Time Flies

Where has December gone? It is flying by way too fast that's for sure!

On Wednesday I took pictures of my new little niece Amy. She is a doll!





Standards night went well. I wasn't sure if we would go on as planned because of the weather, but it ended up going really well. We didn't stay to camp out (thank goodness--I didn't just say that, did I?!?). We met at the church at 5 and headed out to the White Tanks. The bishopric had prepared dinner (Mexican food), so we ate right when we arrived. It had been raining all day and pretty much stopped while we were there, but it was cold and windy. After dinner we had our program. I spoke and so did the young men's president. I used the video 212 from Simple Truths. I related it to standards and how we need to make sure we give 212 to living our standards in the For Strength of Youth booklet. I think the kids really got it and I hope they think about it. After Tyson spoke, we showed Money or Mission. I first saw that movie up in Utah at my friend Margie's house. Her friend is John Lyde who wrote and directed it. It is a great short movie about just what the title says--making money or going on a mission. I think everyone enjoyed it. Several parents wanted to borrow it after!

After the program we had dutch oven cobblers, then headed to Becky's house until about midnight. We had hot chocolate, s'mores, snacks and hung out and chatted. The girls played a few rounds of 100, too.

Saturday:
Tired!!! Not that I stayed up any later than normal, but I was just tired Saturday morning! That day we went to my parents' house and decorated gingerbread houses. Libby and Eliza had a lot of great ideas and I think it turned out very cute. Ellie ate a lot of the decorations before we could put them on! Good thing my parents had a large supply!




That night we had my cousin babysit and Brian and I went to a party for the Kiwanis club he is in. It was in Sun City Grand and we were totally the youngest ones there by a long shot! We ate turkey dinner, sang some Christmas carols and then left. We did some Christmas shopping before coming home. I had a gift card to spend at Pier 1, and we found some cute pillows for the playroom totally on sale. They were only $3.50 each. I also got a cute hanger for all our Christmas cards.

Sunday:
I had an early meeting, but I didn't have to teach! That was nice for a change. We had choir in the afternoon and I made soup to take to my parents for dinner. We stopped by Brian's parents on the way home and visited there for a bit. We played Apples to Apples, which is always fun.

Monday:
Tried to catch up around the house. I took pictures of my niece in her baptism dress in the afternoon.



For family home evening we took little gifts to our neighbors. I stayed up way too late working and trying to finish our Christmas card so I could send them Costco.

Today:
I was brave. I had to go to the post office to mail a couple of boxes and get some stamps. It actually went pretty quickly and smoothly. We stopped by my parents' to pick up some decorations for Brian's work party which is Friday night. On the way home I continued my bravery and went to Wal-Mart for groceries for the party. I just went as fast as I could and it went pretty well, too! We tried to play out front, but I was freezing so we came inside. Tonight was chicken pillows for dinner. Yum!

Haircuts and Baking

Yesterday after school I took Eliza and Libby to the talented Brooke Jeppson for haircuts. They were so excited (Eliza more than Libby). Eliza went first and got the cutest little stacked haircut. It is perfect for her hair. Poor girl has always had hair issues (tons of cowlicks and just way superfine hair). But this style appears to be perfect for her hair. It's darling! I round brushed it this morning and when she came home from school, it still looked cute. Usually after a day at school her hair will be, well, stringy and "worn". This style still looked way cute. Libby got about 3-4 inches off. It totally thickened it up and it looks cute, too!

Today my mom came over and helped me make Peanut Butter Balls for the little cookie exchange we had at Enrichment tonight. PBBs (as we lovingly dubbed them today) are a longtime family favorite. My mom has been making them for years and well, we just love them! Libby and Ellie even helped and they had a blast. They took turns turning on and off the blender to mix up the Rice Krispies. Then they each dumped ingredients into the mixer. And Ellie put the balls into the chocolate for my mom to cover. She loved it and did a great job. She did sneak a couple though. It was cute!





Here is the recipe if anyone wants to make them!
2 cups Rice Krispies, crushed
1 cup peanut butter (creamy works best)
1 cup powdered sugar
6-8 Tbsp. melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla
dipping chocolate

Mix together all ingredients except chocolate. Shape into 1” balls. Freeze until firm. Dip in Candy Quick (white or chocolate). Store in the fridge.

Tonight was Enrichment and we had a fun time. We ate dinner (Mexican food), then we had some musical numbers, a few people including me talked about our "Garden of Life" experiences from the year, then we loaded up plates from the cookie exchange.

Tomorrow night is our Standards Night out at the White Tanks. It is going to be cold and it's supposed to rain. So I need to get ready for that!

Ta ta for now!

Tales from Yesterday

Yesterday was a weird day. I intended to get a lot done but didn't get as much done as I hoped. I had pictures to take in the afternoon and had to get a sitter for that, so I thought I would make use of her and get some Christmas shopping done, too. First, Libby wanted to go with me. Normally I wouldn't mind, but I was Christmas shopping!! But I ended up taking her to Ross, then she was done and wanted to go home and stay with Sarah. At Ross my phone died, so it was a hard afternoon not having that because I was trying to arrange a ride home for Eliza. I resorted to using the payphone (remember those things?!)at a couple stores but to no avail. I had to pick Eliza up so that took a lot of my time. After I picked her up we went to one store then had to meet Brian and Aleeda at Cibola Vista to look at the room where his work party is going to be. I felt like it was a wasted afternoon. Oh well! After that I took the Moore's pictures. Terri already knows this, but Chris is harder than the kids!!! It takes me saying ridiculous things to make him smile!!! I hope we got maybe one family one that will work. I got plenty of cute ones of the kids though.





Oh--and when I got home I realized I looked way dorky while I was out earlier. While I was at home in the morning, I had rolled up my pants pretty nerdy. Without shoes, my pants are just a touch long and it bugs me to walk on them, so I rolled them up. Ummm...yeah...forgot to unroll them until I got home from pictures. Lovely.

For family home evening we went looking at Christmas lights. There is a HUGE snowman that someone made from PVC pipe and lights. It's cool!

Today I did some cleaning around the house.(Mmmmmm...freshly vacuumed floors--heaven!) We went to Brian's office to talk more about and plan the food for his Christmas party. Then we came home, played outside, picked up Eliza and taxied her to and from piano. We played at the park during piano. And I delivered a CD of photos!! It feels great to have another session edited and delivered! Here are a few of my favorites from that shoot.




Better get back to work!

Ack!

Before I get too far behind again, I decided to update this!

This weekend was full--Friday morning Karolyn watched Ellie and Hattie while I went to Paradise Bakery for some visiting teaching. I met one lady I visit there and her partner and one person they visit (did you follow that?) was there. I got a lemon poppy seed muffin...my fav! I haven't had one lately, so that fun. I enjoyed visiting and enjoyed breakfast.

From there I did a couple quick errands and made the dang cutest thing. But I can't post it yet or it'll ruin some Christmas present surprises. It's just something little but it turned out so cute, I thought. That night Brian took Eliza and Libby to Cabela's and I stayed home with the littlest two and worked after they went to bed.

Saturday--Brian went into work for a couple hours. We hung out at home and enjoyed the rain!!! When it wasn't too heavy, we went out front and out back, but we mostly watched from the inside. It poured and we loved it!!

That afternoon we went to my niece Madeleine's baptism. That went well and she was happy for that exciting time in her life. Saturday night we went to the much anticipated annual party at the Pribyl's. Rachel (and Ben) always does such a great job hosting and is a great hostess and friend. We started out with delish appetizers, then moved on to yummy Italian food. I loved the punch (Incredible Punch from the ward cookbook). And dessert was pazookies (ice cream atop a 1/2-baked cookie). Everyone has a great time with the gift exchange. This year we brought a gift card and a movie bag (we scored some after Thanksgiving sales and got 4 great movies to give!). I went home with a bottle of Martenelli's cider and a gift card to Cold Stone. And Brian got two sets of Christmas dish towels and a piece of Le Creuset bakeware. It is nice but was funny that he won. No one took it for him the whole time!

Today was a busy Sunday. Brian and I subbed in gospel doctrine. Then I had to teach a last minute lesson in young women. I found out yesterday the person we were going to have teach couldn't make it, so I pulled together a lesson. I decided to talk about including everyone and cliques. I hope it will make a difference and that the girls didn't think I was singling anyone out. But both lessons went well and they are over! In the afternoon Eliza and I went to choir. We had family dinner at our house, then we watched the 1st Presidency Christmas devotional.

I'll try to keep up this week so I don't get behind.

Quick Update

I've neglected my blog for a few days. Just got lazy--no other excuse.

Saturday:
Brian was still on his campout--they ended up doing a drive in Camp Verde, sleeping at his parents' cabin in Mund's Park, then doing an other drive plus a hike in Williams. They were going to mountain bike, but the wind was relentless! On Sat. morning, Ellie went with my parents on the second part of her birthday outing. They went to Target and Ellie "picked out" some long sleeve shirts (which she loves wearing and says, "Gramma" and points at her shirt) and a Little People bus. That has been lots of fun for her to play with, too. While she was gone, I took the other three to the park so Eliza and Libby could practice their monkey bar skills. We came home and joined Ellie in eating Happy Meals (the kids--not me!). Around 4:30, I picked up Sarah and she babysat while I did some Christmas shopping. Normally, I shop and see what I want and chicken out buying it, thinking, "What if it goes on sale, etc." This year I decided I wouldn't do that because usually nothing does go on sale, so I'm stuck getting everything at the last minute, etc. So I got some tablecloths for Brian's work party and some ornaments to decorate the room. I enjoyed PB for dinner (mmmm!) and hit Target for a LONG shopping time. It was fun to walk around without having the rush. I found some things I needed and got a raincheck for a couple things they were out of. And guess what? Three things I bought that night so far have gone on sale. And not like save one dollar...like save almost 1/2 of what I spent!!!! Annoying!! So I've had to get a couple price adjustments so far and still have to do one more. Oh well. Glad I could save some money!

Brian and I got home within a few minutes of each other so he could take Sarah home.

Sunday:
meeting.
church. It went well. Two of our young women taught and did a great job!
Got dinner mostly made. We had my parents over.
Went to choir with Eliza
Enjoyed a nice evening at home. Watched a touching Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The kids' story was so sad!

Monday:
Bback in the routine. School. Libby had a field trip to Bashas and enjoyed that. She got to eat pizza and tour the store. Same old thing the rest of the day.

Tuesday:
Did a price adjustment at Target and grabbed some groceries. Eliza had piano. At night I went to Becky's and helped Leslie finish her mom's Christmas gift--a Rolodex album like my mom made for me at Hattie's shower. It went pretty quick, was fun to do and looks so darling!

Today so far:
While Libby was at preschool, we price adjusted at Party City and grabbed some gifts at Wal-Mart. We had lunch and are now out front. I just got reamed by my neighbor for the girls playing in the street. I am so mad! Maybe if I write about it, it'll be cathartic and will help me not be so angry! I can only hope!

23rd

This morning I tried to take it somewhat easy and not move around too fast for fear of having a repeat performance of yesterday. Brian got ready for his outing and I did some stuff around the house and went out front with the girls. Brian took three of them to the park before he left. Eliza can now skip bars on the monkey bars and Libby went across for the first time by herself today! They were both so pleased with themselves.

After Brian took off for 4-wheel driving, we played outside a little more. Ellie loves being on our neighbor's motorized cars and her favorite right now is their motorized Harley. She looks so cute and little on it! She is funny to watch riding it. Later Ellie took a nap and the rest of us girls decorated for Christmas. Eliza and Libby put most of the tree decorations on and they set out most of the nativities and other holiday stuff. I went very simple and low-key this year. But it still looks festive and it's fun to recall the memories associated with all the decorations.

My parents came and watch my girls while I took some photos. I have been soooo stressing out and nervous about these but it went well and was easy. As I was pulling up to the place, I saw Natalie taking her brother's family's pictures. We had the same idea!

After that we all went to the mall. Whenever a grandchild turns two, he or she gets to go to Build-A-Bear to make a bear. At first Ellie didn't really get it and she was only interested in looking at the outfits.


After holding up each animal one by one asking her if she wanted it, she finally held on and said yes to the blue winter bear. She stood in line so cute waiting for her turn to have it stuffed.



She helped step on the pedal, then put its little heart inside.


I think her favorite part was "washing" and combing her bear, which was affectionately named "Snowflake" because of the snowflake on her nose.



She was very opinionated about the outfit she picked and knew exactly what she wanted.


After getting her dressed, she went back to the wash area, got the brush and cleaned her bear again.




What a fun time!




We hadn't eaten, so I got the girls some pizza to share, then we went to Bath and Body and probably drove everyone crazy there! But overall it was a great night and everyone had fun. Eliza got her unicorn stuffed some more so it stands up and she and Libby got to pick out a new outfit. They were loving that for sure!

...some pictures from yesterday:

The table before Thanksgiving feast at my parents' house.


Fun and games at our extended family gathering at my aunt's in Gilbert.




And from Ellie's birthday yesterday:





Off to have my own leftover Thanksgiving feast!

How Not to Gain 5 Pounds on Thanksgiving:

...get a migraine. Yup. Can you even believe it? I sure couldn't. I was so mad and disappointed! So here is a recap of my Thanksgiving day.

Note to Aunt Ellen: Sorry--no pictures yet--so you can wait for that post if you want!! :)

Pre-migraine:
Got up.
Sang happy birthday to Ellie. Made her 2 toaster strudels--what she requested--for breakfast. She got her gift--a little scooter. She has had a lot of fun on it today.
Made pumpkin trifle for a dessert which we ended up eating tonight at my aunt's house. So so good!
Made Ellie's birthday cake. I used Kari's amazingly delicious homemade chocolate frosting recipe. Thank, Kari!
Brian put the Christmas tree up. The girls were in and out playing.
We got all loaded up to go to my parents for Thanksgiving lunch. We got to my parents and somewhere between getting out of the car and in their house it hit me! I "saw the light." I was thinking, "You've got to be kidding me. Oh no. Not today." But alas...it was true.

During Migraine:
--All the family was enjoying a (from what I heard) a super delicious Thanksgiving lunch around my parents new, huge table (all the adults fit at one table!) and in their newly remodeled kitchen/dining area.
--I was in my parents' bedroom, laying on the bed, in and out of their bathroom (albeit--newly remodeled and decorated!) and sleeping. I was so ticked I missed it. At about 4:30 I came out of my "cave" (lol), feeling a little better. The nausea, vision issues and headache pain had subsided...I just had to take it easy and not move to fast. Still not feeling great.

After the worst of the migraine:
I was feeling "better" so I figured we were still safe to go to the festivities at my aunt's house. So we drove out to Gilbert for our annual big family get together. It was a lot of fun. We started out by eating finger foods and desserts (still not Thanksgiving dinner--but I'm not bitter!), then we all sang to Ellie and enjoyed the cake. We played pictionary (using words related to Thanksgiving or our family) and played bingo and got little prizes for winning (candy bars or the kids got little toys or games or lip gloss. Then it was time for the ornament exchange. We did it a little different this year. Instead of having a name in advance, we just brought an ornament or Christmas decoration and Chris read a story that had lots of the words "right" and "left" in it. So the gifts went around and back and around. When the story was over, you got that ornament you were holding. The kids exchanged first, then the adults. We got so lucky and Brian got what my mom made. I'll have to take a picture. It's an altered book she made, but in the front is embedding "Santa's watch." I was tickled to get it!

We left a little before 9--our girls were so very tired but it was good evening. Happy Thanksgiving.

Fun, Fun, Fun Day!

Today I signed Eliza out of school a little early and we picked up Sarah to babysit Ellie and Hattie. Then Eliza, Libby and I headed to Kierland for our annual girls' day out. Each year during the week of Thanksgiving, my mom, two of her sisters and their daughters get together for lunch and shopping. This year, Eliza and Libby got to join in on the fun. I didn't tell Eliza until I showed up to get her from school. At first she was sad to be missing school! That's my girl! When we got to Kierland, we met at Cheesecake Factory for lunch. I had the salad and pizza lunch special (too much food!), Eliza had the pasta kid's meal and Libby had the chicken strips with fries. They weren't on the menu, so I didn't know how much the kid meals were. Ouch!!! Libby's was 9 bucks! Eliza's was 7. Next time, they'll share--especially because they both were huge portions. I should have known for that restaurant. For dessert we split chocolate mousse cheesecake. Libby loved that and all the whipped cream. It was so fun to sit and catch up. My aunt and cousin from Texas came for Thanksgiving, and my cousin who just moved to Portland was down, too. So fun!

After lunch we shopped! First was Anthropologie. I LOVE that store. They always have the coolest displays and store decorations. Today was no exception. We loved the snowflake garland in the front of the store and the hanging things made totally from straws. Cool. Every time I go in that store, I always say I am going to by an article of clothing there. But I never do because it is sooo expensive. Well, today was my lucky day. I totally scored. I found 2 pairs of shorts on sale for only $9.95. If you've ever been there, you know that is like an unheard of deal. Both pairs started out at $78. Ouch! After that we hit Babystyle, J Jill, Crate & Barrel, etc. I bought my ornament for our ornament exchange on Thursday. It was just such a fun, fun, relaxing time. Eliza and Libby had a blast and loved hanging out with my aunts and cousins. They also loved entertaining Emali's baby Grace and pushing her in the stroller. Audi took them on escalator rides in Crate and Barrel and they thought that was so fun.

All the pictures are especially for my Aunt Ellen who wants me to post more pictures so she doesn't have to read so much! LOL.

Day 2 of the Retreat (and a Day 3 Bonus)

Day two of the retreat started with the girls gathering back at the resort at 9 AM for a breakfast made by our bishopric. We had scrambled eggs, pancakes, ham and orange juice.




After a leisurely breakfast, we hopped into cars and went to Souflez and had our cake decorating class. Each girl got her own 9" round cake. We learned how to frost the cake, then how to decorate it with a shell border and how to do stars, a flowers, leaves and how to write. We filled two pastry bags with frosting and went to town! The girls were quite creative with their designs--ranging from very well done and thought out to crazy! I enjoyed it and learned how to decorate better!






After decorating cakes, we drove back to the resort for our lunch. We had ordered subs from Capriotti's. A family in our last ward owns one of the franchises at 91st and Thomas, so we ordered those. I LOVE their subs. After lunch and giving away more great prizes, Rachel did her bracelet class. She had kitted lots (and lots) of bags with beads that the girls could use to design their own bracelets. Each girl made at least two to three bracelets. They looked great! They had fun doing it, too, and today I heard the moms say their daughters were so proud that they made something they would wear.


During that class, Becky and I headed outside to do a mini photo shoot for each girl. I think that will be fun for each girl to have some pictures of themselves.





To close our big weekend, Aimee Benefield from our ward came and spoke to the girls about the theme "Bloom." She focused more on how we can bloom spiritually. It was a perfect ending to our weekend. Before each girl left, we sent them home with a goodie bag. Inside was a t-shirt (I'll have to take a picture and post later), a couple products Heidi donated, a couple of coupons from a couple of the companies who sent donations and one of my quote books. So many of the girls were so kind and thanked us after for the weekend and stayed to help us get cleaned up. I love those girls!

While I was gone, Brian took our girls up to Flagstaff to see his sister Jenny and her new baby, Elena. They had a great time and had a full day, too! Last night (I was beat!) but Eliza, Libby and I went to Target to get some groceries and to get Ellie's birthday present. She'll be 2 on Thanksgiving day! I CANNOT believe Thanksgiving is this week. Holy cow! I am not ready at all. I mean I am ready for my assignment for our family feast, but once it's Thanksgiving--that means Christmas is soon after. And I am NOT ready for Christmas. But I'll kick it in gear and be ready!

Today was church and it went well. I taught the lesson in laurels on self-discipline. It's always a great reminder to set goals and have the self-control to achieve them! But we had great discussion and sharing. I love that about our class and leaders. After church we had a longer than normal BYC for the youth class presidents. From there it was home, lunch, play, then off to Brian's parents' to drop off three girlies while Brian, Eliza and I went to a fireside. This was the Day 3 Bonus! Sam Payne stayed and did fireside for us tonight. Actually we invited another ward, so there were lots of youth there. It was an AWESOME fireside! I loved it. First he sang a humorous/light-hearted song about kissing. Then he got on with his message. He shared two stores from the Bible--first was about David and how he became King. He was such a faithful/righteous youth, then at the end of his life, he didn't make very good choices. Then he talked about Esther and how she was an ordinary girl, but ended up saving herself and her people. I love the scripture he referred to: "who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?" She was the Queen, but she had that thought so she made good decisions, whereas David said, "I am the King--I can have whatever I want." I am certainly not saying it as well as he did, but then he compared it to decisions we make. Are we like Esther or are like David at the end of his life? He told a story of a girl when he was in high school who was devastated that she wasn't asked to prom (and never had). Then he shared how one boy--who was very popular and "sought after"--after hearing about this girl's sadness, asked her to the prom and saved her so to speak like Esther did her people. Now of course, life doesn't revolve around going to the prom, but this was a time when that boy had a decision. He could have said, "I am the 'King'" so to speak--and I can have what I want. Or (like Esther)say--I am the 'King'...what can I do for you today? Anyway...I am going on and on, but I really enjoyed it. After he shared that, he played the piano and sang a song that he wrote about David and how we see an ordinary boy but the Lord sees a King. I asked Sam later if that song is on any of his CDs and unfortunately it's not! Then he talked for a couple minutes about not believing the untrue things our friends say about us. He ended by playing his guitar and sang a song written by Cherie Call.

It has been a busy, full weekend, but one we won't soon forget!

I did forget to mention our Young Women in Excellence we had on Wednesday night. Our theme was Bloom (we made it our week-long theme). Olivia Montez was in charge and did an amazing job! The room looked fabulous--decorating is her forte and it showed! For the night, I spoke for just a minute about the theme of the night, then each parent (who had previously told us what flower they felt best represented their daughter) got up and told why they chose that flower. It was a neat time for the girls to hear about themselves from their parents. Then the parents gave each girl that flower. The girls also got a CD of songs recorded by a few people in our ward with songs about reaching their fullest potential. Dessert was from Sweets Unlimited and again--yum. They looked beautiful, too!

Here's to maybe a less stressful/crazy week. We'll see!