California

I have never been a very spontanious traveler but last week a trip came together in a matter of hours. It all sort of fell together and I was off to California to spend time with my best friend Paula and her family then with my brother Cassidy and sis-in-law Nicole, as well as Carly and Griffin who are also living there! Our family has never really flew the coup. We have all stayed close until recently. It has been 5 months since I have seen my brother! I had a wonderful time and am thankful for the time I spent with everyone. I will admit, I am starting to fall in love with California. I could live there. The gorgeous landscaping, palm trees, ocean and constant blooms are heaven to me. Here are some pics from my little get away.



Paula and I ate a yummy dinner at a darling restruant on the beach! It was the same beach that the movie Beaches was filmed.







A trip to California with Paula is never complete without her taking me to a yummy cupcake bakery to try. This one was the BEST EVER. The coconut cake is beyond cake, it's simply heaven. This fabulous place is in Newport.



A midnight snack for later :)



I love to be at Paula's. It's truly my home away from home. Her home is full of special things, one of my favorites is her pink teapot.



Next I was off to spend a day with my family. The pool where Cassidy lives had a party for the weekend. Food, Drinks, D.J.'s and massages. It was a blast.



http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn195/ellery3/may%202010/IMG_4425.jpg

Carly and Sarah...her bff.



This is Hiro. Cass and Cole were tending him for friends. Such a cute dog. He put up with territorial Marvin very well.



Eyeing Nicole's pizza



Off to the beach





Griff would like to believe he is 8 feet tall what you can't tell is he is on the highest end of the hill we were standing on.



Rob and Paige doing the Statue of Liberty in the ocean.





My other two daughters.



Goodbye ocean. I left the beach, hit Red Mango and was off to the airport. It was wonderful to spend such a great trip with people I love.

Thank you everyone for everything!!

To say I LOVE this picture is an understatement. I will admit...I am jealous and wish it was me. I love everything about it. Butterflies are one of my favorite things ever, the shot, the colors, the make up, the hair. Just perfect. I have very talented sisters.

P.S. Don't be shocked if one day you see a copy cat wannabe picture of me just like this. Plus maybe some
photoshop ;)

P.P.S DO THIS!!! My sister is AMAZING at making you up and shooting the most amazing shots you ever thought possible. She did it for me a couple years ago and I LOVE LOVE having them. I love that my girls will have them forever too. She does natural to creative and fun. So get on it girls, no putting it off. You owe it to yourself. Trust me you won't regret it. SO fun!!!

Model: little sister Madison
Photog: little sister Hayley www.hayleyphotography.blogspot.com

Happy BiRtHdAy

HaPpY BiRtHdAy Aunt CoLE!!!!!

We were lucky enough to have Nicole in town for her birthday!! It was fun celebrating with her and she sure rang out her 20's like no other!!

Here is what we L O V E about Nicole....

When we are with her we LAUGH.

She is literally the BEST esthetician ever, and I have been to lots of them! She's fabulous and takes her job very seriously.

She is a very thoughtful, loyal aunt to my girls (and our whole family). She is always there for birthday parties etc and they love her!

She has her own pronunciation for a great deal of words. We love giving her a hard time for it and she is always a good sport. We also like to try and attempt to pronounce her words. Can you say melnk?? Do you know what melnk is??

She has and always has taken great care of my brother. He is blessed to have her.

She is the tiniest person ever and it is so fun to see her eat any guy under the table.

She is giving and generous.

She was once Chucky Cheese....promise. That's why to my dad she's Chucky.

She gave us a 5th sister!

Love you Nicole. Happy 30th!!!

Fabric Addict

Don't ask why!! Just eat your dinner on the counter!!

Every now and then this happens. This is how my kitchen has looked for the past few days. I get sewing and can't stop. I have been on a roll and excited to finally finish some quilts I started for Sloane and Beaux about a year ago. Until 10 minutes ago!! I am NOT good with details, in fact never look closely at what I sew. So when my tension gets screwed up on my sewing machine, it's enough to make me coo coo. Mom couldn't help me over the phone, Melissa couldn't figure it out either. So it looks like I get to haul it to a sewing machine store tomorrow. PLEASE OH PLEASE let me stay in this sewing groove. If I don't get this fixed, these quilts might not be touched till next year.

Sesame Street: Greg Can't Remember

Greg recently posted on Facebook a request to end a 15 year "dispute" with me. Ever since I can remember, whenever Sesame Street comes up a heated argument results. Over this...
What did the little girls mom tell her to remember to bring home? A loaf of bread, a GALLON of milk and a stick of butter? OR A loaf of bread a CONTAINER of milk and a stick of butter? Well, if you don't know I will let you watch the video and find out BUT FYI I was RIGHT!!!! Notice how many times the list is repeated in this video...SO many times that after 28 or more years I STILL remember. And Mr. Know It All Greg DIDN'T. I LOVE it! I think I have won about 3 bets in my life with Greg. Within minutes we had about 20 responses on Facebook confirming my victory. It was hilarious to see how many people knew immediately what video he was talking about. All he gave were the two lists and asked which was correct, he didn't even mention Sesame Street.
Take a trip down memory lane.

Do Bananas rhyme with Cereal?

On BiRtHdAyS the birthday boy or girl gets to choose a homemade dinner of their choice. We have all had a turn to pick our favorite yummy recipe and my mom works hard to make it just right. Last month came dads birthday and we were really excited knowing we were going to have something yummy for dinner. We should have known better. This is what he picked....




My dad is what you would call a one meal (a day) man. Or use the term, "he eats like a bird." I really just believe he doesn't have taste buds because food does nothing for him. Unless it is my mom's pumpkin pie, that's it!! Mom has it pretty easy in the dinner making department because he comes home and heads straight for his little cereal bowl and milk.

Today as part of Sloane's preschool homework I had to make up 2 words at a time and she had to tell me if they rhymed. I began...Plate/State? YES! Blue/Shoe? YES! Banana/Cereal? Sloane BURST into laughter and then said still laughing, "Did you get that from Grandpa?!!" It was SOO funny. Just funny but even more funny that she remembered his birthday dinner and still got a huge kick out of it. Here are some more pic of our feast.







The only thing my dad can actually taste





He usually puts cayenne pepper on his cantelope. Probably so he can taste it.

Happy Late Birthday Dad! Can't wait to see what box of cereal is on the counter next year!

What's Important

Lately I have let myself get overwhelmed. I am very good at it.
Years ago I learned the power of negitive self talk, and took a few days to be really concious of how much I do it. I knew I did it, I knew I did it A LOT. But I was SHOCKED when I conciously or subconsiously payed attention to how much of my brain space was really being wasted by it. I even believed it. It stemmed from guilt of a an unhealthy lunch I just had to make for my kids, to not having my house immaculate, to not having the perfect body, etc. etc. etc. Not to mention comparing, comparing, comparing.
It not only affected me but affected the way I was as a mother and a wife and even a friend.
Lately it has seemed to be getting the best of me again and I am determined to not let my kiddos or husband OR myself suffer over things that ARE NOT important!! I am not going to die thinking about the perfect clean house I had or how so and so was more organized than me. I want to die knowing I soaked up every last minute with my family. The good, the bad and the ugly.
I want to be PRESENT!
I feel it's the greatest gift we can give ourselves and the people we love. I want my daughters to grow up with peace inside about themselves. I have a big job to do. It's a hard thing to do in this world but I am going to do my best.
I am grateful for ALL I have.

I came across this video from a mother who I look for inspiration EVERY morning You can easily access her blog by clicking onto the blue type writer on the right of my screen. I know you will come away with a fresh perspective, no matter what faith you are...Enjoy

Blessings, Love and Light to everyone.

Indi's Debut

On her way to ROCK!!

(wish you could see more of her heavenly skirt made by my friend the fab Corrine Jenson)


Here is White Horse performed by Indi, Hayley, her awesome teacher Jeff Jenson. His band played bass and drums. A HUGE thank you to Jeff!



It was a a special night. I was SO proud of Indi. Not only did she get up in front of a lot of people to perform, she was able to do it with her aunt Hayley. She has been playing since December and they both did amazing. I will never forget it.
I LOVE you Indi, I am so proud of you!

California Dreamin'

This is Carly and Darla hopping into the car to take off to Cali.

Aunt Carly and Uncle Griffin left for the summer to work in California. Yes, it is only for a few months but it will seem like a lot longer. They play a HUGE role in my girls life and they love them to death. Like their other aunts, Carly is like a second mom to them. She is always there and willing to help me out. They truly couldn't ask for a more loving, involved aunt and uncle.
No one can make Beaux laugh as hard as Griffin does. Beaux already misses that. Griffin has been out there a couple weeks and has had some great stories to share, such as people opening the door and immediately throwing kitchen utensils at him then slamming the door, to women screaming very interesting profanity, and him eating, BEANS at some one's home and getting sick afterward. I'll keep you posted for more :)
Saying goodbye for just a few months was hard.
BUT Carly has already texted me some very mean photos of her at her pool in the sun, so I can't feel too bad for her. She just might not want to come home. I hope we, or just me :) can possibly make it out to say hi. Cassidy and Nicole are only 20 min away and we are dying to visit them too.

Have so much fun on your new adventure!!
We love and miss you!!

Rocky

Housekeeping is not my forte'. Let's just say I hate it.
I wish I didn't. I think I hate it because I suck at it. Don't get me wrong, I know how to clean...clean good actually. I just CAN'T keep it up.
Lately Hayley and I have depended on each other for motivation when we just don't have any. Today her phone rang and I told her of the horrible loathing I was doing at the thought of getting going on my house. I was lying on my bed, feeling bad for myself, and getting more tired by the second just at the thought of it all. Here is what she told me:

1. Strap on my tennis shoes.
This a trick of hers that she claims gets her moving in her house.

2. Turn on the Rocky Theme, throw a hoodie over my head and get going.

Not the usual motivational talk I get from her but what the heck. I sent her this video soon after.

Now I will get off my butt and get to work.

Turn up volume

Prom ~ Madison and Nick

This isn't a great shot but the best I could do. My girls loved watching all of the pretty dresses come down the stairs. Only one girl fell down about 3 stairs, other girls took their shoes off to avoid the possibility.

Madison looked gorgeous, it was fun to be there as she scrambled to get ready for her date. I kept thinking I'm going to blink my eyes and it will be time for my girls to go to prom.

Sloane+Dehydration+SUN+Exhaustion=MARION

This is Sloane after a LONG day in the sun, a little dehydrated, tired and hungry. Oh and after falling all the way in 50 degree water. She was talking about this person like we should all know who she was talking about. Listen to Hayley laughing in the background, I literally don't think I have ever seen her laugh harder. And for some reason the video truly doesn't do it justice. The 2nd video is funnier to watch but at the time this one was what we laughed harder at. She seriously went from being kind of quiet and a tad ornery right into this weird girl, who has sheep character...and a hunchback. She hadn't had this much sun since last year and this was the result. After Marion she was morphed back into ornery, tired, hungry Sloane. And yes, I call her Beaux in the video...which I do multiple times a day.




Her body posture, hunchback dance and her little scrawny legs just kill me.



"Why do I have to do this?" "It's freaking cold!!"



Beaux never stopped getting in!!! She is a fish who doesn't mind freezing water. I cannot imagine how this was fun.

Spring Break In Lake Powell

Sandcastles with dad after he got some bass fishing in.
Stay tuned for my next post of some video of this trip...we had an unexpected visitor :)



Rainbow Bridge with snow in the background!
We took some of my dad's clients from Kansas City on the lake and up to Rainbow Bridge. They had never been to Southern Utah and it was their first time on the lake. It was his 50th birthday. It was such a neat experience for all of us. I have been on that lake countless times but going with adults who had never seen it before was like experiencing Lake Powell for the first time. They were in pure amazement. The look on their faces and the way they gripped the boat seats as my dad cruised (FAST) up the canyon toward rainbow bridge was priceless. I think they thought they were going to die but didn't care because of how beautiful it was. As they stood and stared at Rainbow Bridge she said, "Today we are blessed." We were, it was a special day.







Feeding Ducks



Getting brave in the 50 degree water.





That's COLD!!!



Sloane a tad mad after falling all the way in.



TRICKS!!



Beaux didn't seem to notice the entire trip that the water was really too cold to swim in. It would make my feet numb and sting the moment in stepped in.



Creative sandwich eating.



SANDCASTLES!!





Again Beaux thinking it's summer.





YUM