Circus Fun

The Ringling Bros. Circus came to town last week and we took the girls. The original reason we went was because the girls had earned a free ticket through the library summer reading program. I made the mistake of ordering mine and Chris' ticket online. Because the free tickets were for a certain section and our tickets were in a different section we weren't able to use the free tickets unless we sat seperate from each other. So we ended up having to buy 4 tickets instead of 2. Bummer that we didn't get to save any money but I'm sure we would have taken the girls regardless of the free tickets. Next year (?) we will have to make sure we just purchase our tickets at the counter instead of online.

It was a really fun show. Chris and I agreed that we are getting old because everything they did made our stomachs turn and we felt like it was all way too dangerous! It was still entertaining but man I can't imagine wanting to do some of the stunts they did! We have a hard time going on the swings these days!

This night wasn't on our summer list but definitely a nice bonus activity!

4th of July and a GIVEAWAY!

I love the 4th of July. I love the colors. I love the fireworks and the cute outfits I get to make my girls. I'm making the girls dresses again this year...x's 3! I love the cute star shaped sugar cookies and the festive cupcakes! Not to mention the fact that Chris gets a 3 day weekend!

I don't have a ton of 4th of July decorations and I'm never WOW'd by anthing at Michaels, Hobby Lobby, or Jo-Ann's. So since I have my sewing machine out, I decided it would be fun to make a 4th of July banner! Isn't it cute!?! I'm so in love with it and the fact that I have a mantel to decorate makes it even more fun!



I also made the wooden flag above the banner. Super easy and cheap. I got the idea here if you want to make your own. I got enough beadboard cut ($4 because it was scraps. It's way more expensive-like $25 for a full sheet) to make about 7 of these flags! I plan on giving them out to the girls I visiting teach. And mine are cut to 15x11. I wanted it big but didn't want to go 16x20. And bonus-it seriously took about 20 minutes. And that included the paint drying!


So back to my banner. I had enough fabric to make 2 banners! And as much as I love them, I don't need 2! So...I thought it would be fun to give one away!

So this will be super quick since the 4th is just a week away. Leave a nice comment and your email address (if you think I don't already have it) and I'll draw a winner in the morning (like 10am). I'll email the winner in the morning and mail it tomorrow!!

Good luck!

*********************************************CLOSED***************************************

CONGRATULATIONS BROOK!

One day we will laugh about this...

Since we moved to Texas our fridge went out and we had to replace it ($700), the civic needed a new starter ($100), and we found fleas on Ginger (CRINGE!). Thankfully SEARS has refrigerators and we only had to go a week with our food in an ice-chest. Chris was able to find the part and replace the starter himself. And we sprayed the grass, gave Ginger her summer cut, and doused her with medicine and hopefully that is the last we will ever have to deal with fleas! (CRINGE-me no likey bugs!)

I told Chris that if Texas was trying to kick us out, "it" was doing a great job! I'm starting to feel picked on and it's no fun!

Our recent adventure was this past Friday morning when around 10am our electricity went out. We were doing our normal thing and out of no where we were without power. More importantly without AC. I waited it out for about 20 minutes then called the electricity company to see what was going on. After all the account verification rigamaroll we find out that our account has been cancelled because (according to the electric company) we had cancelled our account because we went with a different provider. WHAT!? Not sure what that means? Neither did I. Apparently here in Texas there are a few different options for electricity and at any time you can cancel your service with one provider and transfer to another one. We had no idea this was an option so obviously this wasn't our fault.

The operator I spoke to told me they would fix it as soon as possible. It could take 1 hour but no longer than 24 hours. I explained that I had small children in the house and he said it would be on the priority list. This was about the time Chris said let's go to San Antonio so we packed up and left town. We never thought to call back and confirm that we had electricity so when we got back in to town on Saturday evening we were shocked to find that we still had no power. At this point everything in our fridge/freezer and deep freezer were completely ruined.

So we call the electricity company back only to find out that they don't work on the weekends so the earliest they would come out would be on Monday-SERIOUSLY!?!?

Here we were, 6pm on a Saturday evening and the only option we had was to get another hotel....a mile from our house. The girls were so excited! At this point they think we are on an extended vacation!

So we pack our church clothes (because did I forget to mention I had to speak in church the next day?) and we headed to the Holiday Inn to pay $100 per night for 2 nights. LOVELY!

We made the most of it. Turned the a/c down to 70 degrees and let the girls swim to their hearts content! 4 days in a row.

I gave my talk in church on Sunday, we celebrated Father's Day with our R.S President and her family, and waited it out.

On Monday morning I called the electic company back to make sure they were coming out before noon. I had to check out of our hotel room at noon and we had no other place to go.

According to the electric company we were on the list but they couldn't guarantee anything other than that it would happen before 7pm that evening!??! Seriously! I was losing it! Noon came and went so we went to our Bishop's house. Thaknfully his wife let us in and we hung out at her house until 3pm when the electricity was finally reconnected and we could go home!

Chris and I spent the rest of Monday cleaning out our fridge/freezer and deep freezer. Our house smelt so bad and some food in our deep freezer leaked out on to the floor! It was awful!

On the upside, the electric company is going to reimburse us the $300 we spent on hotel stays and they are giving us $200 for all the groceries we lost.

It was definitely an interesting weekend and one I hope we don't repeat any time soon! There are often times that I wonder if things just happen to us for the fun of it or if we are actually suppose to learn something from it. I know I can see a silver lining in most things but at times it's really hard to not just throw my hands up in defeat and have a good cry. And sometimes I do that even when I do see a silver lining!

This picture I love because it was taken on Father's Day. He's a good snuggler!

Summer List: San Antonio

Friday morning at around 11am Chris sent me a text and said "Let's take the girls to San Antonio for the night! I'll get the hotel, you pack us up!" I was in the middle of Wal-Mart getting a few things for the weekend and it took me about 5 minutes to put my things back and get the girls back in the car. A mini vacation: Yes Please. My husband being spontaneous: Double Yes! No need to ask me twice!

We had lost power in our house around 10am (Which is why I was at Wal-Mart and a post all it's own) so it was a little tricky getting everything packed up. However, by the time Chris got home I was ready to go! We didn't tell Elodie what we were doing so she was completely confused as I asked her to get certain things for me. It was a fun surprise for her and Addysen and they loved staying in a hotel!

We left the house around 5:30pm. Got in to San Antonio at 7pm-ish. Got dinner. Checked in to our hotel and then took the girls swimming. The swimming pool was on the 6th floor so it was really fun and a great view of the city.

We have never been to San Antonio so on Saturday we hit all the touristy spots. We saw the Alamo, walked the riverwalk, and took the boatride. It was super hot and we were all sticky and sweaty but still a fun little getaway. We plan to go back in the fall when it is much cooler and do the riverwalk again. According to a few people we learned that the riverwalk does Christmas lights and is very fun during the holidays. That should be exciting! There is also Sea World and a Children's Museum which we plan to do the next few times we come.

On our way out we stopped at Sonic (shocked?) and a car behind us stopped and asked us if it was hotter in San Antonio or Arizona. I would have to say definitely San Antonio-the humidity will chock you! But like the desert heat, I'm sure it will be something we get use to!

We were hoping to get home just in time for dinner, baths, and bedtime. We pulled in at 6pm and our electricity was still out! Like I said, that's for a post all it's own! The title will be sometime along the lines of "How are family spent an entire weekend in a hotel up the street from our house!" or "How the electricity company disconnected us because they thought we had cancelled our service" Fun times for sure!

Our Swanky Hotel: It felt so much like the Titanic. It was beautiful but the room was small and the walls very thin! Our neighbors were some 12 year old boys who thought it would be fun to stay up until 3am and keep the tv on even after they fell asleep! I'm sure their parents had a nice nights sleep though!









The Alamo:

These were taken on our boat tour through the river.

Father's Day 2011

We love you Dad!

New Summer Salad Favorite

During the summer I'm always looking for a new salad to add to our menu. I especially like a salad that can be made with everything I already have! This one is a winner! It's very similar to the Spinach Mandarin Poppy Seed Salad that I love. In fact I used the same salad dressing even though the recipe called for a different one. I never add the poppyseeds though-not a fan!

The girls aren't crazy about the dressing so when I make either salad I serve them everything from the salad just without the dressing.

Strawberry Salad

Original Recipe and picture: HERE

Toss Together:
Chopped Romaine Lettuce
Sliced strawberries
Sliced green onions
Candied Pecans (Her recipe called for slivered almonds but if you love pecans....) (Easy: 1/4 cup brown sugar, a 1/4 cup butter. Melt together on the stove. Add about a cup,or more, of pecans. Toss together until hot-careful not to burn! Place a piece of tin foil on your counter and spread pecans out. Let them sit until cooled.)
Cooked and chopped bacon
A couple of spoonfuls of crumbled feta cheese
{The great thing about salads is there is no exact measurements. Add as little or as much as you like!!}

Dressing:
1/3 cup white vinegar
1 tsp. salt
a few shakes of pepper
3/4 cups sugar
1 green onion minus the white part
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Blend together. Store leftovers in a jar for up to 2 weeks.

Add dressing just before serving!

Happy Summer!

Summer List: Swimming

We found a pool in a neighboring city that resembled the pools we are use to in Arizona. When we lived in Arizona we were at the pool atleast 3 times a week. We had 2 pools that were super close to our house and we would meet our friends there on a regular basis. Good memories.

This year is a little different as we have added a new member to our family and we don't have any friends to meet at the pool! Boo!

I was nervous to take the girls all by myself (this is where meeting friends at the pool would help-everyone keeps an eye out for each others kids) so we waited until yesterday when Chris could come with us. This little trip proved that I am not ready to take 3 little people to the pool by myself! Even with Chris there we were having a hard time keeping track of Addysen! That little girl is quick! And it didn't help that there was a slide she could go on and a slide that she couldn't go on. And once she found out there was something she couldn't do, that's all she wanted to try and do!

I know next summer will be completely different but for now I know we will have to save the pool days for when Chris can come with us! Even though we won't be able to go 3 times a week, I'm hoping we can still make it there atleast once a week. It's such a great time for the girls and it sure does wear them out!


This was the bigger kid slide-you had to be able to swim to the side to go on it (which is why Addysen couldn't go on it but kept trying to). Elodie loved it and was never afraid to go on it! I'm so happy that she remembered everything she learned from last year!


This was the slide for Addysen's age and she loved it too!


Chris and Evyn tried to stay in the shade as much as possible!

And even though her feet never touched the water we still had to put her in her suit! This was Addysen's. I wanted to get her the suit to match the 2 older girls but it started at 6-9months and it would have drowned her! Next year for sure!

Disney On Ice

Back at the beginning of May Disney on Ice came to town. When we found out that tickets were only $10 on opening night we decided it was something we couldn't pass up!

We had taken Elodie to Princesses on Ice shortly after our first trip to Disneyland and we absolutely loved it! We knew that Disney on Ice (with all the characters) would be just as great! And it was! It was an awesome night and we felt like we were right back at Disneyland!

Embrace The Camera

Because....
-It's been a while since I've done this.
-Everyone was having a good time
-No one was complaining about it being their turn or hogging the chair.
-We were having such a great time making an after dinner treat it seemed like a waste not to document it!


Happy Summer!

Struck by Lightning

When we had our ultrasound the day before Evyn was born, at my amnio, the tech told us that Evyn had peach fuzz on her head.

When she was actually born, she came out with hair all over her head! The most out of any of our girls.

And boy does that hair have a mind of it's own! Especially after Evyn gets a bath. When it's super clean it stands straight up!

I love it. I don't even try to slick it down! I figure I'll be doing her hair for her entire childhood. To let her go a few months without me having to do it is fine by me! A break of sorts.

We love this girl. And her hair!

Just like you.

Parenthood comes in waves for me. There are days that I feel like I'm on top of it and I've got it all figured out. More like my house is clean and look at my cute girls all matchy matchy in their gymboree dresses! And then other days I feel so overwhelmed it's a little mind boggeling. You know the "Oh my gosh I'm a parent and I have to raise this child to be the best she can be and teach her everything she needs to know so she appreciates me and loves me when she is older, not to mention become a great mother herself." kind of days. And the "Oh dear I'm going to have a teenager and boys are going to want to date her and she is going to go to HIGH SCHOOL!" TIMES 3 mind you!!!

In some ways I think it's good- the good "feel on top of it" days make it all worth it when the overwhelming mind boggeling days hit you!

I had a mind boggeling moment today.

And it all came from walking into the kitchen and seeing these 2 cups sitting next to each other.


I'm a water drinker. If you come to my house you will find a water cup,full, on my counter. My girls know it because instead of ever asking for a drink they just go in the kitchen and find mom's cup. It's a good habit I'm teaching them because we rarely have anything but water or milk in our house. This is not to say that the girls at sonic don't know us by name....or that I'm not known for picking up a coke at the checkout in Wal-Mart. My girls also know this because when we are checking out Elodie always ask me if I want her to get me a coke. {Cringe}

In the last few weeks I've noticed a few things about Elodie. It's something that has been happening all along, I just am noticing it more and more these days.

She wants to be just like me. {GULP}

And these 2 cups sitting side by side reminded me of more proof that she is trying to be like her Mama.

-She likes to wear an undershirt. I wear those shade/downeast undershirts and lately Elodie has been wearing just a white shirt underneath all of her clothes. I need to just get her a real undershirt so it's not so bulky.

-She wants her hair to look just like mine. Either down completely or with just a clip in the back. She still lets me play with it but most of the time she wants some variation of my hair do.

-She wants to wear lip gloss and put on lotion.

-She wants to put her pajamas bottoms on in the evening but keep her top that she wore all day on. It's something I do all the time because it's just easier when I'm making dinner or doing baths.

-She likes to cross her legs.

-She carries her cellphone around and pretends to text her friends.

-She talks to Addysen like I do. I am constantly reminding her that I'm the mother.

And I know as she gets older there will be things that she does like me without knowing it. And there will be things she doesn't want to do like me. Hopefully more of the first and very little of the second!

Sometimes I cringe when I hear Elodie say "But that's how you do it!" because honestly I know I could do better at setting a good example for her. But I'm also thankful for those opportunities of awareness because it helps me want to be a better mother.

I love my girls. I know it's a huge responsibility to be their mother. It's 24-7 no doubt. And while Christopher's example will teach them about the type of boys they will date and eventual want to marry (amongst other things), my example will teach them how to pick those boys, how to be a good wife and a great mother. How to cook and clean and find balance in their lives.

And while I know that I will make mistakes every day, I hope when they are grown they can say the same thing about me that I say about my own mom. If I can be half the mom she was and is to me then I'll be doing something right!

Weekend fun.

I've been looking forward to this weekend since we left Arizona! A few days after we left, when the girls and I were in La. with my family, I got a text from Melissa's husband Mace. He asked me what I thought about him getting Melissa a plane ticket to Texas for her birthday. I texted him back and said "You shouldn't need to ask!" There was no reason to clear my schedule, talk to Chris, or make sure it was a good weekend for us!

Just the thought of having Melissa come for a visit helped me get through these first 2 months in a new state. But I knew it would be hard....as excited as I was to have her come I knew it was going to be hard to let her leave again! And it was hard saying goodbye to her today, but I'm so glad she came!

In a perfect world we would live next door to each other-and I can actually say that we have been a few houses down from each other twice in our 5 year friendship. It's not right for us to be in 2 different states but for now, Girls Weekends are pretty fun!

I love this girl! She is truly my best friend and I am so lucky to have her in my life! Thank you Melissa for coming for a visit! I can't wait to come visit you in November...or September, or July. {WinkWink}


We went and got pedicures- we did this lots of times in Arizona so it only seemed right to include it in our weekend. We went shopping, out to lunch, and it was so fun hanging out without our kids!

Matching Toes...


My girls were in Mrs. Melissa heaven! They love her as much as I do!