Kicking Myself

This is going to be a short post as I have another deadline tomorrow for some text. But I am just kicking myself for not buying more of something when I had the chance. Do you ever do that? I was at Wal-Mart, I think, and Eliza wanted a cheapy, $1, movie. I didn't really look to see what it was other than it was a kids video. So we got one and I remember thinking to myself, "We'll be lucky if it's good enough and will last long enough to watch it one time." Well, let me just say that my girls have watched this one DVD a hundred times since I bought it that day. We have gotten way more than our money's worth. They absolutely love it. It is a Kidsongs DVD called "Let's Dance." They had a ton there for $1 and now I can't find them. I would go buy up one of each if I could. So if you are out and about and see them, call me!!!!! I need to find them. I looked on-line and of course, they aren't that cheap. Oh well, live and learn.

Good Monday

Today was a good Monday. We went to aerobics, then on to swimming lessons. Eliza jumped off the diving board and swam all the way to the shallow end step with Miss Sarah only helping her once. Go Eliza!

We came home and did a mad dash to get ready because at 1:00 we were at the movies seeing Cars. It was a very cute movie with a great message. Libby did well for her very first theater movie. She did well for the first 45 minutes or so. Then she either got full or ran out of things to eat. The food was keeping her entertained just as much as the movie. After that, we took dinner to our neighbor who just had a baby. She is amazing. She has a newborn and her next oldest just turned one on Friday. Wowser! After eating our own dinner, we had Family Home Evening. Libby went to be early tonight; she was tired and grouchy, poor girl!

I feel guilty about waiting so long, but Ellie got her first taste of rice cereal tonight. She loved it! It seemed like she had eaten it for months. She opened her mouth right up and ate like a pro.

Tonight Brian and Eliza are camping out back in the tent. Eliza couldn't be more excited.

OK--off to work!

Candle Obsession

Why I am so addicted to candles?!? I can't resist buying them. Some of my favorites right now are Strudel and Spice and Orange Blossom from Gold Canyon--really there are so many from them that I like. I also really like their Romance scent from their aromatherapy line. I also like the Tyler brand of candles--I think Paris is my favorite. I also like anything orange vanilla. Yum. What is your favorite candle? I'm always looking for good ones to try. Shhh...just don't tell Brian! He thinks I have too many already.

I also wanted to share a quote I came across yesterday on another blog. I love it.

"For most of life, nothing wonderful happens. If you don't enjoy getting up and working and finishing your work and sitting down to a meal with family or friends, then the chances are that you're not going to be very happy. If someone bases his happiness or unhappiness on major events like a great new job, huge amounts of money, a flawlessly happy marriage or a trip to Paris, that person isn't going to be happy much of the time. If, on the other hand, happiness depends on a good breakfast, flowers in the yard, a drink or a nap, then we are more likely to live with quite a bit of happiness."
~Andy Rooney

Be happy. Enjoy the cute picture!

Backyard

Here are the promised photos of our backyard. Try to imagine it as one continuous yard even though the pictures are in two pieces. We are happy it is done although anything like that always ends up costing more than expected. Yuck. Now on to decorating the inside of the house. First stop: the living room. As I get going, I'll be sure to post before and after pictures, although I'm sure it won't be very soon.

Tonight Brian took the kids swimming while I went to Enrichment meeting at church. It was a getting-to-know-you night, so it was fun learning about everyone.

I'm off to tackle some major deadlines and a big to-do list.

Find Your Happiness

So today I decide to have scrambled eggs for lunch and when I cracked the eggs, look how they landed in the bowl. Seriously, that is how it happened--I didn't do anything to them. So in honor of that, I decided to dedicate this post to things that made me happy today.

--happy face eggs
--pink grapefruit shimmer lotion from Bath and Body Works--LOVE that lotion
--going to aerobics
--Eliza swimming so well at swimming lessons and jumping off the diving board
--having my nephew Luke come over to play with the girls
--cooking in the crockpot
--Ellie checking out great at her 6-month check up (even though she will be 7 months old tomorrow)
--watching Libby do her funny faces
--finding out that my friend Tracey is going to be having a girl (after having two boys)
--see picture above of the girls (need I say more?)

So look around you and find your happiness.

Oh the Laundry of Being Home

It seems like every article of clothing in our house was either in the washer or dryer or piled up in a heap in our bedroom. That is until my sweet husband folded it all while I was with the young women playing volleyball. They had games tonight and it was my turn to go, so that's what he found to do while I was gone. How wonderful! Eliza came with me and seemed to have a fun time, although she was a little embarrassed at first with my cheering. We went to Sonic after and made a mommy-daughter out of it. I tried the Hot Fudge Brownie Blast and it's a keeper. Love the little brownie bites...wish there were 100 more in the shake.

I mentioned it earlier, but our yard is done! I tried to take pictures tonight but it was way too dark. I will take some tomorrow and post them.

I am still trying to get into the swing of things after being gone. I came home to tons of boxes...which means lots of work for me (see picture above). But it is lots of fun to see the amazing projects that will be featured in upcoming books. Right now I am just loving stuff by Shelley Sullivan. I love her simple, colorful style. I hope someday I can ink edges as well as her (and match paper and make cute pages, etc). But I must plow through the boxes!!!!

Happy Tuesday.

Oh the Comforts of Home

As wonderful as our trip was, there is nothing better than being at home. It feels good. We got home at 2 AM, so boy am I tired. We were intending to leave for home around 11 AM or so, but we got a wild hair and decided to go to Sea World for the day. It was a fun time. We saw the new Shamu show, "Believe" and we got to see Cirque de la Mar. That is a fascinating and amazing show. It was my favorite. The girls loved it all.

The rest of our trip was fun. On Saturday after Brian's morning meetings we went to the pool for a while. Brian and I took turns being out with Ellie. That night was the final awards dinner. I made the place "cards" for this dinner. The theme was "Buried Treasure", so I got little treasure boxes and filled them with the Pirates of the Caribbean M&Ms (Captain's Gold and Jack's Gems). Then I printed each person's name off onto cardstock and burned around the edges, glued it to a popsicle stick and put it in the treasure box. Way cute and a fun way to do name cards. I was so proud of Brian--he got some pretty awesome awards for only being three years in.

Speaking of Brian, this is my belated Father's Day tribute. He is an amazing father and husband. He is a dad who:
-works hard and never complains
-gets up with the girls in the night if needed
-plays ball with the girls
-spoils me and lets me know how much he appreciates me
-changes at least as many diapers as I do
-takes the girls so I can get some work done (always without complaining)
-does laundry (lots of it)
-empties and fills the dishwasher (a lot)
-cleans house if I am behind
-loves to organize and consolidate things
-loves to get things running more efficiently
-takes Eliza swimming at 8:30 at night so she can show off her swimming
-loves to be spontaneous
-takes me out every Friday night for a date
-gets our backyard done so we can have a fun place to hang out (P.S. It is done!!)
-surprises me with things that I'm too cheap to by for myself
-plays Barbies, Polly Pockets and My Little Pony with the girls
-is so excited to see the girls after work
-is a wonderful Dad and husband.
I love you!

Live From Coronado

We made it to Coronado Island. I was up at girls camp all day on Wednesday and didn't get to bed that night until about 2 AM. So I was tired! But we traveled on Thursday and got to our hotel about 30 minutes before the welcome session started. But we made it! We have been having a great time. The girls have gone to the kids' club a couple of times, we've been to the pool and to the beach. The girls loved playing in the sand and Eliza and Brian loved being in the water. Our dinners have been fun, too. Last night was a Hawaiian night and tonight was a pirate night. Today at the spouses meeting each person introduced herself or himself, then we shared one of our favorite books. Then we drew a name and whoever we drew got the book and introduced him or herself. I gave away She and I got one of the Harry Potter books. But I did get some good reading ideas.

Tomorrow Brian has meetings until noon and we have a formal awards dinner at night, so I am looking forward to that. I will be taking couples' pictures, so I am a little nervous, but I have a great backdrop (the ocean) so it will be nice.

Busy as Can Be

Today was a busy day. We started the day with Eliza's gymnastics class. Then we went to Wal-Mart. My friend Kristi graciously watched Eliza and Libby so I could do a few other errands to get ready for our trip. (Thanks Kristi!) I've decided that I don't like to shop when I'm shopping for something I need. Take the outfit I've been trying to find...I still didn't have any luck today, so I am planning on wearing something I already have, and I just got some fun earrings and some shoes.

This evening I had a great night out with friends. A group of us (see photo) went to dinner at Streets of NY, then we went to the new scrapbook store out in Surprise called Keepsake Trends. Heidi was the guest celebrity and it was their first day to be open. I had a great time. On my way home I stopped at Wal-Mart to pick up one more thing I needed and total shock...they had a shirt that I might be able to wear for the dinner. I'll be sure to post a picture when we get back.

Now it's back to work getting ready to go to girls camp tomorrow and San Diego on Thursday.

P.S. The yard is almost done! It will be done tomorrow. The bad news is we still haven't seen a check from the other company. I'm having to be mean on the phone..well, as mean as I get, I suppose!

Update

OK--so I don't know how to put pictures IN my post...they all show up at the beginning. So save these pictures for a description below.

We are busy here. I am leaving Wednesday to go to girls camp. I will only be staying that day. I am excited to go, but it's been crazy trying to get ready. Then we will be leaving on Thursday for San Diego/Coronado Island. I've been to San Diego but never Coronado Island, so I am excited. I am doing the place cards for the dinner on the last night, so I've been busy with that, too. Today I did get a pedicure though, so that was fun. I usually just get them from a lady in my ward and I had one scheduled today along with a manicure. But to make a long story short, she is going to camp at the last minute, so she had her kids watch my girls while I went and got one somewhere else. I went to one of those nails shops where they wear masks on their faces. The lady did a great job, but I have to say, they aren't the friendliest at all! I felt ordered around and had a hard time understanding them. But I had them do a pink french with flowers on the big toe. So fun!

In other good news. The landscapers were out doing some work today! It was great to actually see someone doing work!! See the pictures above to see the progress.

And I leave you with other random pictures from this month. (also at the top)--now i need to figure out how to post more than 3 pictures in a post!

Strike Three

I am striking out trying to find an outfit for our trip next week. I have looked and looked and I can't find anything!!! At this point, I'll be happy to find time to get the shirt that I found at Robinson's and some espadrilles. I did quite a bit of looking today and I can't believe how hard it is to find something semi-dressy that covers enough and looks nice! In my looking, I realized just how many clothes there are out there. Holy cow! I am stuck in my little shopping world of Old Navy, Target and Kohl's. I need to get out more and look at all the options! There are lots of cute clothes out there that I need to discover.

I did get my hiking shoes. I went to REI, where they had them in the clown size (10.5). I usually wear a 10, but a 10 1/2 fit better. But I got these. I think they will work great.

Back to getting things done. Next week is going to be a doozy. If I can get everything done before I leave for girls camp on Wed., then it'll be okay!

Geneology, Spoons and Baby Stuff

I think I'll go in reverse order today. Tonight was my cousin Emali's baby shower. She got some very cute outfits, but what I wanted to take home with me was a blanket from here. I think I need some of their stuff. The blanket she got was so soft and beautiful in color. But their website has a ton of fun "blankees."

Next...Eliza came with me and my mom to the shower and on the way, Eliza was asking how many kids certain people had and then she would name them. Like, “How many kids did Dovetta have." "How many kids does Grandmother have." etc.... After a while of doing that, my mom said, "You know your geneology." To that Eliza said, “How many kids does she have?” My mom said, “Does who have?” Eliza: “Jenny. Jenny Ology.” So funny!!

Since I put one of Eliza's funnies, here is one of Libby's from today...At breakfast this morning all the spoons were in the dishwasher, so I had to use a huge spoon (like a serving spoon) for my oatmeal (Try not to imagine that! I'm sure it wasn't very ladylike.) As I was using it, Libby said, “Is that a ginormous one?” It's so funny that she loves that word from Elf, too!

Gym and Yards

So I signed Eliza and Libby up for gymnastics classes this summer at Spinetts. Eliza is in a mini tot class and had a great time during the first class yesterday. Today was Libby's parent/tot class and that girl is stubborn! She wanted me to either hold her or she didn't want to do some of the activities. But what she did she had fun with.

In other news, I am having my faith restored in landscapers. The new curbing company we found started this afternoon and within a couple hours, they had all but a small section curbed. They were so fast and it looks great. They just had to stop because of the weather. I felt bad for them though. It got really windy and a touch rainy, so they were out there covering the freshly poured curbing with plastic. At one point, I looked out back and the plastic was flying all around outside and one of the guys looked like the Michelin man, all wrapped in plastic. But they are doing a great job. Finally!!!

And in better news...Brian is home from St. Louis! Yay!

I Don't Get It...

Do you?
Let me preface this by saying I may eventually eat my words and wear one, but I don't see it happening. And I want to apologize in advance for anyone who has one. Don't take it as a personal attack! But I just don't get the whole wear-your-entire-phone-in-your-ear-thing. I think it is just silly. I see them all around, but I was at Wal-Mart today and a guy looked like he was just talking to himself, walking down the isle. But, nooooo, he had his phone in his ear---is it called a Bluetooth? I would feel so ridiculous wearing one and talking on it. It just looks like you are having conversations with yourself. I mean it's a good thing to have probably if you are driving, but other than that, please hold your phone. At least I know you're not some crazy person, talking to personality number six. Or maybe it just reminds me too much of the book Fahrenheit 451, where they wore earpieces that buzz in their ears: "And in her ears the little Seashells, the thimble radios tamped tight, and an electronic ocean sound, of music and talk and music and talk coming in, coming in on the shore of her unsleeping mind" (Ray Bradbury, 12). Doesn't that sound like that? (Sidenote: If you haven't read that book since high school, you should read it again and see the close connections to life today. It was written in 1953!) Thanks for letting me share me opinion...for whatever it's worth!

Date Night

I love Fridays because of date night. Tonight we started off with a delicious dinner at Bahama Breeze. I think it's a new favorite. We've been there before and liked it, but tonight just reiterated how good it really is. We had to try the Spinach Dip and Island Chips, and if you haven't tried it yet, it's a must eat. So good! Then I had the Oak-Grilled Chicken Sandwich on a burger bun. Yum! I loved it. And Brian opted for the West Indies Ribs. He thoroughly enjoyed them. We will definitely be back there soon.

After dinner, we did some shopping at Desert Ridge. I was looking for a fancier outfit for a work dinner Brian will have in a couple of weeks, but I didn't have any luck. I don't know where to look for dressier outfits...if you have any ideas, I would love some ideas! But I did find what I wasn't looking for, of course: clothes for the girls, some shirts for me and a pair of shorts. We ended the night browsing at Barnes and Noble.

Here's to another great date.

Darn it!

I heard on the radio yesterday that the Dixie Chicks are coming to Glendale Arena in September. I was so excited because we try to hit the concerts of groups or artists we really like. Well, I came home and looked it up on Ticketmaster and it's on a SUNDAY!!!!! I am totally bummed. I went about 3 years ago when they came and would have loved to go again. Oh well. I guess I'll have to go download their new CD on iTunes. Think of all the money I'll save on tickets.

In other news, Eliza survived swimming today. They had to go in after a pool ring and she didn't seem traumatized by it, so I think she did well. We also went swimming at Cibola Vista again. My girls are total fish! The love jumping in and being crazy in the water, especially Libby. This time my sister-in-law Chrystalyn and her kids came with us, so that was a lot of fun. Brian took Ellie to Jared's where they and their dad watched the Suns' game.

OK--off to download some Chicks...