Still Sane on a Saturday?

This morning I woke up at 5am. This is not normal for me. But I had a purpose. My friend Kayla and I wanted to get tickets to the Fairy Tea Party that our local library does. Last year they sold all 600 tickets in about 45 minutes. (You may remember Kaly and I went last year.)

We got in line at 6am and were the first ones! About one minute later another showed up and 3 minutes later another. By 6:30 we had a good line going and by 7 it was wrapped around the sidewalk. They opened the doors for us at 8am to at least get warm but we still had to wait another hour before the tickets were sold. We were out of there by 9:02 and everyone behind us was totally jealous! :)


This afternoon I finally got to go see my sisters new house! Heidi and Anthony bought a house out in Lehi so they'll be moving this Saturday. We went over this afternoon to put in another shift of cleaning. We dedicated this afternoon to just the windows/blinds. By the time I left a few hours later we were almost done. It took a bit longer than we had anticipated on just the windows.

I'm SO excited for their new house though. A yard. A garage. A driveway. More rooms. More space! I have a feeling we'll be visiting alot. I'll post pictures as soon as I get one from her.


This evening we had a GREAT time. We had Brice & Kayla and their kids and Adam & Brie and their family over for dinner and a game night. We played 'Scene It' with teams which added a whole new element and was way fun. Plus Kayla and I won so I especially loved it!! Then I learned a new game, Hand & Foot. We're Canasta fans so this of course was awesome. And again Adam and I won so I'm pretty sure we'll have to play it again cause it's the coolest!

(This is just an image I found. It's actually just as easy to play with several decks of regular face cards and download the instructions.)

By the way. I only got a 25 minute nap today.

The Right To Dance

Tonight the family got to go see Tarl's cousin Marianne dance! When Tarl and I were dating, little Marianne was just about 3 years old. I can't believe it was that long ago. (Their family lived right by my parents so Tarl would sometimes stay with them when he came down to visit me.)

Here sisters have been taking dance for about three years now and Marianne has wanted so badly to join them. Marianne has Spina Bifida and is confined to a wheelchair but was able to get her night to dance! A local paper did a great story about it! Her benefit concert was called The Right To Dance.

After Marianne did her awesome dance she got a special surprise. Benji the winner (about 2 years ago or so) from So You Think You Can Dance had driven up from California to dance for her. I guess they met a few years ago when he stopped in Utah for his tour and they've been keeping in touch so they were able to surprise her. She was so cute laughing and smiling and swooning!

It was so fun to get to see Marianne shine. Plus an added bonus. Grandma Cheryl was there so we got to sit next to her and visit for a bit and afterwards we ran into Shaelyn, Rene, Mayte, plus lots of aunts, uncles and cousins!

International Friendship Week

It's Friendship Week! So go out of your way to be friendlier. Connect with old friends. Make a new one. Set up a time to get together. Write an email. Make a phone call (I know, I know). Come back and share with me.

So.

Anyone wanna go do something? :)

Really?

On a positive note I love that my kids LOVE to read stories and enjoy their books SO much. They do, really. They love to snuggle on our laps or in our bed and read all day. They take a huge stack of books to bed and read them and devour them. But seriously. I had JUST picked them all up and had them nicely back on their shelves.

I dont know what this is about. I do know I apparently missed one of these. Tarl came in and commented that they're just practicing making their own soap-on-a-rope. That is just so random. And so weird.

Church on a Saturday

This morning we had a fun primary activity. The teachers all brought a few items and we put them in a large basket and the kids had to guess what items belonged to whom. Makayla was so excited and a little confused why we were going to church on a Saturday in our normal clothes.

It was such a great turnout and the kids all seemed to have a great time! We had a delicious brunch, plus the kids all got to go home with a balloon so they were all super excited. (As soon as we got home 1/2 the kids in our neighborhood let their balloon go so a bunch of them were running around watching it. Here's a few.)

Windshield, Heater, Registration

A few weeks ago we got into our van and noticed a little crack (about 2 inches) running across the driver side windshield. Just our luck this month we have to renew our registration so we have to do our safety and emissions. We figured we'd run it in to see if it might pass anyway.

After church about 2 weeks ago we came out and the small crack had spread clear across the entire windshield!! Sheesh. So I called up the next day to get our window replaced. It all comes in threes I heard. We also got our heater fixed (just a week before that happened) and we'll have to finish up our safety/emissions and registration tomorrow. All year long the van is great and one month it pours!

(I know it's horrible quality. I had to sneak a picture from my window.)

First Loose Tooth!

This will be the last picture for a while of Kalyana with a full mouth of teeth. She came running home from school today to tell us the good news! Her tooth is loose!She's been wanting to loose a tooth for almost a year now (I think she's seen her friends loose teeth and it must seem cool to her). We've been checking out library books and talking about how to keep our teeth healthy, and why we loose our teeth.

This will soon be a big hole. And Kalyana couldn't be happier about it. She's been showing us all day and even called grandma, grandpa and aunt Heather a few times to tell them she can wiggle her tooth. She even got to video camera talk to grandma and Heather so she could show them just how wiggly it already is (I'm actually surprised seeing as how she just realized this morning it was loose.)

Kalyana asked me when she looses her two front teeth if she could get her ears pierced. (This girl knows what she wants!) Today I heard: Makayala whoever has a loose tooth gets to go first. I need to help make dinner because I have a loose tooth. I can only eat an orange for dinner because I have a loose tooth. I can't stay in the bathtub long because I have a loose tooth.

Before bed she was begging to have us pull it out but we convinced her (momentarily) that if it was still in by Sunday we'd see about pulling it out. Until then she just gets to wiggle it.

Art FHE

For family home evening tonight Kalyana and I planned to play "Who, What, Where". Tarl thought it'd be fun to cover the table with our butcher paper. The kids had a blast getting to draw. Tyce thought it was hilarious and couldn't get enough scribbling all over.

Afterwards we played another game where we each draw a letter for someone else and then they have to turn it into a picture. Here are a few of Kalyana's.

Later this evening the girls had a pretty rough night remembering to be good and stay in bed. Makayla decided to unwrap every bar of soap(I just bought a pack at Costco). They're hanging out in our laundry room now and it's pretty potent in there.

Cranberry Raindrops

My friend Rachel tagged me to list six things about myself.

• I’ve gotten stuck on an escalator, twice. Once from my shoe and once by my ear. Yeah.
• I can type around 75-80 wpm (with a 98% accuracy).
• I started IM'ing people back in 8th grade (1995ish) when AOL was offering those free cd’s claiming “100 hours free”. I still have a few friends that I keep in contact with from then.
• I love offices and office supplies. Pens, crisp paper, binders, envelopes, desks, office chairs. When I was younger my bedroom looked like a home office. I had a huge corner desk and a black faux leather couch (that turned into a bed). My dream job was (and sometimes still is) to be a personal assistant to a big wig.
  
• I enjoy sleeping but I would much rather do anything else first.
  
• I never wear tennis shoes unless I am working out.
  

A few weeks ago I wrote another 25 things about me on facebook, if you're interested.

Visiting the Draper Temple

This afternoon we got to take the family to see this magnificent temple! The girls hear about the temple a lot and were so excited to actually get to go inside it finally. If you're interested in more information you can go here or to reserve your tickets you can go here (before March 14).

When we first got there we were walking towards the temple and they asked us to keep the reverence and talk quietly. The girls were SO excited they were skipping and dancing since they couldn't squeal. It was so neat to see them and their love for the temples. As soon as we entered they just looked around in awe.

Kalyana told me her favorite rooms were the Celestial room (it was so beautiful, made her feel good) and the Sealing room (she thought it was so neat to be in a room like the same one her mommy and daddy got married in).

These pictures were taken on the shuttle on the way back to our car.

I'm so grateful for temples and for the opportunity we have to serve others, receive blessings, and feel the peace of our Savior. I love going to the temple and I'm so excited to one day get to see my children go to the temple as well.

Crabby Patty Valentines

The kids and I put together Kalyana's valentines today. We picked out Spongebob which came with these cute little (probably nasty tasting) 'crabby patty' candys. I love celebrating holidays with my kids! After we put together all of these for her class, we made homemade cards for some of her friends.

Saving for DISNEYLAND!

Tarl went out of town this weekend up to his sisters house for a few days. We miss him terribly but it goes by a bit quicker when we have fun stuff like this.

For FHE tonight my parents came over (along with my Heidi and her little ones) for pizza and activities. My mom had this big treasure box that she opened and inside was a piggy bank for each kid. Then she held up pictures of Disney characters and asked the kids who they were. When they each guessed she gave them money to put inside their banks and told them they are now saving for our great big DISNEY TRIP (sometime this fall).

The kids got to decorate their banks with stickers, markers and jewels. They also played a fun few Disney games to earn some coins. The kids are a bit hopped up on excitement.

Us adults have been planning this for about the last 3 years. We wanted the kids to be a tad older. We're nearly as, or more so, excited as the kids. Disney is in our blood. (For those of you who don't know my dad worked as an accountant for Disney for several years --I think 10+. Which meant we got to go often, and get privileges.)

Some of the trip is just the anticipation. This is awesome. I. Can't. Wait.

Hodge Podge

The story of my life. I find something new and throw myself into it. (My 100 books, a computer game (aka RollerCoaster Tycoon), a new project, finding new recipes, organizing, working out, etc). Recently I found Facebook and along with the thrill of finding everyone on the planet that I know I've been having fun playing new games. Hence the back seat my blog has taken. When I get around to computer time, I stick to one webpage. At least thats what it is lately.

Here's a bit about whats been going on lately.

Pic 1: Kalyana was trying to play "Scene It" by herself. The funniest thing to me is after I took this picture (so obviously she was playing alone), she ran upstairs to tell Tarl and I that she had won the game and she was ecstatic about it! Pic 2 & 3: Tyce has recently realized he can climb the cupboard. Problem is he doesnt know how to get down and gets stuck. He starts grunting and sure enough I'll walk into the kitchen and there he is hanging from the shelf. I had to take a few photos to show Tarl what happened at least 5 times in one day. Luckily, he hasn't fallen yet. *Knocks on wood.*

I just thought this was so adorable. About a week or so ago I was at the grocery store and thought I'd make my life easier and got the girls a 'treat' (lunchables). Saturday morning about 20 minutes after I got them breakfast I came downstairs and saw that they just couldn't hold off any longer. They were having lunch at 9:45. Pic 2: The girls are generally so good at keeping their food out of Tyce's reach by putting it on the counters when they're finished. One day Makayla left her practically full yogurt on the kitchen table and Tyce didn't waste anytime helping himself to her snack.

Pic 1: Kalyana's school is doing this AWESOME literacy program. One of the things they're working on is continuing the learning at home so each week they send home some play activities to do. This is Kaly's 'Pic Wig'. She is writing words that end in 'ig' and then we were able to put them on the hat. We did a jig, like a big pig, wearing a wig, eating a fig, and pretended to dig. Pic 2 & 3: Playing with the cousins. Tyce can't get enough of little baby girls!

The girls enjoying some snow (about two weeks ago). Makayla showing off her painted toe nails. She loves getting to paint her toes and even though it looks like this, usually after about 1/2 to 1 day all the paint rubs off her skin and it looks practically professional!

I need decorating ideas!

Since we got this tv 2 years ago (this month infact!) I've been trying to figure out what to do above it. I bought shelves and stained the to look like the wood that the tv is sitting on. I was going to put one above the other and off center them and maybe put some small candles or picture frames on them but I didnt like the way the shelves looked and I haven't even tried to hang them up. Now I'm stuck. I have no ideas and I feel like this blank empty wall is a HUGE eye sore, seeing as how every morsel of our wall space downstairs is covered besides that spot. (Well and now the spot next to it where I have taken the sunflowers down and put them in my shed.) As a frame of reference that little bridal picture next to it is somewhere about 14 x 20''.

I need help!