Monday, November 28, 2011

what may have happened...

Because I am far behind yet again on my blogging and because my handsome hubby and I are leaving in a day and a half for New York City, I will tell you what "may" have gone on around here.....
 Someone "may" have celebrated his 36th birthday, and "may" or "may not" be seen holding his "baby" here!
We "may" have had TWO amazing Turkey Day feasts, with lots to be thankful for!

 We "may" have seen these kids hanging out together in the backyard.
 We "may" have dined with this crazy couple!
 And Buck "may" have consumed this pumpkin pie directly after this picture.
 We "may" have enjoyed talking and reminiscing with these loved ones.
 And we "may" have seen the cutest two-year-old boy ever!! Don't worry Raychelle, you "may" be adorable too!
 My children "may" have had tons of fun playing with various ipads.
 And we "may" have drinken a bit too much........
 See, I told you!!! Too much Martinelli's!
 But that's ok, she "may" regain her winning smile later.
 And Aunt Leesh "may" have taught my oldest the fine art of "spatula singing"
And I "may" have decorated my mantle for the 1st time ever.....................But I guess we will never know!

Friday, November 18, 2011

Bulemic Blogger, careful I am about to "throw up" the whole week on you!! I know...N.T.T (Not Table Talk)

Yeah, I know, it has been a while....five whole days!!! That is a lot for me....seriously. Blog ideas run through my mind all day/night long and sometimes it gets annoying. But alas, I digress..... This is what has been going on this week, in reverse chronological order, just to be annoying!
p.s. pintrest is EVIL and oh, so WONDERFUL!
p.s.s. when you don't have many white blood cells, it is hard to fight off infection.
p.s.s.s. that is probably how I got a sinus infection this week after chemo.
p.s.s.s.s. Yes, I did see the Twilight movie, even though I was sick, but at 2pm the next day. Matinee rocks!
 Morgan has a birthday tomorrow, so I have been working on this project all week. I couldn't wait for him to see it, so I put it up a day early with the help of Lundy.
The idea came off of pintrest, teaching me how to make canvas photos at home and I ran with it. I made the last canvas with the help of my Cricut machine, and in case you can't read it, it says...."and they lived happily ever after". Hopefully Morgan enjoys reminiscing with these pictures as much as I do. We will have his "official birthday" tomorrow.

 And backing up to Wednesday night.....Lund and Morgan and I were able to attend his first court of honor, where Lund recieved his "Tenderfoot" badge. They always have the moms come up after their award is recieved and pin a scout pin on them. The mom's always look a bit nervous...
 Congradulations Lund!!! A lot of effort went into getting this badge. He is well on his way towards his Eagle.
 And this was new for him.... A HUGE chocolate chip cookie for his rank advancement!!
 And now we will travel back in time to last Saturday. It was our ward service project at Sunshine Acres, a children's home for kids who don't have parents that are able to take care of them.
 It was an AMAZING service project and the kids at Sunshine Acres were soooo respectful and grateful. Thanks for teaching us all a lesson guys!  Our ward did a couple of hours of landscaping and then we put on a Fall Festival for them for the next few hours.
 Here is the train that was brought by a member of the ward. So cute! It is just dollies and waterbarrels that have been fixed up to make all the cars, pulled by an ATV. Sooooo creative!
                                       Sarah and her friend Brea.
                                Will and his friend Jane.
 Another game that was a huge hit was the dunk tank. And both my oldest volunteered to be "dunked" even though they didn't have a stitch of dry clothes or a towel with them. All in the name of service......ha!
                                                                 Drenched 11-year-old

                                                 I wonder how this will end.......
 yup, another wet child!!!
 Then, after all the kids from Sunshine Acres were gone, we had a brave member of our Bishopric upon the "hot" seat.
  And the Bishop LOVED taking throws at him, the whole time yelling...."........and remember when you didn't come to that meeting! Remember when you didn't like my tie!" it was a hoot!!
Sadly, Bishop wasn't able to get him in the water, but guess who was.....................ME!!! That's right, finally all those years of playing softball paid off. I threw it right to the target and down he plummetted! Yea, I am pretty much awesome!! (and I never brag)

 Here is Sarah at the cake walk.
And alas, someone always has to get a poke-in-the-eye. Will was the lucky recipient that day. Our amazing neighbors lent us the huge inflatable pirate ship and it was a big hit as well!!!

Monday, November 14, 2011

A visit from Aunt Diane

My Aunt Diane and Uncle Wally came to visit last week. I haven't seen her since my Grandmother's funeral a couple of years ago. And, we have something in common....BREAST CANCER! Luckily, she is over her treatments now, but she will always be my breast cancer buddy. She sends care packages every once in a while, and they are always PERFECT! When I first lost my hair two years ago, I got a package with a beanie that she made for me with the softest yarn imaginable! I wore it every night to bed since my head was always cold. Then later, when I just needed to feel pretty, she happened so send me a beautiful necklace with my initials on it. Thanks for always knowing what I need.
 
 Here are my parents with Aunt Diane and Wally.
 Aunt Diane with baby Raelynn and Brody. They had lots of fun together.
 My younger sister Becky and her hubby Jeff. Brody is their adorable boy and Raelyn is the rambunctious lady in pink.
 I asked everyone if they were up for an "adventure" after we finished our BBQ and they were all in, except Jeff, who just wanted some peace and quiet while we were gone....
 I took them to the golf course to our "special spot" and we busted out the glow sticks and had some fun! Will can only spell two words right now, but I am not complaining! And that is MOM, not WOW!
 Yea, I wrote this for myself! Just kidding, Sarah wrote this!
 And we got back at Jeff with this message!
Raelynn loved the glow sticks and had a great time!!!

Thanks for visiting Aunt Diane and Uncle Wally, come back anytime, you were a big hit!!

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Friends we are and friends we'll ever be, throughout Eternity... (old girls camp song)

These gals grew up with me years ago, and every once in a while we get together and have lunch. This top picture was taken about four months ago.  Here are all the ladies: Far left: Tia, Rachel, me, Becky, and Crystal.

And here we are about two weeks ago. Becky has had her baby, obviously, and I dropped a pound or two, (or 35! thank you steriod weight!!!) Plus, we had a few more friends in attendance, so let me re-introduce you to the gals. Left: Crystal, Kimberly, Tia, Becky, and Sarah. Top Row: Rachel and me.  We have had many good memories together, and it is very fun to reconnect and see what everyone is doing. There are a few teachers in the group, a nurse, a college student, and a couple of awesome moms as well. Great group. Not in attendance: Laurel, our realtor/cookie maker/friend.  And I need to honor the memory of a missing friend. Aimee was also part of our group, but died in a car accident right after she graduated from college. She will never be forgotten, her spunk will live forever!
 It's so great to have wonderful friends!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

The best listener ever!!

I have a secret! Sometimes, I pour out my soul to a very AMAZING listener. She never judges me, she never tells me that my ideas are ridiculous, and she never interrupts me.
 Too bad she is a 70-lb tortoise!!! But seriously, when I need a break, I grab a carrot, or some lettuce and sit out in the backyard with Dot.
 One day I thought maybe she didn't even realize that I exist. So, I tried an experiment.... I walked away....and stood behind her. Soon, she looked up, and then around until she saw me. Oh baby! That's right, she loves me! And, just as I was waxing poetic, I discovered something else.......
 SHE HAS NO EARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! SERIOUSLY!!!!!!!
Here's another view. This whole time I thought Dot was listening to every word I was saying, but alas, she was just using me for carrots and lettuce. Figures!
p.s. I still like her and will continue to discuss life's problems in their entirety, because carrots are pretty cheap..........WAY cheaper than counseling!!

Sunday, November 6, 2011

Time Out for Women/Girls was truly a "time out" of AMAZINGNESS!!!!!

This past weekend I got a chance to cash in on my birthday present from my hubby, and I had the time of my life!!!
If you are a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints, you may have heard about "Time Out for Women". It is an amazing program where they fly in many spiritual speakers and ladies sit around at the Phoenix Convention Center (3,000 ladies strong),  having the time of their life being enriched and uplifted. Seriously, every woman needs this
 break from everyday life.
And, also thanks to my wonderful husband, he stayed with the kids for a night and day while I enjoyed my experience.
 This was one of my roommates in our beautiful hotel suite..... Morgan's mom! Also, in our hotel room was Cassidy and her friend Lexi who attended "Time Out for Girls".
 Here is Cassidy on one end and Lexi on the other with the singing group "Mercy River" in between. Cassidy and Lexi had the time of their lives listening to inspirational speakers and singers in their conference room.
 And here we are all with Brad Wilcox who writes many books for the church and is such an inspiration. He also found out that I had cancer while we were talking and he had us meet him by the sound booth at the end of a break and he gave us all big hugs and then he gave me one of his books and wrote in the cover of it for us.  He told Cassidy that his mom had cancer too, and that she just needed to be strong that that everything was going to be o.k. When Cassidy and Lexi walked away he told me, "she will never forget this day and that she had a chance to be here with you?" I was very touched by his attention to us. We felt very special!!!
 And this is my beautiful girl that can't be a teenager yet?!!! Can she?!!
This is me goofing around with the girls. I had so much fun with these two tween-agers. On every break, we would meet up and they would go find their favorite speakers and singers and get autographs and pictures. And I would follow them around snapping pictures and smiling and paying for things, such as...........
 Yummmmmmmmm, the homemade icecream they had for sale was scrumptious!!
 Cassidy was so enamoured by this gal. She is Carmen Rassmessen who was an American Idol contestant that got all the way to the top 10 or something. Cassidy said that she sang beautifully and the best part is, that she chose to be a mom instead of being a famous singer.  Such a great thing for Cass to learn.
 This was one of the speakers for the girls that they really enjoyed. I already forgot his name, Hank something or other?  He told the girls that boys are dumb! THANK YOU HANK!!
 This amazing speaker is Kris Belcher. She is also a cancer gal. Her cancer was in her eye sockets behind her eyes and they had to remove a lot of her bone, tissue, and of course, both eyes.  She has to wear prosthetic eyes and is COMPLETELY in darkness, but let me tell you that she is a beacon of light when she speaks!!!!!!! Certainly one of my favorite speakers and I plan to buy her story soon, where she relives the cancer experience.
 And, here we have singer and all around funny speaker, Hillary Weeks! What a blessing she was!
And if you live in Gilbert, you might recognize Shawnie Porthier on the far left. She speaks with her mother, Linda Eyre (far right), and they are an amazing duo. I want to run out and buy the book "The Entitlement Trap" about how to raise kids who don't fall into this trap. I already own another book by these two. And the best part is, they live only a few houses down from my parents!
These two gentlemen were very smart and their talks gave me quite a few "ahha" moments that I haven't thought of. They both were from BYU and boy, did they know their stuff!