leave my camera unattended, this is generally what happens: 50+ pictures looking up the noses of my kids. Random shots of the TV, or computer, weird gangster poses. Lot's of blurry pictures of Burke's legs. You know, totally "normal" things. Hahaha. Well kids. You take them? I edit them. For ransom. Or first date black mail. Suckas.

Someday you will hate me. But I will still have these photos.

xoxo Mother Dearest.

Spiritual Feast and a 10 month old~

2010-09-18T18:08:00.000-07:00

I had the chance to go to Time Out For Women 2010 in Boise this weekend. I bought my ticket forever ago and the weekend was finally here! There are so many things I learned and felt, that at this point I have yet to process them all. I will share them on my blog in time. But to be honest......I AM SO TIRED! My old bones could no longer handle the sitting!!! So here are the 2 of 4 pictures I took. I know right? What the crap is wrong with me????????

Ok, so Burke is almost 10.5 months old! I am a little behind the curve on this post! Sorry! He is wonderful! 17 lbs and counting.....I hope! He is in the 1st % for his weight and height. A little man indeed! He is a busy body, handsome devil, cutest waver in the world, handful, good kisser, non snuggler kid in the world! I love that boy~

PaYiNg iT fOrWaRd

2010-09-16T21:04:00.000-07:00

My dearest friend Angie who is delightfully preggers with #5, you heard me, has behooved me to participate in the Pay It Forward game. I really need to get my craft on. And I craft better for others. So ladies, let the commenting begin............Follow these simple rules and I will get my hot glue gun out.

1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a HANDMADE item from me - something crafty of course, who knows which project it'll be?! (Woo-Hoo!)

2. Winners must post this challenge on their blog, meaning that they will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on their post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate pictures and comments!

Thanks for the idea Angie. I hope one of those treasures has my name on it. And I like the 90 days. It's better than the return policy at Wal Mart. ;)