Randomness

Just a few random things and some random pictures on a Thursday...

--Libby is loving all her birthday presents, but she has really enjoyed Cariboo. It's a Cranium game, where you find colored balls ("treasures") and use them to open the treasure box. It's a fun game for kids. They have played it numerous times since she got it on Monday.

--Eliza had her "meet the teacher" tonight for preschool. She is excited and asked, "Can I start tomorrow?" (It doesn't start until next Wednesday). :(

--Libby wanted me to get down the "Life" game from the closet. I tried to discourage her because it's not really a little kids' game. Well, she persisted and I gave in. So I had a blast from the past and played a couple games. The girls kind of played (they liked filling their cars with kids), but I had way too much fun playing. I forgot how much I loved that game. We have game night with Brian's siblings tomorrow night and I think I'll bring that game. I don't think I'll have any takers, but you never know!

--Found out my brother and sister-in-law are expecting their third baby in April. Eliza is already bugging to know if it'll be a boy or a girl.

--Can't believe it's already September tomorrow. Before I know it, it'll be Halloween, Thanksgiving, then Christmas! Yay!

--A new month also means a new garden at 2 Peas.

--I came across a quote I loved the other day. It made me think about my friend Leslie. It's by Lisa Brennan-Jobs: "Friendship must be an exchange of wisdom, not just company. That goes against what a lot of people think. But I like being alone, so any friendships have to be meaningful and not just a way to pass the hours." I am grateful for her meaningful friendship! I don't really like to be alone, and I like being able to have great company, but I like the gist of the quote.

--Libby is really getting what prayers are all about. She has for a while, but tonight while she got her bath, she was playing with the bar of soap and she got some in her eyes. I tried to wash them out and dry them, but it hurt her for a little bit after. Well, when I was getting her to bed tonight, she said her prayers and in part of it she said, "Glad my eye could feel better." How cute!

--It's almost the weekend. Then next week is Creative Escape! I am so excited and need the "me time!"

Happy weekend.

She's 3!

Today was Libby's third birthday! And I think she had a really fun day and enjoyed being the center of attention. This morning Brian took the girls swimming, then after he went to work, I took the girls to the mall. We had pretzels for lunch and then they got to play in the play center there. We also spent some time in the puppy store looking at the puppies. (no--we are NOT getting one!) But that was a really fun time. Then tonight after dinner and family home evening, she got to open her presents from us and from my parents. She loved everything and had fun playing with it. It was hard to pull her away for bed.

She enjoyed looking at her vanilla cake, but she didn't eat any. She said, "I don't want the frosting on it." Strange! We scraped the frosting off, but she still didn't want any. And I bought Neapolitan ice cream and she liked all but the "pink", so we had to scrap around that part. So funny and picky at age three!

Need a Realtor?

I'm putting a plug in for my brother, Brian, who is growing his real estate business. If you or someone you know is going to be buying or selling a house or land, give him a call. He is very friendly and a great people person and will work for you to sell or buy a home. Here is his website: http://bmabee.com/. Give him a call!!!

In other news...it rained this morning and I loved it! We got a lot of rain and it was so nice to have it overcast and cloudy for a while. The lightening and thunder were a nice change, too! I could handle every morning like that. The girls are excited today to go to the pajama party that the kids' center is having at Frys'.

Weekend

This weekend was pretty busy. On Friday night Brian and I went out. We went to dinner at Abuelos, then did a little running around. On Saturday morning, I went to the Preparedness Fair that our stake put on. It was excellent and I learned some new things. I want to start bottling ground beef. If I could have that like I have my bottled chicken, I would be in heaven! That way we wouldn't lose all our meat like we did a couple of weeks ago when the freezer in the garage stopped working. Ugh! Chrystalyn also inspired me to want to make bread. Hopefully when Eliza starts school I can get another hands-on lesson from her and have success.

That afternoon Brian took the girls swimming, then he helped out with a move in the ward. That night I had a young women/young men activity at Sunrise Mountain pool. Woosh! It was a busy day.

Then Snnday was a good busy with a meeting and church and dinner at my parents' house. For young women's, our class is in charge of the fireside in October, so if anyone has any good ideas, send them to me! We can't think of what to do!

In an unrelated note, I came across and interesting recipe that I'd never heard of before. It's from this blog, (we are of no relation even though we have the same first and middle name) but you simply take two heaping spoonfuls of creamy peanut butter and plop them into a tub of Cool Whip. Mix it all together and you can either just eat it or use it to frost a cake or something. Doesn't that sound so good!?!?!? I think I'll have to try that sometime.

Here's to a great week.

Service Auction Update

The service auction was a success. We had a real auctioneer, and it was so amazing to hear him do his work. Wow--something I don't think I could ever do. I don't know how he gets his mouth to go that fast. There were a lot of great things to bid on, but I ended up winning a swimming lesson session for next summer from Sarah Updike. She has done Eliza and Libby's swim lessons for the past 2 years, so it'll be great to have one free next summer! It was a great service to give. Donise Price won my photo session. All her daughters will be in town in a couple of weeks, so we are going to do their photos. I am excited since they ought to be easy subjects and will hold still! Kristi Rogers and Leslie Wright won scrapbooking with Becky and me. I told her she already knows what to do, but I think she has some plans for us (like produce as many layouts as possible that night). It will be a blast hanging out and chatting. Oh wait--Kristi said there won't be any socializing that night--just working!!!

But it was a fun night and the cupcakes were yum. I also LOVED Leslie's caramel bars. I brought one home for Brian, but it didn't make it to him. Oops! I ate it while he was at basketball. I need some more or at least the recipe! So good.

Service Auction

Tonight for our Enrichment, we are having a service auction. This is one of the best nights each year. I can't wait to see who gets my service and what service I win. I decided to donate two things. I am donating one photo shoot and then Becky Higgins and I are doing a "Learn How to Scrapbook" night with Becky and Erin. We will do an evening of instruction, inspiration and treats. The winner can bring up to four friends and she also gets a selection of our books. I think it will be fun!

And for my treat, I am bringing "Cupcake Surprise". I've included the recipe if you want to make them. I actually haven't tried them, but I'll let you know tonight how they are.

Happy eating!

Cupcake Surprise

1 (8oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 (18.25 oz) pkg. chocolate cake mix

Preheat oven to 350° or to the temperature recommended on the cake mix.
Prepare chocolate cake mix according to package directions, but do not bake. In separate bowl, cream together cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg until well blended, then stir in chocolate chips.
Line cupcake tins with cupcake papers. Fill 2/3 full with chocolate cake batter. Add 1 teaspoon cream cheese mixture to the center, and top with more cake batter.
Bake according to package direction for cupcake. Cool and frost with chocolate or cream cheese frosting.

Jet Lag and a "Home Helper"

We only went to Florida which is just a 3 hour time difference, but I am STILL feeling the jet lag from it. I think I might be over it today, but for the past week, it has been to bed early and up early. One night I went to be at 8 PM, which if you know me, is totally unlike me! But when 6:30 came, I was up and at 'em and not really tired. So that was nice. We were home late last night from my aunt's house so everyone slept a little longer, so maybe we are finally over it, but wow--I can't imagine what will happen when we go overseas and have a major time difference.

Item #2:
This afternoon I took the girls to Frys, then we stopped at McDonald's and I got them an ice cream in a cup instead of a cone. As we were driving home, I heard a snap, followed by a cry from Eliza and one from Libby. I was like what is going on?!?! Eliza was crying because Libby had bitten and broke the spoon and her lip was bleeding. And Libby was crying because it probably hurt. Once I pulled over and got her cleaned, up, Eliza talked to Libby the whole way, trying to help her to feel better. When we got home, Eliza laid out a blanket in the playroom, put a pillow down and put a blanket on top of Libby. She put her doll by her, along with some books. She even put in a movie for her and got her a snack.

I told Eliza that she was so compassionate and explained what it meant. She said, "That's what I want to do when I get older." I said, "Oh, be a doctor?" She said, "No, I want to be a 'home helper.'" I asked her what that was and she said, someone who helps kids who are sick or hurt and brings them toys and books and Polly Pockets and makes them laugh." Well, I think she'll be a darn good "homehelper." It was really cute to see her do that.

Item #3: I've included more pictures from our trip.

More Pictures from the Trip

I will post more in days to come.

Lots to Update

We are home now from our trip and it was a great time. True, it was so, so hot in Florida was miserable humidity, but we survived, thanks to the spray bottle/fan combo my dad bought in the park. That was a lifesaver. The girls had a fun time it seemed. Eliza loved all the rides she went on except for maybe Splash Mountain that I took her on. :) It probably didn't help that I screamed the whole way down on the big drop. It was fun to visit MGM and Epcot for the first time. I wish we would've had more time in both of those parks as there were some things we didn't have time to see. But we saw and did a lot.

Libby was such a turkey though and didn't want to ride on any rides or watch any shows. If we tried to get her to do it, she would let out a blood-curdling scream and we had to take her out. It was really weird. She did enjoy the tea cups and the carousel...she rode it at least 30 times--once going about 8 in a row without having to get off. She was in heaven.

Ellie did great considering the lack of sleep. She was so happy to be in her bed when we got home though and has been taking 3 hour naps.

My mom made the girls autograph books and they were all over those the whole time. They loved meeting the characters and getting their books signed and getting a picture. Libby would have to have someone go up with her and she would stretch really far to give her book to the character, but she really enjoyed it.


Here are some more highlights:
**We (minus Libby) really enjoyed Mickey's Philharmagic show. It's a 3-D show where you can reach out and try to touch the things. They also blew puffs of air at you at certain times and little blasts of water. At a couple of times, there were some sweet scents put into the air. Eliza LOVED it. She was reaching in front of her the whole time. Libby on the other hand, cried and my dad eventually took her out.

**Downtown Disney was fun. We did a little shopping and ate lunch at the Rain Forest Cafe. Every ½ hour they have thunderstorms in the restaurant. Libby did not like the place at all!!! She was so scared of the atmosphere and especially of the thunderstorm. So we took some trips out every so often. After lunch we went to Goofy's Candy Shop and had a hilarious time looking in the funny mirrors they have that distort your body. We could not stop laughing.

**the girls, especially Libby (strangely enough) LOVED the slide at the hotel. She probably went down over 40 times. She went over and over again and had a great time.

**The boardwalk at the hotel was a lot of fun. At night, there is a lot going on--little shows and attractions and kiosks. Eliza got her hair wrapped one day and it looks cute.

**AT MGM, the girls like playing on the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground. Eliza got soaked and Libby ran all around.

**We also saw a Beauty and the Beast show—that was awesome—a live musical show.

**ELiza like "Soarin" in Epcot...it's just like the one in California Adventure.

**Libby was also afraid of the fireworks (big surprise), but I feel bad because after that, I told Libby she had better get to bed or the fireworks would come on. Well, she buried her head in the pillow and went right to sleep. It was nice though not to have to fight her on going to bed.

Overall, we had a fun time, but it is great to be home! Now it's back to reality. I have three books going big right now, so my entryway is starting to stack high with boxes. Gotta go!

On the Move

As of a week ago last Sunday, Ellie is on the move and crawling! She basically figured out how to do it within a week or so and now she is loving it! She sees a toy she wants and she'll just cruise on over and get it. And she's actually pretty stable. She'll crawl on the tile and she hasn't bumped her head yet. The problem is just keeping Eliza and Libby out of her way so she can crawl. As you can tell by the picture, Eliza likes to pick her up and help her "play." Poor Ellie.

I went to Keepsake Trends today and they had the glitter that Heidi likes to use, so I picked me up a couple of colors. I can't wait to use it. I have a couple of birthdays coming up, so I am going do some personalized notecards and I'll get to use it on those.

I'm off to mutual in a couple of hours. We are making cookies to take to one of our less-active girls.

Pioneers

Today is Pioneer Day. It is just amazing all they went through to get to Salt Lake. Yesterday Brian and I spoke in church. I think we did well, although I felt like a blubbering crybaby! It didn't help that before my talk, there was a special musical number. The bishop started out singing Come, Come Ye Saints, then after a line, another man walked up and joined him singing, then after another line, another man joined singing. Then the next verse, a few women came up and joined in singing. For the last verse the congregation stood and sang. It was so neat and of course I got a little emotional because I love anything that relates to the pioneers. And it was the song we sang at my grandma's funeral. So I got to speak after that. Nice. I spoke about the pioneers and how they were blessed through their obedience.

Not only did we speak, but Eliza had to give a talk in Primary. She spoke about prayer and gave a great effort trying. The first girl was to give the scripture, and she got up there with her mom and started crying, so her mom had to give it for her. Then it was Eliza's turn. She got up there with Brian, and she started crying. So the other boy who was giving a talk tried and he cried! It was a contagious feeling! But she got back up there and gave her talk although she didn't talk into the microphone and I don't think anyone could hear her. Oh well. It was a good effort.

Tonight I was reading Eliza a story before bed and I decided that The Dance isn't a great bedtime story. I was totally tearing up! Eliza asked, "Are you sad?" I kind of had to laugh. It's just a touching story. So note to self--save that book for Dad to read to her before bed next time!

Last thing: My mom found Quote, Unquote, Vol. 4 today at Scrapbooks Etc. in Mesa. Urgh! I don't have my copies yet, so I hope I get them soon.

Next Adventure

I'm still not all unpacked and recovered for Havasupai, but in about 10 days we'll be leaving on another adventure, but this time it's to Disneyworld!!! We are so excited to be going and taking the girls and my parents. Everyone is so excited. We'll be staying at Disney's BoardWalk Inn and we'll do four days in the parks. The other days I'm sure we'll be by the pool or sightseeing or resting (ha ha!).

Pictures

sorry these are out of order, but from the top down, here is a little description:
1. Navajo Falls
2. Mooney Falls
3. Climbing down to Mooney Falls
4. My visit with Brian for the week
5. Brian with Nicholas Cage

Back from Havasupai

I'm back from the big adventure. And it was a great time! I have tried several times to upload some pictures and it's not working, so I'll be trying again tomorrow. But here is an overview of my trip!

On Wednesday night, the girls came over to my house at 6:30 and we ate pizza and played games (Apples to Apples, Cranium and Mafia) until midnight. Then we loaded up the cars and drove to the Grand Canyon. One of the girls who was going to go hadn't been feeling well, but started feeling better that day so she decided to go. Well, we got partway to Saligman and she had us call her dad to meet us there to pick her up because she wasn't feeling well. Poor her! I felt bad for her (and her dad)! I rode with Bishop Purtymun and Rachel Pribyl. I only slept for maybe 30 minutes the whole way. We got to the top of the Canyon at about 4:30 AM, where we unloaded the packs and left them for the helicopter to fly them in. We ate a little breakfast, went to the bathroom in the smelly outhouses (yuck!!), then we started hiking in at 5:30. The first two miles are switchbacks and fairly steep, but after that it's just like a bumpy hike for 7 miles and pretty easy. I didn't get any blisters, so that was nice. And I didn't have to go to the bathroom either, so that was helpful too!
We arrived at the village in Havasupai at 8:30, so we made good time. The village is just a reservation-type atmosphere. There is a little bare-bones store and there is a cafe where we bought (and enjoyed) some fry bread. Yum! When we walked into the village, Brian was there on their way out from their trip. It was good to see him and chat for a little while before we went on our way. We waited quite a while there for the helicopter to bring our packs in. Brian told me that they saw Nicholas Cage with Jessice Biel and they were at Havasu Falls filming a movie.

Once we got our packs, we loaded up and hiked two miles to the campground. Those two miles were grueling. My pack was probably heavier than it should have been, plus it was hot and we had been hiking a while before that. Rachel and I were hiking together and we were dying!! The whole time we were wondering how we were going to make it back to the village on the way out with our stuff--uphill!!! We got to the campground and found the rest of our ward. They had a place across a little river. We had to cross a wood slat bridge to get over there, but it was a great place to be because there was no foot traffic on our side. We set up camp and got settled. After getting settled, we went down to Havasu Falls. They were beautiful, but the water was so icy cold, it took some great courage to get in! We swam around there for a while, then went back to camp and ate dinner. For meals I had simple stuff that you just basically have to boil water for. Then for lunches and breakfasts, I just had ready-made items. It got old fast and makes me sick to think about! We all went to bed pretty early that night because it had been about 40 hours without sleep.

Then next morning we woke up and ate breakfast and got our swimming suits on. Then we made the 1/2 miles or so hike down to Mooney Falls. Once we got to the edge, we had to make a crazy hike practically straight down the side of the mountain. There are some "steps" in the mountain, but then you go through a couple of tunnels and then you go the rest of the way slowly while holding onto a chain. It was a little frightening, hoping you didn't slip or lose your footing! But we made it down and I thought I would just take pictures because the water was so incredibly cold. But of course, with all the girls wanting you to come in, you just grit your teeth and do it. So I got in and even did the rope swing. We also swam down the river to another little waterfall area that you could walk under and sit in. It was very beautiful. Someone had brought shampoo, so I took advantage and washed my hair under the waterfall. But the falls are so majestic and very powerful.

After Mooney, we hiked back to the campground, ate lunch, then headed to Navajo Falls. Those were probably my favorites. They just spanned the whole side of a rock wall and had some many neat things. There was a big jump off the rock that a few girls did. I didn't do it...I was way too chicken. I didn't even think about it. We also found a little secluded area off of Navajo Falls that was so private and lush. I expected to see a mermaid there...that is what it looked like. After spending quite a while at Navajo, we hiked back to camp and some of the girls did a rope swing. Then we ate dinner, played some games and went to bed. It was a worse night than the night before. It was noisy and not comfortable. And Rachel, my tent buddy, got sick, so she was up a lot and it kept me up. But the next day we packed up, hiked back the two miles--which were much easier because 4 of us went in together to get a mule. So it was an easy hike back. Once we got there, we probably waited 20 minutes, then we helicoptered out. It was an awesome ride. I had never done that before and it was great. We were going to drive home, but instead I flew home with Greg Barlow from our ward. He was going to fly Rachel home, but she was a little nervous to be too far from facilities. So I jumped on the chance. We helicoptered to Valle Airport, then picked up a little 2-seater Sessna and flew into Glendale Airport. I did great at the beginning, then he let me steer for a while, and I think that did me in. I got a touch of nausea, but I drank some water and felt better, then we were over Lake Pleasant--almost home--and I couldn't hold it down, so I used the nice air sickness bag he had on the plane. Lovely. But once I did that I was much better. But it was a fun experience despite that.

I am still tired and my pack is still full and not unpacked! I hope I will have the energy and gumption to do it tomorrow! But it was a great trip and a great chance to interact with the girls.

Random Thoughts

Just some random things to get caught up:
--Brian is down in Havasupai. I have not heard from him, but that is where he is! The girls are doing great for me, thank goodness!
--Libby started another session of swimming lessons and did great. I was a little nervous because I didn't sign Eliza up again, but she was fine to be by herself in class.
--I found Kidsongs at Wal-Mart! Score! They only had two different ones, but you bet I snatched them up. They were still $1.00.
--Saw they now have organic Rice Krispies and Frosted Mini Wheats. Hmmmm....not sure what can be organic about that.
--I need to tidy up my house...the girls are meeting here on Wednesday night for a pizza party before we leave for Havasupai.
--My bag that I ordered from here came today. I absolutely LOVE it. Heather did such a great job on it. It is very sturdy (made from home dec. fabric) and it's lined with a zipper pocket on the inside. And I think for a well-made bag, it is very well priced. I think I am going to have her make me a diaper bag next.

OK--off to start tidying!

Job Charts

I started "Job Charts" with Eliza and Libby yesterday and they are all over them(especially Eliza)! When we woke up yesterday, Eliza wanted to know if we could start her chart and she wanted to make sure we got everything done. And today I was in a rush to get out the door, but she insisted that we finish her morning activities before we left. I think she will be a list-maker like I am. I don't know how long the enthusiasm will last, but they are so excited to check things off after doing a "chore" or "task". I haven't had to attach rewards with it yet. Maybe when the excitement wears off, I'll bring out the rewards to motivate them.

Here's to some cool job charts and to a great weekend!!!

Random Thursday

Here is a picture of the bed I promised. They look cute. And Eliza wanted to dress up today and wear the hat that my mom made for a 7gypsies contest they had with their designers. So that expains the other pictures. She can be such a ham.

Today we went to Gilbert to Deb's house to drop off some projects. Eliza and Libby had a great time over there--coloring, picking tomotoes and eating snacks from Deb's pantry. But that took most of the day. I did get a backpack that I need for Havasupai, so I think I have everything I need for the trip. It's less than a week away!

It's almost the weekend...yahoo!

New Beds!

For a while we've been looking for beds for the girls' room. We've found what we've wanted a few times, but it's always been way expensive. But at Costco, they have the cutest white beds, so we bought three. We eventually want the girls in the same room and we want their beds to match, so we were so excited to see these. You can see it here, kind of. They don't have the exact one we got, but it's a mix of the Erica and Chloe. It's not a day bed, but it's called the Erica. I will take a picture tomorrow to post. We will be going back to get the dresser tomorrow--they were out at our Costco, so we have to go to another one. Now I'll just have to accessorize their room and it'll be done. We are glad Libby has a bed now! She has just been on a mattress in her room and she is an "all-over" sleeper and ends up on the floor within minutes. So we'll see how the bed works out!

4th of July

We had a fun fourth of July. We started the day at a breakfast at our Bishop's house, then Brian put together one of the new beds we got for the girls' room while Libby and I went to the mall. There were some great sales! In the afternoon we went to my parents' house and enjoyed getting wet with a squirt gun and water balloon fight. The kids had a fabulous time. After dinner there, we went to my in-laws to swim and watch fireworks. Brian got a new mask for the pool and I enjoyed it a little too much. I used it more than he did, I think! After dark, we had front row seats in their backyard watching the fireworks from the Peoria Sports Complex. It was a great show. Libby didn't really care for them, but Eliza liked watching them.
Hope you had a happy 4th!

Happy July

It's already July! We are already halfway to Christmas. It's almost time to start listening to Christmas music! Ha ha...not really, but I love to. Let's see...here is an update of our last few days.

On Friday I took Eliza and Libby to Waterworld. We had a blast! They loved the slides and went down over and over. Libby also enjoyed the lazy river and Eliza loved learning to swim in with the waves at the wave pool. It was a great time.

For our date last night, Brian and I bought most of our stuff for our Havasupai trip. Let's just say I hope we have a great time for what we spent. Yowsers!

Today we were pretty lazy this morning, then I got struck with a migraine! It's been over a year since I've had one, so that is good, but it's a big bummer when I do get one. So I slept most of the day, and by this evening I was feeling well enough to do a couple of errands. I still have a little residual pain, but it's mostly gone.

I also found out today that I'll be teaching the joint lesson in Young Women, so I've been preparing for that, too!

Have a great July and an especially fun 4th.