I’m still here…

I’ve been mostly posting updates on facebook recently.

Seriously, I can’t believe it’s been over 2 months since I last posted here!

Here’s a few updates:

Ashley was baptized as a new member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! We’re so proud of her! I also found a beautiful white dress for her to wear so she would feel extra special!   

My Dad got married over spring break. He’s been going back ‘n forth between here and California and wherever his new wife needs to be. She just graduated with her Masters degree and is looking for a job in several states. So, we’re not sure where they will end up.

My Sister is moving to Colorado in a week. :( She needs some fresh new scenery and will be staying with one of her best friends, so I’m not too worried about her. Although I will miss her terribly.

We had a wonderful Easter and Ashley even learned to ride her bike (without training wheels)! That was a HUGE accomplishment for her. She has been terrified to get on her bike even though Ben was always holding on. We’re so proud of her! 

Ben has been in Taiwan for the past 3 weeks (for work). He’s coming home tonight! I’m so excited!!! We’ve been using skype for the first time to talk to each other. It was fun being able to see him while we talked. I think it kind of made it seem like he wasn’t so far away. He could also show me his hotel room and the view from his window. I took snapshots nearly every time we talked, which really wasn’t that much because of the 15 hour time difference. Sometimes he was being silly, so of course, I snapped those moments, usually without him knowing. haha Sorry babe, I just couldn’t resist sharing some of these pics. *Can you tell what was on the tv one night?

While he was gone, my friend from TX, Karyn, visited me for almost 2 weeks! We had so much fun together! We went to the gym nearly every day, visited the kids’ P.E. classes at school (it was parent P.E. week), shopped, went to bunko, rollerbladed, and swam lots!

We also had a relaxing Mother’s Day {considering Ben wasn’t here, Karyn’s kids were back in TX, and my Mom wasn’t here}! Here’s what we made for breakfast – Belgian waffles with strawberries & cool whip!

And the kids made some cute gifts at school for me!

M-Marvelous, O-Oh’ So Nice, T-Terrific, H-Heart, E-Extra, R-Reads to me (that last one took a minute to figure out) By Anson

“Dear Mom, Happy Mother’s Day! I love you and thank you for helping me with my homework. Thank you for making all these yummy meals. I also wish that every day was no school so that I can spend time with you everyday. I love you very much. Love, Ashley”

M-My Special Hero!, O-Often makes me Happy!, T-The very best Mom!, H-Hugs from you makes me feel loved!, E-Everlasting love!, R-Really amazing mother! by Felicia

Awww they just melt my heart ♥

Karyn also introduced me to a new food – Quinoa (pronounced Keen-wah). It’s really good and good for you! I got a small package in the health food section at Fry’s (a grocery store). I made just one cup of dry Quinoa, it pretty much doubles in size when you cook it. When it was done cooking, we mixed in sautee’d onions & green peppers, then added some frozen peas and corn – you let it sit covered for a minute or two and they get cooked from the heat of the Quinoa. I had some leftover grilled chicken, so I threw that in there too. That was our dinner the other night. Nathaniel & Felicia love it, so do I! Since I posted about it on facebook, here’s a pic:

With everything that has been going on, I decided to take a little break from digital scrapbook designing. Hopefully, I can get some mojo and get back into it soon. I really love it, but I’ve needed a little break.

I can’t believe that school is almost over for my kids! Less than 2 weeks are left!!! Next week, Nathaniel & Felicia have an orchestra concert, history fair (they’ve been working hard on a history report and presentation), and their hip hop dance recital. Felicia also has to write a short speech and make a poster because she’s running for student council President! Elections are Wednesday! Way to shoot for the stars! Yearbooks have arrived and I’ll be busy handing out preordered ones next week and selling the rest of them before and after school. Then the last week, the kids will all have their class parties! They are so excited!

Ok, so that’s a little bit of what we’ve been up to, of course there’s more but then this post would never end. haa haa A couple more busy weeks, then SUMMER VACATION!!!!! YAY!!!

Ok, this has taken way toooooo long to type this up plus add all the pics (my comp kept freezing and wouldn’t let me add the pics for a while). I need to help get the house cleaned before Ben gets home tonight! :)

News & Spring is almost here!

I’ll start with the shocking news…

For those of you who haven’t heard yet, my Dad met someone online, they met and immediately became engaged. They have recently set the date for May 20th to get married. It’s been kind of difficult dealing with this. My sister and I have been trying to be happy for our Dad but it’s still too fast for us. But it’s what he wants, so there’s no changing his mind. She will be visiting here March 18-26th, so that’s when we’ll get to meet her.

Good News…

I finally removed the hangers, bagged, and donated all of my Mom’s clothes. It was 2 huge trash bags plus a bag for her shoes.

Fun news…

I shopped for bunko prizes last week. Then I hosted bunko at my house on Friday. It was a blast! And I got a cute prize (I really wanted to keep all of them)!

On to sweeter news…

My darling Ashley had her 8th birthday over the weekend. I can’t believe how quickly she is growing and changing. She has been wanting secret journals, so she received a couple of those. You know the kind that has a mini key with it? She thinks they are so cool. She also got a Moxie doll (like a Barbie doll but with changeable heads) and an iCarly notebook, but I forgot to buy some batteries, so she hasn’t used it yet. I think you have to use a passcode to get it open, then you can write your notes in it. My sister also found a gift & card that my Mom had bought for Ashley before she died. So, Christy was able to give that to her. It’s a necklace with a charm and inside is a mustard seed with a quote attached that reads, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, nothing shall be impossible unto you.” Ashley was so excited!!! I love the one I got just like it when I was 8 from my Aunt Wendy. I still have it.

Enjoying breakfast (homemade Belgian waffles) with her BFF that spent the night. Playing a little xbox.Eating lunch after the makeover her sister gave her. her bday cake (rainbow chip with rainbow chip frosting) The whole gang! blowing out 8 candles. her Moxie doll. some wall scrapbook kits Ashley with Grandma and Grandpa Stradling              Ashley & me Ashley & Ben

And because Ashley turned 8, she will be getting baptized this Saturday. She is thrilled!

Decluttering news…

Ben & I helped the kids go thru their closets & dressers to gather all the clothes that don’t fit them. We filled 7 trash bags!!! {well 2 or 3 were already filled with baby/toddler clothes just waiting to be donated}. Ben dropped off ALL the clothing for donations yesterday! It really feels good to get all that stuff OUT of the house that we weren’t using. Now, if I can just get the computer room organized. Hmmmm. That’s for another day. LOL

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HAPPY SPRING and HAPPY SCRAPPING!

Wassup?

Just popping in to say HOLLA!!!
{that's "Holl-ah" not "O-lah" like in Spanish}
heeee heeee

What have I been up to?

Ummm, let me see...
took Felicia to dentist last week & today

Felicia couldn't eat for half-hour after dentist today and it had to be liquids, so we went to the store & made chocolate shakes at home for her lunch (just so I wasn't feeding her soooo bad I added a little protein powder to make it a little healthy)

went on Ward Campout over the weekend at Camp LoMia in Pine, AZ
SO FUN!!! pics coming soon

had lunch w/ my sister & the cousins last week
{I look forward to these every month}

started going back to the gym
got the OK from podiatrist to work in a little cardio slowly

grabbed price list for massages while at the gym
{a girl can dream right?}

played bunko with the girls
didn't win big prize but got cute door prize

went to the Cannery

went to Enrichment & learned all about being prepared for Emergencies with "Grab-n-Go" Binders for important documents
more info HERE

thinking about getting a haircut

finally bought the books "Vampire Diaries" (split cost w/ sis)
started watching "Vampire Diaries" on the CW w/ sis
{new weekly ritual}

enjoying new Fall tv shows, so far
{yep, I'll admit, I'm a tv junkie!}

still trying to get pool from green to blue. UGH!!

OH and the BEST day ever - BEN came home early!!!! So, he's been home for 2 weeks instead of just one week!!!! Yipeeee!!!

So tell me what exciting things you've been up to?

Mother's Day/Weekend

I had the BEST Mother's Day/Weekend this year!!!

The weekend started out with the boys leaving for the Father/Son campout. They had a few extra people with them - Ben's friend Trey & his son, My Dad & a neighbor friend.
See how excited they are to go on their camping trip?!

Nathaniel ALWAYS has a way of finding interesting things to bring home with him. This is a DEAD crawdad. He's pretending to eat it. He ran in the house & grabbed a measuring cup to fill with water. He wanted to boil it and EAT it! I said NO WAY!!! Eeeeewwwwww! Ben made him throw it away. Whew!

Here's my fave boys returning from their trip. No need to bring a change of clothes. LOL They had a BLAST!!! They also quickly became a HIT because they all brought AirSoft guns and played around. They shared so other boys could play too. They thought it was cool to shoot at the water in the nearby creek because the way it looked when it hit the water! Boys are too funny!

While the boys were away, I had bunko! I was in the 3-way tie for most wins or losses (can't remember which one) but in the roll-off, I didn't win. Oh well, I got this CUTE door prize! The kids thought it was funny.

My sweet niece, Chantel, spent the night so she could be with the girls while I was out that night. Ended up staying out til 3am. I was soooo tired in the morning. The girls had fun getting makeovers from my niece & watching Hotel for Dogs.

After Ben got cleaned up from camping, we got some pizza for the kids. Then we snuck away on a date. He took me to Chili's for dinner and we wanted to spend a little more time out, so we hopped over to the theater and got there just in time to see Star Trek. I'm totally NOT a trekkie, but it was pretty good, esp with the eye candy!

Sunday morning, the kids woke up & wished me Happy Mother's Day right away! Awwww what a nice way to wake up! Kids hugging & kissing me while I was still in bed. So sweet!!! Nathaniel asked me if I would make Belgian waffles. What??? He quickly corrected himself, Ummm Dad can you make pancakes? That's more like it. hahaha So, he did. Ben makes the most delicious pancakes!

We got ready for church and the kids hardly fought. YAY!! What a nice morning! Ben took this pic right after church! I just told the kids to come stand by me but they immediately squeezed me with big hugs! {I almost fell over from all the love♥}

I love all my sweet munchkins that make me a MOM! They can definitely drive me crazy sometimes, but I wouldn't trade any of them! I couldn't imagine my life without them! They give me so many hugs & kisses every day, I love it!!!!

These are the fun & lovey dovey cards I got from my darling kids & Ben!

Ben loves putting my card in a place where I will find it {I do the same thing - it's fun}. Who doesn't love surprises? He usually places my card on my vanity or pillow so I will find it when I'm getting dressed. This year, I found it on my keyboard {yep I snuck in to check my email after breakfast - tee hee}. He's a sneaky one!

Ashley's card was sooo cute! She made it at school and inside it says all the things she loves about me! Awwww. She also made me a "diamond" necklace! I wore my pretty diamond to church. She was so happy!

Inside the card:

I like being with my mom most when going swimming with her.

If I could give my mom something special just from me, it would be some flowers.

It really bugs my mom when ask her if I can play. {she means begging for xbox or computer time}

My mom helps me most when she helps me make my bed.

My favorite thing about my mom is she makes dinner for me.

One of my mom's favorite places is the snow. {ummm this one is questionnable. not a huge fan of cold, but do like to play in the snow like one day a year}

My mom likes to go out to dinner.

My mom looks prettiest when she puts makeup on. {at least she can appreciate my hard work 'trying' to look pretty - LOL}

My mom is special because she's kind to me.

I like it when my mom tucks me in to bed.

My mom's favorite food is chinese food. {yep that's one of my top faves, it's a close tie with Mexican & Italian}

If my mom could have anything she wanted, she would probably have 4 children. {she said she put that answer because we already have 4 kids}

At church, all the primary kids got up in Sacrament meeting to sing a couple songs for the Moms. This is one of my favorite times at church! Even if they're not singing or don't remember the words, the fact that they get up there and smile back at me - awwwww just melts my heart!

The talks during Sacrament meeting were Awesome!! Especially Jaime's talk all about being a Mom! You Rock Jaime!!!

They got subs for us in primary, so we could go to Relief Society. It was AMAZING being with all the wonderful ladies and the lesson was incredible!

The kids also made these cute cards at church:

Ashley & Anson made some too, but they were cards that you wrote something inside about your Mom. Ashley said she likes that I have brown hair just like her. Then she drew a picture of me, I think with blue hair & brown eyes! heee heee

Oh my goodness! They totally spoiled us at church! Not only did we get the sweet cards from the kids, but this is what they gave all of us too. A super delicious cookie from Sweet Cakes {a family in our ward owns it}, caramel/chocolate dipped pretzel, primary cookbook {kids wrote the recipes with the 'real' recipe attached, bookmark & sweet quote to hang on fridge.

Ok, so I broke my almost 2 weeks of 'no treats' diet and had a couple bites of the cookie & pretzel. Shared the rest with the fam. Could you resist those?

After church, we went to visit Ben's Mom. Ben picked out an apple scented flameless candle (takes batteries) & cute mug {both from Real Deals} for his mom.

She loved them both!
Ben & his Mom

Ben made fabulous BBQ Chicken & baked potatoes for dinner. My parents came by {and brought yummy fresh corn on the cob already cooked & hot for us to have with our dinner} and I gave my Mom her gift.

I found the delicious White Cheddar popcorn seasoning {she loves getting this topping at Harkins movie theaters}, white & yellow popcorn kernels, popcorn bowl & $15 GC for Hollywood Video.

ME & my Mom

I love my Mom so much! She is the BESTEST Mom!!! Thank you Mom for always being there & all that you have taught me!

It was a fantastic weekend! Hope you had a good one too!