Summer Movie Fun

TODAY was the first day! Getting up early was a little hard (ok very difficult). I was so tired from being out late last night & only got a couple hours of sleep. So, I told the kids to get dressed, eat, brush their teeth & hair, then I would get up & throw myself together so we could get out the door.

Thanks to Allison (you're awesome!) we had a row of seats saved at the theater when we got there. Actually our big group had 3 rows together. It was like a big party!! Lots of people I know were there with all their kids. It was noisy, crowded, hectic, a little chaotic, but turned out to be actually quite perfect! I mean, if the theater is full of kids, then it doesn't matter if mine are a little wiggly or noisy because pretty much all of them were that way! We blended quite well. I was very proud of my kiddos - they were very quiet, sat still, and enjoyed the movie "Veggie Tales - the Pirates Who Do Nothing" (I think that was the title). It was one they hadn't seen before, so they were very enthused about it. It was a cute movie, but I have to admit my eyelids grew heavy and closed for short spans of the ending. Oh, the kids also were excited to use their points to get a box of candy from the grab bag this morning to bring to the theater. So, they happily munched on that during the movie. Nathaniel decided to save his points for a sleepover at Grandma's house tonight. (and I used my Mother's Day Ulta 'gift w/ purchase' big pink purse to carry all our goodies - it worked wonderfully!)

Now the kids canNOT wait til next week!! This should be a good summer! I'm excited :)

Dinner & a Movie

Last night was our Girls Night Out!! I've been a part of this group for a long time and for the first time, I planned the evening! ha ha. How was I ever sneaky enough to get out of it all this time? I dunno.

Anyway it went great! Since this is the first week of summer break, lots of people are gone or busy, so our group was a little small in numbers but it was still a bunch of FUN!!

We went to Chili's for dinner. Sharlesa and I split the Boneless Buffalo Chicken Salad (w/o the bacon & bleu cheese - yuck), so that we could each get a dessert.

I hardly ever get dessert when we're out because I'm too full from my meal. I ordered the Chocolate Chip Paradise Pie (warm, chewy bar layered with chocolate chips, walnuts and coconut - topped with vanilla ice cream and drizzled with hot fudge and caramel). It was DELICIOUS!!! Well, just look at it. Mmmm makes me hungry just lookin' at it.

Then we went to Marshall's for about 15 minutes at closing time, just to take a quick peek. Chatted outside the store for a little while, then we raced over to the theater just in time to watch Made of Honor.

We laughed so hard, it was hilarious & flippin' awesome!!! We LOVE this movie!! Again, we chatted outside for a while, and got home really late (or is it considered early when it's into the next day??).

THANKS LADIES - I had a FABULOUS night!!

Family Circus

My Mom cut this out & gave it to me because she said she thought of me when she saw it.

Awwww I LOVE it!! Who doesn't love Family Circus? Also, I totally AGREE!!! I have 4 kids and with each kid, my heart just gets bigger & makes more room for lots of LOVE!

Thanks Mom!

Digi-Scrap SALE

40+ NEW PRODUCTS at DSO TODAY!!! Many of them are on SALE!!!

You can click on this picture to see it bigger. Several of the kits are from the new designers! WOOHOO! And they are BEAUTIFUL!!! I think there might be a freebie, too!

Click HERE to head over to the shop!

You can also check out the DSO Designers' blogs:

Beth
Boo
Bunny
Darlene
Doodle
Joy
KimB
Livia
LJCrochet
Luisa
Lynn
Melanie Ann
Mindi
Nikki
Sherrie
Teriann
Tina

They may have some freebies to sample too!

I was so SURPRISED...

when I received this from Sueli Colbert! Thank you!

You're such a Sweetie! ((Big Hugs))

Here are a few blogs that I LOVE:

Julie

(of course, she always makes me laugh)
Tammy

Jen

Crystal

Tanja

KimB

Bunny

Have a HAPPY DAY & keep on Bloggin' cuz I love reading your blogs!!!

Well, It Happened...

One of our lizards died last night. Anson wanted to play with the 'boy' lizard, so he took it out of the bug container and Felicia came to us all upset. She said that Anson must've squeezed him too tight because he was DEAD! It was already pretty stiff, so Ben said it wasn't Anson's fault but it was already dead for a little while. When Nathaniel heard the news, he got choked up. These are his little buddies. He was really sad. So sad that suddenly he didn't want to come out for dinner! He came out a few minutes later with tears in his eyes. I gave him a BIG HUG and told him it wasn't anyone's fault. These things just happen. It must have been 'his time' to return to heaven. He's so compassionate about his 'little friends.'

Since the 'girl' lizard was still alive and fine, we decided it was time to let her go. Nathaniel found a good spot for her in our front yard. We have other geckos living in our river rocks, so that's where he put her - to find more friends.

Nathaniel just went out front to check on his 'friend' and he found her right away. He said that she must really like that spot!

He's SO SWEET & CUTE!!

They're Gone...Again

My SIL, Heather, and Trevor left today. (They've been staying with us the past 3 months.) We had our final weekend together. It was fun. My MIL came over on Friday to hang out all afternoon & stayed to have dinner with us. She came again on Saturday with my other SIL, Joy, and her daughters. They hung out with us all afternoon & we even made Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies!! Yummm :) It was funny because every time I barely placed the cookies on the cooling rack...they were gone in about 2 seconds!

Heather and I watched "27 Dresses" Friday night and "Mad Money" last night.

It was sad to see all their belongings packed up. Ben took them to the airport early this morning. He parked so he could help her carry their suitcases (usually we just do the curb drop-off). They each had 2 suitcases, Trevor had his backpack, Heather had a carry-on bag & her purse. I think Trevor's suitcases were around 30 lbs each, Heather's was in the 40's and her 2nd one was just over 50 lbs (so of course she had to pay the $25 fee).

I hate "Goodbyes" so we tried to do it quickly this morning. We both cried so much last time we had to do this, so I was NOT looking forward to our last minutes.

She called this afternoon to let us know that they arrived safely!

I'm glad that we got to spend so much time together! We had some good times! We will miss you, Heather & Trevor!!!

It's cool outside

See, here's our new Atomic Clock. We had one like this before, but it apparently got lost in the move. Not really sure. Anyway here's our new one. See it has the Indoor Temp (left) and the Outdoor Temp (right). It's cooler outside than inside!! I think it's nice outside! YAY for the rain to cool us off!!

SCHOOL'S OUT

...for summer!!! (although yesterday & today don't feel like summer... we went from the 90's last weekend & jumped up to 110 this week, then down to 50's and raining yesterday! as Anson would say...What the Heck??? LOL)

Woohooo!!!!

I have been looking forward to the kids being done with school. I really like summer break with the kids! It's fun to all be together, plus I don't have to make anymore sack lunches, make sure they have their folders in their backpacks & their clothes laid out before they hop into bed! We tend to stay up a little later and sleep in! YAY!!

We're doing Summer Movie Fun for the first time. My kids are getting really excited about that! Plus I think we're going to take advantage of the free lunches at participating schools (for the month of June). That way the kids will feel like they get to 'eat out' during the week.

We will start our point system on Monday. Wanted to start today, but I want to just let everyone chill for a couple days. I also need to add a few items to my list and then print it out. Yesterday, I went to Teaching Tools (at Gilbert/Southern) & bought Summer Bridge Activity books for each of the kids. That way they can do one page (front & back) each day to help review what they learned this year and then some of it is a preview for next school year. (My VT - Tina - told me about these awesome books) I also got them each cool new pencils. They love that stuff! :)

If you want to see MORE ideas for Summer, check out Julie's blog.

BIG NEWS!!!

I've been dying to spill the beans!

I have some exciting news to share!!!

I just got accepted as a new Designer for one of my fave scrapbooking sites - DSO!!!

I don't have anything in my store yet. Still trying to figure out all the info, but hopefully I can whip up something soon!

Congratulations to the other wonderful ladies that got accepted too:

Beth, Boo, Doodle, Livia & RCMama

BTW - DSO's store has new items every Thursday!! So you should check out what they have!!!

These ladies are AWESOME & I'm stoked to be working with such a fabulous team!!!

What Does Your Name Mean??

I saw this on Julie's blog. Here's mine:

What Andrea Means

You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection. You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive. You have the classic "Type A" personality. You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people. You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts. You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals. You are balanced, orderly, and organized. You like your ducks in a row. You are powerful and competent, especially in the workplace. People can see you as stubborn and headstrong. You definitely have a dominant personality. You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something. You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense. You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun. You are friendly, charming, and warm. You get along with almost everyone. You work hard not to rock the boat. Your easy going attitude brings people together. At times, you can be a little flaky and irresponsible. But for the important things, you pull it together.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

Grocery Savings

Do you check the weekly grocery sale ads? I didn't used to, but I definitely do now. Meat, milk, cheese, cereal, & more have gotten so expensive! I try to only buy some of these items on sale if I can.

Anyway, I used to get these incredible emails that would highlight some of the main grocery items on sale at the major grocery stores (in AZ) for that week. Then it also had recipes & menu ideas according to what was on sale. Well, suddenly my emails stopped due to the high volume requests. So, they started a new website with all the valuable information. I forgot about the site and just found it today. WOW! It's amazing!

It also has info regarding 3-month Food Storage.

The First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has counseled us to, “Build a small supply of food that is part of your normal, daily diet. One way to do this is to purchase a few extra items each week to build a one-week supply of food. Then you can gradually increase your supply until it is sufficient for three months. These items should be rotated regularly to avoid spoilage.” All is Safely Gathered In: Family Home Storage, 2007

The site is called Sister Savings. (I also added the link in my sidebar - the fancy smiley face!)

Silly Cousins

Yep...Another layout! WOW! Another entry today too! I'm on a roll. LOL

I know, I haven't posted in a week, then I post 6 times in one day!! Aren't YOU lucky?! ha ha

Anson still isn't feeling well, so I've been helping him & hanging out scrapping! Finally! I've been dying to get some done.

{Oh, and Mom, thanks for the special creme for Anson!}

Heather was asking for a layout with Trevor & the kids.

They're leaving early Sunday morning, so she wants to be able to take a few pics with them.

I like these fun pictures of them being SILLY!

You really get to see more of their personality *shine*

{Credits HERE}

Do you know...

Garrett Tanner from Mesa, AZ?? He graduated from Mtn View High School in 2006. My Dad just told me about his story. WOW!

Pretty much, he's 20 years old and a gymnast. Also teaches gymnastics at Desert Devils Gymnastics in Mesa. Well, he taught until last year. November 2007, he was practicing with some other coaches...doing front flips off the trampoline & landing on the mats. Anyway, about the 11th time he did it, he landed on his forehead and his body was limp. Long story short, he damaged his C5 vertebrae and is paralyzed from the neck down. Well, he has a little movement in his arms, but not really in his hands or fingers. He just started some intense therapy at a place called ProjectWalk in CA and is hoping to eventually WALK again!!

You can find out more about him on his blog - GoGarrett.

Last Week Randoms & Pics

Watched "P.S. I Love You" a few days ago with Heather. It was good, but very sad. I couldn't stop crying. I just kept thinking about how I would feel if Ben died. I would want to curl up & die too. When Ben asked me about the movie, I got choked up & teary-eyed again. Dang it! So, ok movie, but won't watch again.
Alrighty, Felicia lost another tooth! Umm, I think it was the Friday night before Mother's Day. She went to bed too late that night (the boys were gone, so we stayed up & had fun too), so she had to wait until Saturday night for the Tooth Fairy! She raked it in because it was one of her silver-crown teeth. Tooth Fairy brought her a whole dollar!! She also wrote a note & would you believe it - the Tooth Fairy wrote her back! What a sweet fairy!

I have a few Father/Son campout pics, well my Dad has the majority of them (since they're on his camera). I only took before & after ones. Anyway, here are a few new buddies in our house. Nathaniel caught these Fence Lizards while camping. Aren't they CUTE? I love lizards!! The one on the left is the female (it has a yellow throat) and the one standing is the male (it has a blue tummy, but you can't see it very well in this pic).
Here's Felicia holding the she-lizard.
Nathaniel playing with the boy lizard. He put it on his nose earlier & one of his hind toenails curled inside his nose. Said it was very tickly! ha ha

Here's Ben playing with Pepper. Sometimes Pepper wants to be a lap dog, so Ben will pick him up & let him rest on his lap. Aren't they cute together?
Awww Pepper loves Daddy! Time for kisses! LOL
Oh yah, Nathaniel & Felicia had their monumentous book report & project due last week. Whew! Glad that's finally over. They each finished their books in April, but had the hardest time focusing on their written reports. It ends up being down to the wire and lots of stress & not happy voices trying to get them done. Last quarter they each received 100% for their reports (written & oral). We were so proud of them!

Nathaniel did his "commercial" report & says he did good.

(I'm sure he got a good grade too, still waiting to see the grading sheet.)

Felicia did her biography on Amelia Earhart. Her teacher let us know when she was scheduled, so I could go see her. She did GREAT! And she came home with 100% AWESOME!!

Last but not least...had a super FUN time at bunko last week. I WON most bunkos {I had 4}!!! See my darling prize!! It's hanging on my wall in the hallway. I LOVE it. Thanks Jen!!

Yesterday morning, Anson woke up with what looked like ant bites, so I put some CamphoPhenique on the bites to soothe them. After church, he got undressed and it turns out to be HIVES!!! Nope, can't figure out why! He has them ALL over his body! But poor li'l guy! He's red, blotchy, swollen & super itchy!! Ben & my Dad gave him a Priesthood Blessing last night. And I've been giving him Benadryl and homeopathic remedies. All I know is that I had hives 3 times in my life, once as a toddler, once when I was 14 (day before a school dance) and then again a few years ago when I was living in TX. Each time I could NEVER figure out why! Went thru all my food, soaps, etc trying to see if I had something new that was causing the allergic reaction. But I always had them a few days up to a week. So, I totally know what Anson's going thru. Thank goodness he's not too fussy. He seems to be ok, just very itchy. But it comes & goes. He's been a real trooper!

What the heck is F-11?

I'll tell you...and NO it's not the shortcut key on your keyboard.

It means that my 3 year old Whirlpool frontloader washing machine is malfunctioning! Apparently there are 3 control boards and my MAIN control board was on the fritz! Yep, very expensive to repair. My washer was going out - well I kept getting a weird beep and "F-11" would flash on the panel during the cycles. My washer would stop and I'd have to try to cancel the cycle and restart it or try to finish where it left off. After a couple days it just got worse. So, we had to stop doing laundry and finally called for repair/service. The guy showed up last week, Tuesday, around 6:15pm (of course my schedule time was somewhere between 8-5). Well, he took a look at it, tested a few things, and then let me know about the problem. Ok, so how do we fix it??? Well, he needed to come back Saturday with the part to fix it. WHAT?!!! He made a call to his boss and changed the time (turns out he's my neighbor - like across the street, and didn't want me to be upset with him) to Thursday evening. Ok, again what does EVENING mean to you? He had training all that day and stopped by on his way home - around 5:45pm. He installed the part in less than half an hour. Whew! But then I had to pay him. Yikes! It was a LOT!! But still less than buying a new one.

I'm glad it's finally fixed, but this is what I was doing ALL DAY Wednesday! How? I was taking loads to my wonderfully generous MOM's house and using her washer, then bringing the load home to dry. Luckily she lives so close, but it was very tiring doing that all day. {we had a mountain of dirty clothes, not to mention towels and girls sheets - Ashley wet the bed 2 days in a row! ugh!} Thank you Mom for letting me use your washer!!!

So, now you know...F-11...NOT GOOD! For those of you who have frontloaders, hope yours are working great! And if you're thinking of getting one - you might want to consider the extended warranty. We never get those! Maybe next time! Although, I have one friend who's had hers for over 6 years and never had one single problem. You just never know, huh?!!

Heather Jean - FREEBIE

YAY! It's that time of the month again - the DSO Color Challenge!!! I finally finished my kit. And I named it after my Sister-in-Law, Heather.

"Heather Jean"

Kit contains:

20 Papers

40 Elements

(not all elements shown)

3 Bows

3 Brads

2 Glitter Butterflies

5 Buttons

1 Felt Flower

8 Flowers

1 Flower Cluster

1 Flower Swirl Doodle

1 Stamped Frame

1 Stapled Frame

1 Chipboard Frame

1 Stamped Photo Corner

1 Kite Doodle

1 Kite Cluster Doodle

1 Leaf

3 Tied Ribbons

2 Glitter Spirals

1 Gemstone Swirl

3 Glitter Swirls

Here's a layout using the kit:

Here's the links for downloading:

Papers

Elements

{Personal Use Only}

If you download, please leave a comment. I would also LOVE to see anything you've created!

* * HAPPY SCRAPPING * *

Waiting

When we went to see "Iron Man" we had to wait for the theater to open. So, the kids played in the water! Heather and I told them not to get too wet, but c'mon they're kids...they're going to get wet. At least mine would anyway. Nathaniel got a little too wet. He had to sit in the sun a few minutes trying to dry his shorts. ha ha Felicia's hair got wet, too. Oh well, they were having FUN!

I used Sueli Colbert's "Kit Day of Spring"
You can also see it HERE

Krispy Kreme

Just re-opened at the Superstition Springs Mall location!!!! TODAY!!!

Ben went & waited in a long line (for a very long time - almost an hour) to get us some of these!

Isn't he the BEST??

YES!!!

They were warm & mmmmm soooo gooood!!

Haven't had any since the store closed down a while back (I'm thinking like at least a year)!

When he finally got out of the store, someone even offered to buy the donuts from him. HA! Nope, they're not for sale, sucka! LOL :) He knew I'd be very sad if he didn't come home with any. What a sweet, sweet man!! I already ate TWO. Trying to save some for the kids when they get home from school.

{we got 2 dozen glazed & 1 dozen chocolate iced creme filled}

Mother's Day Pics

Hope your Mother's Day was Good! I had a wonderful day!

I finally uploaded the pictures from my camera (apparently, I hadn't uploaded for 2 weeks).

Here's what my SWEET kiddos got me - Sung perfume! I love this (well my absolute fave is Opium, but I just ran out of this - one of my top faves).

Here's the "gift with purchase" that came with it. An awesome pretty pink purse! I'm thinking "Summer Movie Fun" treat bag! tee hee :) I can fit my purse plus lots of goodies inside of it. LOL
Me & the kids
I love how this one turned out!
Awwww me & my honey
In the afternoon, we visited Ben's Mom to deliver her cards & present.
(Heather, Ben, Joy & their Mom)

Grandma & some of her adoring grandkids.
Ben cooked me a fabulous dinner - Grilled Chicken, Wild Rice & Broccoli. Mmmm! It was delicious!! Thank you bunches!!

After dinner, we walked to my parents' house (w/ the dogs) to deliver her cards & present.

Me & My MOM!! (She's the BESTEST)

The Law of the Garbage Truck

{My friend, Patsy, send this to me. It's a good way to live.}

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport .

We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches!

The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us.

My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly. So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!'

This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'
He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment.

As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you.

Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on.

Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home or on the streets.
The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day.

Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so..... 'Love the people who treat you right.. Pray for the ones who don't. Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

Hope all YOU mothers are having a GOOD day!!! Sometimes I feel like I over-hype this day & my kids still quarrel a little (ok the normal amount) and I have to strongly urge them to stop playing around & get ready for early morning church, but in the end, my kids all shower me with sweet homemade & store-bought cards, lots of hugs & kisses and TONS of "I Love You's"!!

Today at church, they had men (who weren't already teaching) volunteer to help out with the classes taught by women, so that all the ladies could go to the adult classes. Ben taught my class for me. {Thank you Honey!!}

Oh and the kids in Primary filled out a little questionnaire about their Moms. Apparently, my kids aren't quite sure if I'm 32 or 23. {a little hint - neither one is right, but one is close} They all knew my eyes are brown, 3 guessed red is my fave color, but Felicia guessed pink. {they're both right} They all love my cooking and love spending time with me! YAY!! Guess I'm doing something right. :)

Sunday School was good & Relief Society was AWESOME!! As we walked into Relief Society (class for ladies 18+), we received HUGE muffins (the kind you get from Sam's Club). I got the chocolate/choc chip one. Mmmm! The whole room full of wonderful ladies and an incredibe lesson - all about being women & moms! A few people also told us about a mom or aunt or grandma who influenced or touched their lives in some way. Lots of inspiring quotes & stories! I was teary-eyed for part of it.

Here's a few of the quotes that I got from class:

"I felt humbled...but I also felt great joy."

"Children...pearls of great price."

"Example...stronger than words."

"When troubles come...and they will!
When challenges mount...and they will!"

"I learned that day that my self-esteem could not be dependent on my children."
{this was from a funny story about a mom asking her grumpy son to name 3 things that he likes about his mom. He came up with 2 easily but 3 was hard. ha ha}

"...blissfully normal!"
{this was about how sometimes we look at other people at their best & compare them to ourselves at our worst. In a story, a few ladies had chatted after church and actually realized that they are all normal}

"I'm glad Sister Nelson has not tried to be a "supermom."
But she has been a "soothing" mom.
This she has done simply by being herself."
-Elder Russell M. Nelson

"To My Children"
You are the trip I did not take;
You are the pearls I cannot buy;
You are my blue Italian lake;
You are my piece of foreign sky.
- Anne Campbell

"To be a righteous woman is a glorious thing in any age. To be a righteous woman during the winding up scenes on this earth, before the second coming of our Savior, is an especially n oble calling. The righteous woman's strength & influence today can be tenfold what it might be in more tranquil times. She has been placed here to help enrich, to protect, and to guard the home."

- President Spencer W. Kimball

"Each of you is a daughter of God. Reflect on all the wondrous meaning of that one paramount fact. He who is our Eternal Father has blessed you with miraculous powers of mind & body. What marvelous potential lies within you. By divine design, women are blessed with nurturing instincts."
-President Gordon B. Hinckley


All I can say is WOW! Can you see why I might have had a tear or two? The women in our ward are truly inspiring & amazing & blissfully normal! I love all of them! Thanks ladies for this wonderful lesson & words of wisdom!

I enjoy being a MOM (most days anyway)! I LOVE & CHERISH all of our kids. I couldn't imagine my life without any of them! They bring life (and chaos) to the house! I wouldn't want it any other way {well maybe a little more peaceful on some days, but hey, I'm not complaining}! I'm grateful that I'm blessed with 4 wonderful children! {Ben took a few pics of us after church, one of them has to turn out, so I'll post them later}

I want to add that I LOVE & really appreciate my MOM and Mother-in-law. My Mom has always been there for me no matter what!! She's the BESTEST MOM in the whole WORLD!!! Thank you for being my Mom & my Best Friend!!! I LOVE YOU!!!

Mother's Day Mega-Kit

Oh my! I just downloaded a gorgeous FREE Mother's Day Mega Kit by the Sunshine Girls!

Here's a little peak at what's inside!!

If you would like to grab it - go HERE!! Be sure to leave comments to let them know how much you appreciate their talent & kindness!

Random Ramblings

Ok, first off - I didn't win the fabulous giveaway that Julie was having. Oh well, I guess I can't win everything. ha ha. Congrats to the gals who did win!

Oh my, can't believe it's been a week since I last posted (for real).

Last weekend was Trevor's (my nephew) Birthday. We went to see IRON MAN on Saturday!!! Which totally ROCKED!!! (if you happen to go see it, make sure you wait for ALL the credits to roll because there's one more short scene at the end) Then went to the park for his bday party! We cooked hot dogs, ate cake, played, and got to see a duck with 6 baby ducklings. SO CUTE!!! Ashley insisted I take pictures. Those will come later. This post will not include any pics, maybe tomorrow.

Sunday began with early church. Later we went to Ben's Mom's house so Ben could give her a priesthood blessing. Monday she had to go have a heart catheter to check one of her heart's arteries. If that wasn't going well, then she would need open heart surgery for another bypass (she had one 13 yrs ago). Turns out she had a clogged artery, so they inserted a stent. So far this week she seems to be doing ok. Whew!!! Hopefully this will continue to help her.

Tuesday, the kids had their ice cream social - which translates to the student council selling popsicles & ice cream bars after school. So, being the super nice mom that I am, I took all the kids plus my nephew (that's 5 total) and bought them all ice cream bars. They were in heaven!

Wednesday, Nathaniel woke up with a fever of 101.2. Poor guy, so he stayed home that day. He got a little hotter in the evening and was up to 102 by Thursday morning. So he was home for 2 days, then it finally dropped down to 99 Thursday afternoon. YAY!!

Oh, Wednesday after school, Ashley had the funniest meltdown. I know funny & meltdown don't really go in the same sentence, but it was so crazy that it was hilarious!! When I got home from picking up Trevor, Felicia & Ashley were next door on their bikes just sitting in front of their mailbox. I told them to come home. Felicia came home, but Ashley started screaming for her to come back. Ben came out & told Felicia to come back. Ashley kept screaming, "I WANT FELICIA!! I WANT FELICIA!!! AT THE MAILBOX!!" Totally ridiculous & I didn't know what was going on. Ben was trying to talk to Felicia & Ashley, but she still kept screaming "I WANT FELICIA!!!" (fyi - Ashley likes to be the line leader of the pack, so I thought maybe Felicia had passed her up) Nope, Ashley wanted Felicia to go back to school with her and then come back home. (another fyi - Ashley has some OCD tendencies) She wanted to do the ride home over again. Suddenly, she turned her bike around and started to pedal away. Of course, while screaming "I WANT FELICIA!!!" I thought she was going to try to go back to the school by herself. Felicia was giggling and walking back to the house. Then all of a sudden, Ashley turned her bike around and started peddaling as fast as she could (red face, sweaty stringy hair) and still shouting "I WANT FELICIA!!!" Ben had to yell "FELICIA get out of the way!!!" Ben & I were giggling the whole time. We thought Ashley was going to run her over. ha ha. She rode down the sidewalk right passed her (as Felicia hopped out of the way) and up the driveway to the carport to park her bike. Then she hopped off the bike and ran into the house to her room & slammed her door shut. We couldn't stop laughing, she was just so ridiculous that it was flippin' hilarious!

Ben went in to talk to Ashley to see what had happened. She said that she wanted to talk to Felicia. So Felicia came in her room to talk. Ashley stretched out her legs and used them to grab Felicia's legs pulling her closer. She did it again trying to bring her closer. Then she said "Closer." Ashley grabbed Felicia's head and brought her ear close to her and said "I HATE YOU!"
{ok that was really bad, but when Ben told me about it & showed me what she was doing, I busted out laughing!}

Later she calmed down & apologized to us for her horrible 'brat fit.' (that's what I call it) I asked her if she really meant what she told Felicia. She said "yes." I said "You hate her?" She said "NO, I told her I was sorry." Then she broke down crying because she knew her behavior was awful. I told her that she can't behave that way, it's unacceptable.

Ok, on to Thursday, Ben went to work, Nathaniel & Anson were home. I also babysat for Alicia's little boy Tate. He is such a CUTIE!! Anson was asleep when he arrived, then woke up when Tate had gone into his room. He came running out all excited and said "Mommy, my friend is here?!" He played with him and kept telling me "Mom, this little guy...." It was so funny!! So, Alicia if you're reading this, I will watch him anytime!! He was great!! He loved playing with our dogs. He would pet them and say "woof!"

We also had pack mtg that night. Loads of fun! We made hot dog sticks. We had a wooden dowel & a long welding rod - put them together and it's perfect for cooking a hot dog & marshmallows over a fire! That's what we had too. Yummy on the marshmallows, but icky on the hot dogs. I don't like them. But everyone else had hot dogs & loved them. The kids had a blast!

Also, Nathaniel has finished everything he needs to receive his Bear award in cub scouts!! He'll probably get that at the next pack mtg in June. WOOHOO!! Plus one gold arrow! YAY!! His birthday is next month so he'll be a Webelo! He's really excited!

This is also Father/Son campout weekend. It is the FIRST for Ben and the boys! He took Nathaniel & Anson (and my Dad). And they're going fishing in the stream tomorrow!

Today was also the "Egg Nest Drop" for Nathaniel & Felicia at school. Ben helped them make theirs and both of their eggs survived!! It was fun seeing friends there because it was the whole 3rd grade. It also took a while. So many interesting "nests." Also, most of the kids' eggs survived. Only a few actually broke. Genius parents, I say. LOL :)

When the boys left this morning (we took Nathaniel out of school shortly after the egg drop), my Mom and I went to lunch - at Subway. Then shopping at Bath & Body Works! Antibacterial soaps only 5 for $10. WOW!! I got a few. To stockup. Everyone needs soap, right?

Then we walked around a bit at Domestic Bliss aka Blissful Living. They're having sign-ups for some great classes right now! And tomorrow too! Go check it out! Cami's teaching a couple classes too. SUPER CUTE STUFF!!

We also took the kids to their school's Book Fair and got them a few good books to read over the summer. Then being the awesome Mom & Grandma, we took the kids to Circle K to get $1 icees.

I'm getting pizza & root beer for the rest of us at home! I also made S'mores (using Golden Grahams cereal). And we're going to watch a couple movies!!

Ok, this was incredibly long, mostly just for me to document my week. And if you got thru ALL OF THIS - you are a true friend. just kidding. You must just be incredibly bored. ha ha

Hope you had a wonderful week & fabulous weekend!!!!

Contest/Giveaway

Let me clarify...I'm not having a contest, I'm participating in a contest.

My good friend - crazymamaof6 - is having a contest on her blog! Bad news is I'm really late joining because she's ending it at Noon AZ time today! So that's like in a couple minutes. Anyway, if you want to squeak in and join - go to her blog to comment.

She's hosting a giveaway for Moonvine Organics. They have really awesome natural lotions & scented oils.

If you don't have time or don't want to join in the giveaway, you should still check out Moonvine Organics because their products are great & the prices are fabulous too!!

What is a 710?

{the following is a joke - too funny not to share}

A few days ago I was having some work done at my local garage.
A blonde came in and asked for a seven-hundred-ten.
We all looked at each other and another customer asked, "What is a seven-hundred-ten?"

She replied, "You know, the little piece in the middle of the engine, I have lost it and need a new one."

She replied that she did not know exactly what it was, but this piece had always been there.

The mechanic gave her a piece of paper and a pen and asked her to draw what the piece looked like.

She drew a circle and in the middle of it wrote 710.

He then took her over to another car which had its hood up and asked, "Is there a 710 on this car?"

She pointed and said, "Of course, its right there."

If you're not sure what a 710 is Click Here

Squeezed in Some Scrappin'

YAY!! I've been dying to do some scrapbook layouts. Plus, I'm a little behind on my CT responsibilities. Oops! I finally got a couple pages done. Love these newest kits!

This was taken on our family hike during spring break.

{Everything is from Sueli's "Kit You"}

Here's the kit preview:

Ben & his Mom, pic taken on Easter Sunday

{Everything from Sueli's newest design "Kit Mother's Day"}

Here's the kit preview:

I just love the colors she chooses. And Sueli has exciting news - she just opened her own shop! You can see it HERE. She also has a couple freebies available & everything's on sale right now! View the gallery for some ideas too!