A GREAT Snow Day

 My little snowman

 my little snow bunnies

 mommy taught them well

 my cute, little snowy house

This past Tuesday I went to bed VERY disappointed because the snow forecast had changed from 5-8 inches of snow overnight to a slight chance of 1 inch of snow.  I LOVE the snow and I know I don't live in a place known for it's big storms, but dang it the weatherman had been teasing me with a BIG snowstorm.

So when I woke up to 6-7 inches of snow I was SO HAPPY...but my kids were INSANELY happy.  Not only was school cancelled they got to play in the snow for hours.  They would play outside with their friends...take off their soaking wet snow gear in the garage, come in for 45 minutes or so to warm up and play with their friends, while I dried all their clothes (all their buddies too) in the dryer, then they would get their warm-dry snow gear on again and go play in the snow once more.  They repeated this pattern ALL DAY....how fun!

Too bad the snow was all melted in gone by the next morning....oh well.  We had a GREAT day!!

Wimpy Snow Weekend

 snow angels by my angel

 cutest boy in the world

 sledding down a slight incline the neighborhood kids found in the vacant lots next to our house.....how sad that this was the steepest incline they could find.

 that is a cool snowball - can we throw it??

 Hi crazy camera lady!

 Berk & Carlie with their buddies: Mariah - Alexa - Brooks - Jason

This past weekend on Sunday and Monday (MLK weekend)  we got a little bit of snow.  It was the first snow of the year.  So even though it was SERIOUSLY wimpy, the kids had an AMAZING time playing with their buddies in the neighborhood.

Homemade Bread & Jam Face Little Man

I have NEVER had luck making homemade bread in my life.  Granted I had only tried 5 or 6 times, but FINALLY I was successful - I made DELICIOUS multi-grain bread.  I used this recipe from my FAVORITE cooking blog.

http://www.ourbestbites.com/2012/01/multigrain-bread/

The directions are EXCELLENT and even have step by step pictures AND great helpful hints.

The bread was LOVED especially by Berkeley.  

He pretty much turned into "Jam Face Little Man" for a few days!!

Carlie Learns to Ride a BIke

Carlie learned to ride her bike this past summer.  Her dad worked with her a few times and then Aunt Kimmy had a go at it.  Carlie was VERY afraid.  We had waited too long to teach her....but now that we lived in a neighborhood that was perfect for bike riding it was time.

Kimmy Trick:  She didn't tell her that she was letting go of the handle until AFTER she was riding her bike on her own - she didn't know Aunt Kimmy had let go....awesome!

**The videos below show her progression.

"Chews" the Right

I am the new primary chorister for my ward.  To all my non-LDS friends that means I am the song leader for the 3 - 11 year old kids.  It is a blast!  I get to do some of my very favorite things - SING and ACT SILLY and MAKE CUTE STUFF and HAVE FUN WITH KIDS.  This year's theme for primary is "Choose the Right".  I wanted to make a way to pick my helpers that would be cute, fit the theme, and give every kid the same number of turns.  So I created these gumball machines from terra cotta pots, saucers, glass bowls, and some 1"wooden balls, paint,  and ribbon.  Search online and there are a TON of tutorials. 

Here is a good one:

http://www.lifesweetlifeblog.com/2011/02/diy-gumball-machine-candy-jar.html  

The only thing I did differently is I glued a smaller saucer underneath the lid to make a lip so the lid stays on better.

After I made the gumball machine I painted 1" wooden balls with various colors.  Then I wrote each kid's name on a seperate "gumball".  I also made one for Junior primary and one for Senior.  I made sure to put several "visitor" gumballs in each one.

I used this is primary today and it went great.  I found it to be extra useful because I am trying to learn their names.  The kids wanted to keep their wooden gumball, but told them once everyone gets picked once we re-use the gumballs.  Then one of my extra hyper boys that doesn't ever seem to like singing time asked if I would give them their gumballs at the end of the year.  What a great idea....he was excited that I liked his idea- HOORAY.

Another trick to make sure they are reverant is to tell them if I pick their gumball and they are not being reverant and participating then I will put their gumball back.  Oh boy - were they quiet after that!!!!

Carlie the Softball Player

Another successful softball season for Carlie ended this past June 2011.  This year her cousin Claire was on the team and her Uncle David was the coach.  It was pretty hectic getting her to practices and games with her dad working in Longview during the week, but it was worth it.  Carlie had a blast AND she really improved her softball skills.

 Carlie was able to get a hit 95% of the time without using a tee!

 She got really good with ground balls.

 Her Aunt Annie made them medals and a cool silly straw/lollipop bouquets
 for the last game.  So cute and awesome!!!!!

 

Berkeley the Rotten Model

Last winter I entered Berkeley and Carlie into a local contest to get a free photography session.  If you were chosen you got a free 8x10 and a chance to be in a local publication advertising all the services the county had for children and families.  Berkeley was chosen and I put him in a super cute outfit and rushed down there for our appointment right after work.  Berkeley WAS HORRIBLE.  He was scared of the backdrop and would only sit on the edge of it.  He kept bawling and running away.  You only had a 10 minute session and Berkeley was rotten the whole time.  The photographer thought he was soooo cute that he had him stay after the next appointment to try again.  I think the man took a million pictures and I was pretty sure he never smiled once.   He even took some pics of Carlie and me so Carlie didn't feel left out.  You can tell I wasn't prepared for them to take pics of Carlie - her hair was a mess!

 Well, a few weeks later he sent this adorable pic of Berkeley....pretty cute.  I then forgot all about it.  Several months later my friend Monica Byers sent me a copy a booklet and guess who was one of the models???  My Berkeley reading a book.  How fun!!!!!!

Table Manners

Here is what I caught my children doing one time last summer before church. I had made homemade rolls and they love them sooooo much that they didn't want any of it to go to waste.  What silly kids!!

Christmas Card 2011

Here is our Christmas card this year.  I have not sent out cards in many years.  By the time I would get out of school for Christmas break I was always too busy to send out a Christmas card.  This year I am a stay-at-home mom and found the time to send cards this year.  I really wish I had gotten some professional pics this fall to use for the card, but oh well my amateur ones turned out good enough.  I just wanted to people to see my cute kids and wish them a Merry Christmas.  I also sent out a brief letter to go with the card.

  But, the best part about Christmas cards is receiving them!!!  I LOVED going to the mailbox every day and finding cards from my friends and family.  I love finding out what everyone looks like and what they have been up to.  My family & friends are sooo spread out all over and it is a great way to stay in touch (besides blogging and facebook).  I know it is kinda old fashioned, but  it is definitely one of my favorite things about Christmas.  Here is a pic of how I displayed our cards this year.  I ran out of space and was to lazy to add another line of twine and paint more clothespins so I just doubled up the cards.  It was fun to walk by and look at the cards everyday.  I took down all my Christmas decorations today, but I think I am going to keep this up for another week or two.  Next year, I definitely need to make 3 or 4 rows...so fun!

Def Leppard & Heart....still rock

Back in September we went to the Def Leppard & Heart concert with our friends the McDonalds.  It was super rad to rock out all night to some great, classic rock tunes from the 80's.
Barracuda
Photograph
Hysteria
Alone
Rock of Ages
Just to name a few.... It was a great concert, really two concerts for the price of one.

Didn't get very great pics or videos (all the videos have me singing in the background...aaargh!  I decided not to upload and torture anyone with my yelling/singing).

What's up with me always sticking my tongue out??

Gina & Amber...yeah we are cool

Here's to a Healthier New Year!!

I have not made any New Year's resolutions in MANY years.  I always laugh at people who make all these goals and after about a week or two they give up.  I laugh because I was one of those people with GREAT intentions, but without the will power to follow through.
But, here I am willing to give it a try again........
So this year I am publicly announcing my New Year's Resolutions for all to see, so if I fail all can laugh & ridicule me.  I am hoping that public humiliation will be a motivator for me.

1.  Eat HEALTHIER & Exercise Regularly so I can feel good, help me deal with my arthritis better, and lose weight at a slow, sustainable rate.  I am using an app called "My Fitness Pal" where you keep track of all the food you eat and how much you exercise.  I think there is something about actually having to enter your food that makes you want to eat better.  For example, today I looked at my diet so far today and decided to eat an orange instead of some of my husband's bowl of candy.
2.  Write dad's life history and my own.  My mother-in-law is sending all her kids prompts each week to help us write the history.  My father passed away in 1997 and I have wanted to do this for A LONG time to preserve the memories of my father for my children and grandchildren.  He was the most amazing man, I miss him everyday.
3.  Apply to graduate school. 
4.  Blog at least weekly.
5.  Greatly reduce my debt

There are more things I want to do, but this is a enough for now.

Wish me luck!!