Goin' Retro Style

It's been 21 years since I spent any significant amount of time with one of my most dear childhood friend... until Monday.

Eve, Nicci, and I had a great time at lunch. It was such fun seeing them again: it really brought back memories. Although Nicci and I have had an on-and-off contact for all the years between our mega-sleepovers and hours of hanging out to the present, Eve and I have not. Life took us in different directions, and for reasons we don't fully understand we lost contact with one another.

It's always such a joy spending time with Nicci: she and I were often teased by our parents that we were together so much that we were actually sisters. I have so many fond memories of my childhood, and the majority of them include her. Ah... chocolate wedding bells, M&M's, sleep-overs, school, home made "Cabbage Patch" dolls, McDonalds, walking all over town...

I've thought of Eve often over the past 21 years. It was surreal spending time with her again! It's nuts to me that so very much time has passed; it makes me feel old. I recall 6th grade in Miss Mickelson's class... oh, we were naughty girls! I remember rearranging desks, drawing when/where we shouldn't have, snacks, giggling, Tiffany tapes, leaf factory... oh, Eve! How I've missed you.

Another unexpected thing that has come about this week is a renewed love for my friends past and present. I have a deeper love and appreciation for them, and want more than anything to spend time with them and show them my thanks. Thank you for being there for me in the brightest times, in health, in happiness, and in joy. More than that, thank you for being there in the darkest, toughest, sick, and sad times. Thank you for sharing with me your joys, struggles, happiness, heart ache, and life.

I feel that one of the greatest things we can do in this life is make connections with others. Building relationships is key to happiness in this life. Renewing old friendships, building new friendships, and developing existing friendships make life colorful and happy.

Congratulations are in Order!

Congratulations to my cutie pie niece, Megan! She had her darling baby girl early this morning. I can hardly wait to hold her (yes, both "hers") and offer my joy in person.

Spoiled Rotten

I am being spoiled rotten. That's just the truth. You see, I have amazing family and friends who keep giving me stuff to get ready for the big arrival of Peanut.
Tiffanie provided me with just about all my maternity clothes for the first several months of my known pregnancy. I am so grateful for her generosity and help! I've loved the clothes, and feel so blessed to have you in my life. I hope I haven't stretched them out... Melissa sent me maternity clothes that will work perfectly for the last trimester. Yeah, it's been great being able to use these darling clothes from my cute sisters! Thanks, Ladies!

Melissa has been a busy woman: she also made three darling bracelets for Peanut (and a matching one for Dot), the cutest "diaper rags" (not at all fitting for how cute they are), burpees, and my new favorite favorite blanket--the taggie blankie. As if that were not enough to make me giddy forever, she also made a cutie pie outfit for Peanut and bought several others for her. I know that thanks to fabulous ladies like her, Peanut will be one styling baby!

Thanks a bazillion!

p.s. Sorry the pictures are kinda dark. I'm not too bright myself right now!

Wakko's Comments For The Day

I am happy that I started to read "The Chronicles of Narnia". My brother told me that it is a good book, so I got inspired to read it.
I am reading "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" and next I am going to read "Prince Caspian" and go on reading when the movies come out.

What Is That?

This video really touched me... and Dot.

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday, Kimberlina Ballerina!

Today is my "baby" sister's Birthday! She has always been one of my all-time-favorite people ever, and I am so glad she is my sister.

I love that Kim is so happy right now. You see, life isn't always easy, but Karma works: good things happen to good people.

Some of my favorite things about Kim are:
her cute smile
her amazing dance talents
her funny laugh
the way she plays games
the amazingly fabulous sugar cookies that she makes
the fact that she knows she is our parents' "favorite"

Happy Birthday, Kim! I love you to pieces!

Dancer of the Week!

Dot was given the honor of being the "Dancer of the Week" in her ballet class. We're so proud of her accomplishments, hard work, and dedicated spirit. She is a wonderful "pre-teen", and it is our family's honor to have her a part of us!

Congratulations and we love you!

Silly, Silly, Silly!

What a hoot! It's tough because so many of my buddies are doing this... pick and choose!

This is a crazy-fun tag, that I hope you'll get as a big a kick out of as I did....

Here's how it works: The first five people to leave me a comment get something made by me just for them. It can be anything I want, I get to choose. It can be silly or serious, edible or not, but don't plan on anything alive. There are a few rules involved (aren't there always?):

1- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2- What I create will be just for you.
3- It will be done sometime this year (Don't expect grand things if it takes a long time. I'm just lazy!).
4- You have no clue what it's going to be. (The choice is mine! --insert evil laugh here--)
5- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange and/or silly.

The catch is that you must re-post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they've posted on their blog win a hand made, super creative, possibly lovely whatever in the heck I decide! Be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!

(yes, I copied and pasted directly from Patti's blog...I'm that lazy right now.)

Happy Valentine's Day!

I am a hopeless romantic.

There, I said it.

I am madly, passionately, deeply, and understandably in love with my husband!

Yesterday I had a fun "girls' lunch" with some of my adorable friends, and amidst the chaos of the day, he surprised me with one dozen of the most beautiful roses I've ever seen. See:


Yes, I melted into a giant glob of goo.

And cried.

Sometimes I feel guilty about talking about him so much, but the truth of the matter is that I don't know how or why I ever got the honor of being his wife: I'm just so glad that I did! He is everything to me, and means more to me than I could possibly ever have known. I know that the trials and struggles that I've experienced have made me appreciate him more, but even still, I don't show him enough. If it were possible to find a perfect way to tell him how much I love him, I would do it without hesitation! I guess the way I've chosen to show him my love is to announce it publicly via my blog.

Thank you, my sweet heart. Thank you for loving me without condition or hesitation. Thank you for being so kind and patient with me. Thank you for being our kids' daddy. Thank you for giving me the honor of being connected to you for Eternity. I love you deeper, more intensely, more truly than I ever knew possible. As the years pass, I can't help but find myself even more in love with you than before! I can't imagine my life without you, and hope (and pray!!!!) that I never will. You are my True Love. Thank you for letting me live the real life of a story book complete with the most charming Prince ever! I adore you, I love you, I honor you.

With all my heart,
~me

Family Photos!

We had our family photos taken by Remember4Ever. All I can say is that it was the best experience we've ever had taking family pictures. Please prepare yourself for our quirky personalities, which they captured perfectly!

If this doesn't show our wacky side, nothing will! It's our tribute to "American Gothic". The hardest part (BY FAR!) was keeping from laughing!
Here's another tribute to "American Gothic". I love the angle.
Here's my favorite pre-teen beauty queen, Dot...
This pic of Yakko melts my heart.
I think this pic captures Wakko's personality PERFECTLY!
Here's a pic of my cutie pie punks!

Her-i-kun

My sweetie had a business trip on Friday to Las Vegas, so we decided to take the whole family down to see his parents while he was headed that direction. I must say that it was likely the BEST trip we've ever had there!

Grandma Bear spoiled us all rotten to the core: and we loved it! She gave me some gorgeous treasures, taught me to make baby blankets in a new style (to be posted later...), fed us until we couldn't eat more, and played games with the kids. Grandpa Bear provided his usual fun humor, lots of game playing, chats, and great times. I feel so very blessed to have such wonderful in-laws!

My honey and I also went to visit my sister and her family (I forgot my camera--blasted!). It was a very nice time seeing her and her cute family. I miss them so much.

We took some pictures and thought that you may enjoy a few...

Grandma and Grandpa with my kidlettes:
My sweetheart with his dad.Hubby and his mom.
Yakko and Grandma playing games (btw... this is was the first time Grandma beat Yakko at the "Finding Nemo" game!).
Dot and her favorite cousin, Stefani.
Wakko with his favorite cousin, Zach.
Thanks to all for a wonderful weekend!

A Tag About Me?

My cute friend Megan tagged me! I hope this is fun for you... and I invite you all to play along!

1. My husband is the hottest man I've ever known and I am passionately in love with him.

2. I was born on the day my family was moving into our home. You're welcome, Mom!

3. I started student teaching ballet when I was fourteen years old. I was immediately hooked!

4. My brother says I have "doughy" toes.

5. My favorite colors are black, brown, and pink.

6. I love Mexican food, but have to be careful about what I eat this pregnancy.

7. I am addicted to musical theater.

8. I don't mind.

9. I believe in education big time: this is why we have chosen to do home schooling.

10. I know that home schooling is a controversial topic, but it really is what is best for my kids.

11. I hate it when people ask me when my baby's due when I'm not pregnant, and assume I'm just fat when I am pregnant.

12. There are few things I love to do as much as I love to spend time with my kids.

13. My friends are more important to me as an adult than they were when I was a kid. I think it's because I actually appreciate them now rather than taking them for granted.

14. I still look up to my mom and my brother is still my hero.

15. I hate it when my house is a mess, but I really don't mind if others are.

16. I adore going out to lunch with my friends; I would rather do that then just about anything else.

17. Breaking habits is really hard for me...

18. I cannot stand the smell of Gatorade--any flavor.

19. I think the best three flavors are: chocolate, peanut butter, and strawberries.

20. My kids make me laugh every day.

21. I am always in the mood for a good movie.

22. I like to make up words like "snackage".

23. I love to feed people.

24. My greatest fear is singing in front of other people.

25. We're naming our baby girl "Ellie Ann".

Tag! You're it!

The Lost Generation

I still can't figure out how to upload a video from YouTube, but this one was so great that I had to at least post its link here. It's really worth the two minutes it takes to watch it...enjoy!

Hubby Tag

My cute cousin, Audri, tagged me in this different adventure: a husband tag! Thanks, Audri!

Five Favorite Things That He Loves:
1. His kids. They are the world to him!
2. Fishing
3. Working. Working at his job, at home, wherever!
4. Four Wheelers. It was a sad day when we had to sell his.
5. My big tummy--when there's a baby in it...

To Do List:
1. Finish his bachelor's degree
2. Organize the shed
3. Finish the theater room
4. Put together the crib, find a changing table... etc. nursery room stuff
5. Remodel our bedroom

Five Snacks He Loves:
1. Chips and salsa (heavy on the salsa)
2. Diet Pepsi, Diet Dr. Pepper, Diet Coke
3. Fresh fruit
4. Hot out of the oven cookies
5. Ice cream

Five Facts You May Not Know:
1. He is hilarious! He doesn't like to show off, but he is a mega crack up!
2. He is the only one of his parents' kids to have served an LDS mission.
3. My sweetie wants to run a marathon one day.
4. He wrestles our dog every day. It's fun to watch.
5. His hair is naturally curly, so he likes to keep it really short.

Five Places He Has Lived:
1. West Jordan
2. St. George
3. Hurricane
4. La Verkin
5. Sandy

Five Quirky Things About Him:
1. He has to drink milk with his spaghetti.
2. He adores his surround sound stereo A LOT.
3. He actually enjoys going to plays and musicals now... although I don't think it's quirky, no one who knew him in his younger years would believe it.
4. He cannot sleep in later that 8 a.m.
5. My honey gets really tired around 9 p.m.; it is hard for him to stay up super late.

Five People I Tag:
1. Malisa
2. Nicci
3. Erica
4. Emily
5. Robyn

...or anyone else who would like to play!

Card Party...

The card party has been canceled.

If you'd like to join us for lunch on Friday, February 13th at 1 p.m. for lunch instead, please do! I'll be making a giant salad, a big pot of soup, and rolls or bread sticks. If you feel so inclined, you're welcomed to bring a salad, soup, dessert, or whatever to share! Please RSVP so I can know how many to expect!

New Phone Number

I found out tonight that my phone number is long distance for our county. This is just plain weird.
Apparently, the only way to fix this problem is to change my phone number, yet again.

If you haven't received an email from me with my new number, please email me and let me know so that I can send my new number to you. Sorry about the inconvenience, but rest assured that the phone company says the problem should go away now.

Let's hope.