Seems like forever & Color Challenge

I think it has been months since I have done anything creative. I want to but I have been having a hard time finding a moment where I can sit for any period of time and just create. That's part of why I love the Christmas break. My kids are home, there's no scheduled activites, the bigger ones can help keeping Jesse occupied. Giving me time to sit and play. The last thing I did before this last week was make a couple of cards.

A couple of days ago I made this.

And after seeing Kristina's color inspiration for this week I was ready to make my cards for my next swap. I know it isn't exactly whisper white but for me it's close enough. And these aren't even due until Jan. 22!! Yay for me!!

Flavorful Friday

One of our favorite meals around here is my Dad's Tuna Noodle Casserole. It makes for an easy fall-back meal for those days when you completely forget about defrosting something. I always have the ingredients on hand. I personally love it with the red bell pepper in it but none of my kids do so it's usually left out. Plus as much as I love the peppers my body doesn't and I end up burping the rest of the night. So I guess the kids not eating them is a good thing... for everybody.

I like to serve this with some green beans and rolls. This recipe is easily doubled and fits well in a 9 x 13 pan, just increase the baking time to 25 minutes.

Tuna or Chicken Casserole
from: My Daddy
serves: 4-5

6 to 9 oz. Pasta (large shells, rigatoni, or noodles)

1 or 2 small cans of tuna or chicken

½ C. mayonnaise

1 C. chopped celery

1 C. shredded Monterrey jack cheese

¼ C. chopped red bell pepper

½ C. milk

1 can cream of mushroom soup

bread crumbs

Directions
Slightly under cook pasta, drain. Combine pasta, meat, mayonnaise
and vegetables. Blend soup and milk, heat. Add cheese to soup
mixture to melt. Add to pasta mix. Turn into 1 ½ quart
casserole dish. Top with bread crumbs and bake at 425` for 20 min.

The Twilight Before Christmas

Ok... Shelley sends me some of the funniest stuff. Tonight it was this! OMG I died laughing!! Every twilight fan will love this!

Flavorful Friday

I thought I'd try doing something new here. I've been seeing a lot of my friends share recipes and I wanted to share some of my own. So I'm starting up "Flavorful Friday"! Let me know if you guys like it and want me to keep going with it.

Last night we went to our ward's Christmas Party. We all had a lot of fun. The kids each had to do something for the entertainment portion. The little kids all got to sing, Zac was one of the Wise Men for the Nativity scene, and Emily, along with the young women, sang. I got to make a dessert to take. One that's always a crowd pleaser is Zebra Cake.


Zebra Cake

1 small box instant chocolate pudding
1 small box instant vanilla pudding
2 C. milk
8 oz. Whipped topping, thawed
2 to 2.5 sleeves of chocolate graham crackers
1 C. Chocolate chips

In two bowls mix puddings separately with 1 C. milk each. Let stand for 5 minutes. Then fold 1/2 of the whipped topping into each bowl. In an 8 x 8 pan layer grahams, 1/2 the chocolate pudding mixture, grahams, 1/2 the vanilla pudding mixture. Repeat. Finish with a layer of graham crackers. Refrigerate for 6 hours. Melt and spread chocolate chips on top. Serves 6 to 8.

So much to do!

As the hours count down to Christmas I have been trying to better this year and get stuff done before Christmas Eve. I have all these crafty ideas in my head and loads on my to do list that is making the holidays a bit overwhelming. Not to mention that we are having car problems with the Durango and we are now forced into being a one car family and that car has only FIVE SEATS! This makes daily kindergarten pick-up and church on Sunday very interesting.

So to keep me working and not playing I'm posting my list here so you guys can keep me in line.

Christmas to-do list:

• Wrap Presents. The piles in my closet are getting to be larger than I want and is now taking over so I can hardly get to my laundry. Plus the kids will be excited to see something under the tree.


• Finish Cards. I need to make 12 cards for a swap that's due on the 15th. I've just got to get it from my head into actual paper creations. Also figure out what I'm going to do about our cards this year. Is anyone doing them? I haven't recieved one yet...


• Christmas Lists. Finalize who's getting what with DH so that we can finish shopping.


• Cruise Stuff. DH and I are really going! The only way we pulled this off is that work is paying for it. The whole IT dept. is setting sail next month for Baja Mexico. DH and I need to figure out what we will be doing in Cabo and Ensenada. If anyone has some good tips please let me know!


• Passports. I really think we should get these. Not just for this one trip but hopfully for future trips as well. Technically we can get away with out them for this trip, but still...


• Cookies. I was not very good about this last year. I made some but not nearly as much as I wanted. The kids and DH are already pestering me about it. They want their Christmas goodies and treats like Chocolate covered peanut butter balls, Russian Tea Cakes, Thumbprints, Fudge, Chocolate-Carmel Goodies, and whatever else I can whip up.


• Clean. I swear it takes only 0.2 seconds for my kids to trash a room. I need to help them recover the floor. I know it's somewhere under the piles of backpacks, jackets, toys and blankets they must use every day.


• Dessert for Ward Christmas Party. I'm making Zebra Cake for tomorrow night's party. It's a pretty easy recipe. I just need to remember to make it in the morning so it has time to refridgerate. Oh and don't let me forget my fluffy pink robe for Zac... he's being a wise man in the Nativity scene. What!?! Wise men can wear pink!


• Make Trees. I really only put this one on so I can say that it's done! CHECK! Yay me!! I made my own version of Cathie Fillian's tree. You can see her's here. Her's looks way better but this fills some space and makes it look a little more like Christmas in the office. We'll see if DH gets annoyed with it tonight and asks me to find a new place for it. Hee hee!! I made one to go by the front door so I could hide all the extentions and plugs for the lights.

I'm sure there's more but I can't think of anything else at the moment. So help keep me motivated so I can check off something every day.

Scribble It Giveaway @ Grosgrain

I don't know if any of you ladies have seen some of the work over at Kathleen's site Grosgrain but it is some pretty amazing stuff!!! She's always doing these awesome giveaways just about every week. Mostly I just lurk because they are handmade outfits for little girls like these.

Aren't they just stunning!!

But today she's offering a $20 giftcard for some way cute vinyl by Scribble it. You can check it out yourself here.

Feeling bloggy today

Now don't roll off your chair and die! Yes, it's been known to happen... me making two posts in one day. Today I went to the kids school to see Ally perform in her class' Band Tours. Ally and her band have been practicing for twice a week several weeks in a row now. Today they got up on the class "stage" and had a ball! The girls came up with all the choreography by themselves and also chose the song to go with the city they were performing in, White Horse, YT, Canada!


You can also see the nicer looking one here by clicking on the high quality link right under the video.

Having Fun at Twilight

Well I had so much fun last Thursday/Friday For the Midnight showing of Twilight! I got to hang out with all my wonderful friends. We went to dinner and went back to Shanna's and played games until about 11:15. Then we all headed over to the theater. These are one of the times I'm so thankful to the MegaPlex for doing reserved seating. I didn't have to be there waiting and waiting hours before the movie to get a good seat. There were whoops and hollers galore once the lights dimmed and then the time flew!!

I really liked the movie... but it wasn't what I had expected. I guess I was hoping for more... but what movie adaptation of a book even comes close to what you feel and imagine while you are reading? I have to say I did enjoy it more the second time I saw it. And if someone asked me to go again I'd probably do it just to listen to the amazing soundtrack and watch all the hotties on the big screen!

Just playin' around...

with some of the digital kits that I've found as freebies here and there. Emily is really getting into it too. I downloaded a few templates to make it easier for her to make it look nice. After she was done playing I messed around with it too and came up with this. It took me about 30 minutes to do it. If I was to make it the traditional way it might have taken... oh, about 1 to 2 hours.
These are pictures from last year. We got snow dumped on us and the piles were huge! The kids had a great time that day.

Truely Thankful

Today I recieved an email from my sis-in-law Barbie and knew I had to share it. I'm not one to usually get spiritual on my blog, but in the next few weeks we will be celebrating Thanksgiving. I want to share with you what I am truely thankful for... you may want to grab some tissue.



Jesus Christ has made it possible for me to have all the blessings I have and all those that are to come. Words cannot express the love and gratitude I feel for my Savior. Be thankful today.

Happy 15th Pumpkin!

Where has the time gone! My first born is now officially 15! I'm not sure I want what's coming in the next year.... driving.... dating....UGH! Not that she'll be bad at those things... she's responsible and thoughtful and caring. I just don't like how fast it goes! It seems like just yesterday she was like this.

So sweet, so innocent... if you asked her to show you some attitude she'd strike the pose, with her chest out, looking over her shoulder and her hands on her hips... so cute!

Now I have this.

Not that there's anything wrong with it but now that she's getting older I feel the time moving faster. I don't have years and years before I have to start thinking about college or her moving out. And although it can be sad to think about it's also an exciting time in her life. She'll have her first date, getting her dirver's license, Homecoming, Prom, and so many others... and I'll be there supporting, encouraging, and loving her for every bit of it.

Happy birthday Sweetie!

Oh, and since I started this post at 11:57 it totally still qualifies as posting on her birthday.

Happy People Dancing

My mom sent me this video yesterday and in a world where you see and hear negative things on a daily basis it just makes my heart happy to see something like this. I hope it makes you smile!


Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Pumpkin Land

Last Wednesday Jesse and I had a fun time on his first field trip in his new school. I got to be in charge of Jesse and two friends. Any more and I might not have been able to keep track.

We got to ride the bus.

Play with the painted cut-outs, make silly faces and try to snap pictures quickly so as not to hold up traffic.

Play at the play area. Jesse got hurt twice because there were so many kids playing at one time.

We also looked at the animals they had like bunnies, pigeons, ducks, chicken, and goats. Jesse liked the super long haired bunnies because he said they looked like rock stars.

While lining up to go into "Spook Alley" Jesse got in the wrong line while I was rounding up the other two boys. Instead of waiting with his class he got in the line right into Spook Alley. Now I'm worried that somethings happened. there's so many kids and not enough parent eyes. So I quickly walk through Spook Alley trying not to crush the other kids who are looking and standing around. I finally spot him just about to go out and call him back to me. I then get to haul him back to the beginning of Spook Alley where I get to see a few of the displays. They were all about mixed-up stories like James and the Giant Moose and Charlie and the Pumpkin Factory. After that, the kids got their picture taken as a class and then picked a pumpkin to take home before heading back to school.

Final Trailer until November 21!

Twilight HD Exclusive Trailer


Holy Crap!! I can't wait!!

Sick of making dinner?

Tired of the same old, same old? I tried a wonderful new dish from my BFF, Katie. It's super easy, super yummy Crock-Pot Taco Soup! Soup is usually not something we have a lot of here in our home. Mostly because Lloyd prefers to have to chew his food not slurp it down. He also keeps telling me to try new things since I tend to get bored quickly with the meals I prepare. Tonight I did and it was sooooo Good!! I did tweak it a bit to suit my family.

• I used pinto beans instead of the garbanzo beans... hoping my kids would be less suspicious of the new dish with beans in it that they knew.
• I only added 1 TBSP of the dried minced onions.
• Along with all the toppings I added crushed up corn chips.
• and I added about 3 cups of water.

After dinner I asked all the kids if they'd eat it again and everyone but Jesse said ,"Oh yeah!" So my hats off to you Katie for saving dinner!! And if any of you give it a whirl don't forget to leave Katie some Lovin.

Blog Overhaul

After a cool and rainy day today I have been feeling like it really is Fall. So to commemorate the season I decided to give my blog a make-over. It took me forever to make the banner since it had been so long since I did anything digi. I kept trying to drag everything from my photo bin to make the banner and apparently that's a big no-no in PSE 6. I'm glad it's done now. It reminds me of the beautiful colors of the leaves turning on Mount Timp. So whadd'ya think? Does it remind you of Fall?

Boxes, boxes and more boxes!

I feel like this is going to take forever!! Everywhere I turn there are more boxes to unpack. The kitchen's all done but I seem to find that on the counter things pile up from just about anywhere in the house. Leaving it looking like a mess all the time. Emily's room is mostly done and you can see some of the floor... she seems to prefer it that way. The boys room is done. The girls room needs help as well as the rest of the house. I can't even set up my stuff in the front room a.k.a. my scrap room because my IKEA shelf is still in the garage. Without it I have no place to put my stuff which fills 8 medium boxes from Home Depot!

I need desperately to get it my scrap room all together so I can kit out all the stuff for Thrilling Thursday. That gives me two days people to put my room back in order and get about 20 kits ready to go. I just realized today that I have no clue when it starts on Thursday. So if someone knows could ya please post it for me so I'm not late. Cross your fingers for me!

It's Official... We're Moving! AGAIN!!!!

I know all my good friends and family knew we wouldn't stay still for very long. We have a terrible track record for moving. Most of my kids can say they have moved as many times as they are old. It's not like were in the military or anything like that, we just don't have very much luck when it comes to staying put. I know my in-laws are happy about the move though since we will only be 1.2 miles from their home. We've lived in that area before so the transition will be easier on the kids. They will be going to familiar schools and possibly reunite with old friends.

The down-side of it all is:

• that I will be leaving behind my treasured friends whom I've come to love. I will miss you all terribly but I've made Rachel and Shauna promise to keep me informed with all the fun activities that go on here in hopes of attending many of them.
• pack up the house yet again. What a pain! It's so sad when your daughters know the drill so well that they had most of their rooms packed in one day.
• with this move we will not be able to bring our dogs with us. They are very cute and loving. The girls have shed their tears over it and we are now looking for new homes for both of them. I've got them listed on KSL here and here.
• and lastly I've got a week to pack it all up and move it all out. Thursday or Friday will be my last day in this home.

Our reasons for moving are that Lloyd's work is not moving as they had planned. Instead of a 30 to 40 minute commute now it will be 10 to 15 minutes max. Also we have family there and it's been so painful, and by painful I mean expensive, to drive back and forth like we want to. My durango would eat through a 1/4 of a tank there and back... that's like $40 every weekend to drop off and pick up!

I don't have a picture yet but I hope to post one of our new digs later tomorrow.

Finding more time to play

Now that I have 2 - 3 hours alone everyday.

It feels so good...

To play with all my pretty scrap supplies! I haven't done pages in so long. A group of my friends are putting on a crop and I'm actually playing along. Here's the two pages I've gotten done so far and I hope to complete several more before the week is over. Wish me luck!!

Thrilling Thursday

Along with not blogging in forever I've also not scrapped in just as long. The only occurrences I have, have been at the neighborhood scrap nights making a couple of cards. Mostly I'm there to socialize with my friends. This last week I've decided to dust off the table and supplies and make some tags. It didn't hurt that I really needed to get them done since I was asked weeks ago to do them for Relief Society's annual craft day. Here's what I've got so far...

So what do you think? Would you go to a class and mak'em?

I thought a simple technique like embossing would be a good starter. I've done some heat embossing along with dry embossing on the tags. I'm also trying to keep them fairly simple and low cost so that they will be affordable for everyone.

You're killing me Smalls....

Thanks Katie for giving me the needed push to get back on the horse. I've been a horrible blogger this summer. I'm not gonna get into the details but lets just say it's been a bit trying.

Now todays post is basically gonna be catch up. So hold on to your horses.

The Primary Parade.

The kids had a lot of fun walking down the main street in our neighborhood behind the large and very loud fire truck that participates every year. The whole week before it the kids had the tough decision of what home-made instrument to bring to play as they were walking. Both Kylie and Jesse decided on ice cream tub drums and mom's scrapbook markers to bang on them with. Nice. And this is how you find Ally if there are any little kids around. She is forever playing and cooing with them. Her life's ambition is to be a mom.

Ally's 10th birthday.

This girl knew exactly what she wanted, not that she got it all. She did get several new outfits, some computer games, a fur-real pet and a new mountain bike. Her last one was left behind daddy's car a few months before. Ally decided that cake just wouldn't do this year. Instead she and I made 24 cupcakes, frosted them and then let everyone decorate their own with sugar sprinkles.

I can't believe more than half of my kids are in their double digitsnow . Ally is one of the sweetest most loving girls. I love her so much and couldn't imagine life here without her. Happy Birthday Ally Cat.

Jesse lost his first tooth!

I for sure thought something was wrong with them... none of my others ever lost their teeth this early. Kylie's front teeth didn't come in until she was 7 1/2 so there was no way his were coming out at just five. I even took him in to the dentist because his two front teeth were wiggling and I thought for sure they were rotting out and he'd be toothless for years before they came in. The dentist was very sweet and took an x-ray for me and showed me that his adult teeth were just coming down and it would be just a few week more until they fell out. I was surprised and relieved. Sure enough, just a few weeks later the bottom one was loose and popped right out with no fuss. His top ones are getting looser every day.

A summer shower.

The kids had some fun playing in the summer downpour. It was warm so they rode around and danced in the street. I love Emily and Ally striking their poses!

The Big Eight!

Not only was she turning eight but it was also the first day of school. I think she had fun none the less. Kylie told me days before she wanted chocolate... chocolate cake, chocolate frosting and chocolate ice cream. Ahhh, a girl after my own heart! After coming home and handing me a stack of papers that needed to be signed we had her birthday dinner, Chicken Lasagna, and opened gifts.

I love my little girl. She is full of spunk and sass and is generally happy and loving. She loves math and the colors yellow and silver. She is always playing with her friends and has a very creative imagination. She owns a special part of my heart. Happy Birthday my darling Ky-Ky.

The First Day of Kindergarten.

I can tell you I have dreaded this day for a long time. My youngest off to school... no more babies in my home... and hours of too much peace. After almost fifteen years of having someone under foot, it feels weird to be alone for hours every day. Jesse on the other hand is loving it!! Miss. Bell is such a nice teacher and I've heard nothing but compliments about her so I know he's in good hands. After school our conversation went like this.

Mom: So how was school?

Jesse: good.

Mom: What did you do today?

Jesse: I can't remember.

Mom: Well, did you make any friends?

Jesse: Yeah a boy and a girl. They sit at my table.

Mom: That's good. What are their names?

Jesse: I don't know. I'm hungry. Can I have a turkey sandwich?

Once Lloyd got home though he got a lot more out of him. I don't know why but maybe he just needed time to process all the new stuff before he talked about it.

Dressed All In White.

What a lovely day Kylie's baptism was. We got there early to make sure Lloyd and her got ready on time and time for a few quick photos before it started. I couldn't make it through the first song without tearing up. The spirit was strong that day. Knowing that this was the last dress I'd be buying for these kind of days and that there was only one left to do this again in our family. I had to get one of the kids to go get me tissue because I couldn't reign the tears in. Kylie was radient in her dress. Glowing with the spirit and so happy it was her special day.

If you're wondering where Zac was in all this... He was downstairs playing W.O.W. or Call of Duty on his X-box.

the things we do for school

I have to say that Jesse is really looking forward to going to school. He asks me almost daily if it is time yet and I keep telling him not until Kylie's birthday, then you will meet your teacher. I don't think he gets it yet that after the meeting he'll still have a week more of waiting until that big yellow bus comes for him.
Wednesday I took him in for his kindergarten physical. He passed with flying colors, but before we could leave the poor boy had to get some shots. Four of them to be exact. He was not a happy camper but a frosty afterwards made it all better for the most part. Off and on all the rest of the day he kept saying his leg was dead, just one at a time, and then limp all over with an "ow" on every other step. It was hilarious!

I thought I'd also include a pic of one of my beautiful finds this summer in my front yard. I had no idea what this plant was when we first moved in. All I did know was that it wasn't a weed so I let it grow. For two summer's all it was was leaves. I figured it must be something other than that when big buds that looked like golf balls popped up this summer. One of my neighbors and I were talking about our gardens and I mentioned it to her and she told me what it was... a Peony. The kids checked them out every day waiting for them to burst open. They were so excited when the first one opened and every day after that they would give me a report on how many were open that day. it was so sweet.

Summer Vacation is here!

Yes my kids will be officially all out of school after tomorrow! I'm so excited about that. this year we will have a nice long break. Last year on track C the kids only had about tree weeks off before school was going again. This summer they will seven weeks! I can't believe we've been here two years already. For those of you who know our track record on moving you know that two years anywhere is a big accomplishment.

Tonight I tried to upload some videos but they are just not working for me. They are either too big or YouTube is not working at the moment.

A few weeks ago Ally had her spring concert.

Kylie was awarded a medal for being on the Raptor Honor Roll in April.

Emily had her spring concert... I didn't get a picture of her, just a video and since that's not working at the moment you'll just have to wait. Hahaha!

Zac was ordained a deacon on the 25th of May. It was a very touching moment that I will treasure forever. I don't remember all that was said but, when those worthy preisthood holders were done and the way was clear before me I saw my son touched with the spirit of his Heavenly Father. He had to sit there a minute to compose himself before shaking the Bishop, Scout Leader and Home Teacher's hands, then hugged his dad and grandpa, and then came to me with tear-filled eyes to hug him and hold on to him until his emotions were under control again. Those of you with teenage sons know, hugging mom is just not something they do, so I took full advantage of it and held on as long as he'd let me.

Zac passed the sacrament for the first time the following Sunday. He was a little nervous but he did great. I got a little treat at the end when I got to hand him the water tray. Emily couldn't help herself and made silly faces at him while he was waiting for it which made him smile.

So you can see we've been pretty busy here. I hope to get those videos up soon, so chack back and just maybe they'll be here... :D

What Your Flip Flops Say About You

You live to have fun, and your sense of humor is downright goofy. You are a big kid on the inside, and you have a very open heart. You try to make every day feel like a vacation, even if you have other responsibilities. Each day, you make a little bit of time to play and let loose. Your ideal warm weather place: Disney World

The Flip Flop Test

I thought this was a cute little test I found over on my friend Gabrielle's blog.