Blessing Dresses

This past Sunday the twins were blessed and got to wear the dresses I made. Thankfully they didn't outgrow them! Unfortunately it's hard to see the dresses in this picture because they're all wrapped up in the blankets (which I also made). A better picture will be coming soon.

Congrats to you guys, the girls are gorgeous!

Halloween Costumes

Sorry this is a little late, I've been a lazy blogger.

This year Ben wanted to be a vampire, and I had to be his vampire Mom. I think it works for us.


Grace is a fairy princess, Ben is a vampire, and Ember is an Indian.

My least favorite chore

I hate to cook. I really hate it. Some women like to find new recipes, try new things, find joy or fulfillment in providing nourishment to their families... that is not me. I don't even like making sandwiches. Putting something in the crock pot so it will cook itself is just irritating. I hate can openers, I hate twist ties, I hate spatulas.

And the food I cook doesn't even taste good. It only tastes good if someone else made it. I hate the smell of cooking meat, steaming vegetables, simmering soups or sauces. Awhile ago I watched Julie and Julia and just laughed, because I have a hard time believing that women like that actually exist. I'm not a bad cook, my husband tells me I'm good at it. But I'd rather clean bathrooms than prepare a meal for my family.

Do you like cooking? And what is YOUR least favorite chore?

Disneyland

We took the kids to Disneyland this year and had so much fun. It was all decked out for Halloween, and the Haunted Mansion was changed to the Nightmare Before Christmas theme. The great thing was that it rained all day, just a light drizzle (it poured a couple times) so all the lines were really short. We waited in maybe 3 lines, but otherwise we just walked onto any ride we wanted.

This was Grace's first trip to Disneyland and she was enchantated. And she lasted the whole day, 8am to 9:30 pm! We had to encourage her to stay just a little bit longer, because we wanted to watch the World of Color laser light show at the end of the night. She said it was worth it :)





This thing was cool... a giant ball sitting on a pedestal with running water. If you push hard enough, you can change the direction the ball is spinning. Ben really got into it.

Grace & Ember got to meet Tinkerbelle


We did all the classic kids rides for Grace, but we also talked Ember and Ben into doing the scarier rides. They did Indiana Jones, Tower of Terror, and even Space Mountain! Ember said it made her feel very brave and grown-up to do such scary rides. Even Grace did the Tower of Terror and didn't cry, although she said she didn't like it.

Grace got to meet three princesses, which made her day.

Even waiting in line was fun, because there were no lines!
We basically walked onto any ride we wanted to.

We had a blast, but Mom and Dad are worn out. Because the steps were slippery on one of the rides I twisted my knee and I'm walking with a limp. Plus earlier in the week I got a bladder infection and a toothache (I think I lost a filling). I was so ready for this vacation to be over. I'm glad the kids had fun though, I'd do it all again just for them.

Grace-isms

In the desert, in the middle of nowhere, I hear a whisper... "I have to go to the bathroom."

Great.

Then she tells Grandma, "I can see your taste bugs."

First Annual Girl's Weekend in the Mountains

Vicki has six sons and one daughter. Her daughter and the wives of her sons all gathered at the cabin in Overgaard to spend a girls-only weekend. Not that we don't love those sons of hers, but it's nice to just be with the girls :) We spent the weekend talking and crafting, mostly making cute hair bows for ourselves and our daughters. Celeste was in charge of the food and did a FABULOUS job. She even made everyone a customized omelet on Sunday morning.

While we were there we also had the opportunity to drive up to the Stake Center in Taylor and attend the General Relief Society Broadcast together. The talks were inspiring, and I'm glad I could share that with the girls. I really do hope this becomes an annual trip, it was so much fun!

Celeste (holding Adria), Me, Noelle, Vicki, Cindy, Shelley, and Sarah.

This is almost all of the hair bows we made.

What do you call a cow with a twitch?

Beef Jerky!

Ha! I love Laffy Taffy.

WHY?

Why is it that I'm the one who has to scrub the black marks out of the carpet, vacuum all the floors, wash every tiny windowpane in the french doors, scrub the caked on grime behind the kitchen sink, pick up and match all the shoes under the kitchen table, put away the legos I find in every corner of the house, do all the shopping and cupboard & fridge organizing, plan every meal, wash every dirty sock, dust every corner and organize every pile? WHY?

And don't tell me it's because I'm the Mom, or I'll poke you in the eye.

School Pictures

School pictures came home today and they look awesome!
I especially like Grace's smile.

too too cute

I'm helping sew the ballet costumes this year for the girl's recital in December and I finished my first tutu today. The bodice and sleeves aren't done yet, but I wanted to post the skirt because it took me FOREVER. Working with four layers of tulle is NOT easy. Their teacher is giving me a discount on tuition since I'm willing to help sew, and I'm having fun doing it!

A couple of babies

I took my kids to visit my sister Sharon today. Actually, we were visiting the twins, but it was nice to see Sharon too. They took turns holding and admiring these sweet little girls, and even I got a turn (though I had to fight for it).

The redhead is Kate and the brunette is Reese.

They are two very beautiful babies.

Progress on Ben's room

I finished painting Ben's room today. The walls are a light tan color, with one accent wall of a darker forest green and ivory trim. Think camouflage. Green is Ben's favorite color, and he helped pick out these colors. It really looks great.

Now all we need to do is the floor.

Awesome kids

Ember and Ben wanted to "work out" and get stronger, so Ember lifted weights while Ben twisted himself inside-out.

And here's today's Grace-ism:
(to her Dad) "You're driving me crazy! You're getting my brain all twisted. You're gonna make me stupid."

Happiness Project: day 28

Happiness is the way my yard looks and smells after a good rainstorm.

This project was for me to find little things to be happy about every day. I avoided the big things like faith, husband and kids because they're obvious. There was a small bout of depression in the middle of my project, but I worked through it and still tried to find even one tiny thing that brought me joy. It was theraputic. I would encourage anyone else to try this for 28 days and see what you find. There's more to be happy about than you might think.

Happiness Project: day 27

Happiness is a good report from all three teachers on parent/teacher conference day. My kids are doing great in school and their teachers love them. Makes a Mom smile :)

** addendum to today's happy post: Grace's Kindergarten teacher did admit they've had a problem with markers, and they had to take one away just today because Grace was drawing dots on her arms. I KNEW it.