mccarrel family of five

Christmas Craftiness

2011-11-10T14:14:00.004-07:00

I know. No post for months and now 3 in a row. I can't even explain it myself.

So, we (me) are in charge of the McCarrel Family Christmas Party this year. I have been thinking about it since midnight October 31st. I would like to have it all planned and ready by the end of this month. I have visions of how it will all be, and while it probably won't turn out as I picture it in my head, I am getting a good start. My first vision was of a dessert and hot chocolate bar with a cute banner hanging over the tables. I finished the banner today and couldn't wait to show it off!

Thank you mother for my Cricut machine and thanks to my sweet neighbor Emily for the use of her cute cartiridges. Bonus, I can hang it in my house until the night of the party!

Young Women In Excellence

2011-11-09T15:54:00.015-07:00

Last night we had our Young Women In Excellence program. It was lovely! Our theme was "Personal Progress: A Pattern for Life", we had 2 wonderful speakers and of course, our fantastic young women and their displays.

We got ideas from HERE, HERE, and HERE. Also big thanks to The Quilting Cottage in American Fork for loaning us some wonderful bolts of fabric! Check them out on facebook :)

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-01T10:00:00.004-06:00

May I present to you, in no particular order, our 2011 Halloween. It includes a Smartie Pants, a Jack Skellington pumpkin, a zombie hunter, a deer pumpkin, a polka dot pumpkin and an adorable Dorothy. Now, would you people kindly stop complaining that I never post!

Easter

2011-05-03T13:58:00.005-06:00

This year we were invited to my cousins house in Nibley for some Easter fun. We headed up early Saturday morning, stopping in Perry to drop Josh off so he could ride his bike through Sardine Canyon for training purposes. We had a great time with The Quiggles! There was karaoke, a visit to the cheese factory, and the Logan zoo!

St. Patrick's Day

2011-03-21T13:22:00.005-06:00

Heather, this is just for you!

If you haven't realized by now, or just don't know us well enough, St. Patrick's Day is HUGE in Josh's family. It really is a fun tradition that goes way beyond just wearing green. I like to think of it as Thanksgiving part 2. This year my food assignment was jell-o and cupcakes. Molly helped me and we made some lovely treats.

Rainbow chip cupcakes with vanilla frosting and chocolate cupcakes with mint chocolate chip frosting. There were good, weren't they Heather???

On the menu this year: Corned Beef, turkey, ham, potatoes, colcannon

potatoes, green bean casserole, veggies and dip, chocolate covered kiwi and strawberries, broccoli salad, green rolls, mint brownies, Irish soda bread, cupcakes, and key lime pie. I am pretty sure I ate a little bit of everything and can't wait until next year!

Family Pictures

2010-11-29T09:49:00.005-07:00

We recently had a service auction with our Relief Society sisters. We needed pictures done and are lucky to have some wonderful photographers in our neighborhood. It was a heated bidding round, I had to beg, borrow, and steal points, but I won! Thanks again Heather!!

Happy Halloween

2010-11-03T12:44:00.007-06:00

From: Quasimodo, Esmeralda, a Phantom, Elvis and Tinkerbell!

Baptism Day

2010-09-30T09:17:00.016-06:00

Gavin was baptized on September 25th, we had a great day with all of our family who came to support him. Now prepare for picture overload. I took him up to the amphitheater in American Fork to get some pictures for his invitation. He posed every which way I asked him to and didn't complain once, it could have been that he was threatened with his life, but whatever works! I must say, he is one handsome kid!

After the baptism we headed to Pizza Pie Cafe in Highland for a celebration lunch. Josh and Molly were thrilled to be there :)

Not sure where we picked this guy up from, but he is pretty good at refilling drinks. Growing a moustache, not so much!

Eight is Great!

2010-09-30T09:10:00.006-06:00

Gavin turned 8 on September 17th, we had a fun party at Kangaroo Zoo and he got the Pogo Stick he was wanting.

Pre-School

2010-09-15T12:46:00.004-06:00

Today was Molly's first day of Pre-School (neighborhood play group). She was so excited to wear her backpack and play with her friends. Today they learned about the color red and the number 1. When she got home I said "so you learned about the color red and what number did you learn about?" She replied, "the number S". I would say things are going good so far!

First Day of School!

2010-08-25T20:57:00.003-06:00

Lava Hot Springs

2010-07-29T20:15:00.008-06:00

We took a little trip with Josh's side of the family up to Lava Hot Springs, ID. While there we floated the river, played at the pool, and celebrated Josh's 34th birthday.

Before heading home, we drove 20 miles up the road to Soda Springs. When Josh was little his Grandma Wilde would take them there and make soda pop. We had some Kool-Aid mix and the kids had fun drinking carbonated punch. The photos at the top should be at the bottom. P.S. I hate blogger, I can't move my pictures around anymore, anyone know how to do this?

Molly's "Genus Alice" Birthday Party

2010-07-06T20:21:00.006-06:00

We just celebrated Molly's 3rd birthday, hard to believe she's growing up so fast! When I asked her what kind of party she wanted it was usually princess. A few weeks before her birthday it changed to "a Genus Alice" party. It took me awhile to figure out what she was talking about, but I finally got it. She had been watching the cartoon Alice in Wonderland movie quite a bit and I remembered the scenes with all the flowers, they want to know what kind of flower she is. Here is a quote from the movie:

The Rose: Just what species or, shall we say, genus are you, my dear?
Alice: Well, I guess you would call me... genus, humanus... Alice.
Daisy: Ever see an alice with a blossom like that?
Orchid: Come to think of it, did you ever see an alice?
Daisy: Yes, and did you notice her petals? What a peculiar color.
Orchid: [sniffing Alice's hair] And no fragrance.
Daisy: [chuckling, as she lifts up one side of Alice's dress] And just look at those stems.
The Rose: [as Alice slaps the Daisy's leaves away] Rather scrawny, I'd say.
Bud: I think she's pretty.
The Rose: Quiet, bud.

So there you have it, she wanted a Genus Alice party! What the heck?!? I decided to get some teapots and tea cups from the D.I., spray paint them, and put ice cream toppings in them. We hadkool-aid bursts with a "drink me" tag and "eat me" sugar cookies. I made a 3 of Hearts cake, Queen of Hearts and Cheshire Cat cupcakes.

The greatest part is that there is NOTHING Alice in Wonderland available at any party supply store. She asked for Tinkerbell dress-ups, which she got and has worn almost constantly since, and luckily the Disney Store had a set of plastic Alice figurines. If only she had asked for a Tinkerbell party as well, how easy it would have been! It was fun and she loved it, so that makes it worth it, right??

Handcart Trek

2010-07-06T20:11:00.003-06:00

At the end of the school year, the entire 4th grade participates in a handcart trek. Owen had a great time helping pull the handcart, crossing a small stream, and learning how to throw an atlatl. He did not want to eat the lunch provided (beef stew, corn bread, and peach cobbler), so when I went up to Mitchell Hollow to serve lunch I brought him a lunch from home so he wouldn't starve. Poor kid would never have made it as a pioneer!

Road Trip

2010-05-03T11:24:00.011-06:00

1 Fruita Fat Tire Festival

1 puke in the car

2 cool buttons made

3 free bike bells

1 Clunker Crit

1 dinosaur bike rack to climb on

2 double beds

5 trips to the pool

1 scary slip under the water in the hot tub

2 continental breakfasts

1 Mike the Headless Chicken

1 dinosaur museum

1 puke on the side of the road

4 stops in Arches National Park

1 enormous fit thrown while hiking in Arches

1 giant bus of Chinese tourists

1 picture taken by a family visiting from Holland

2 books read

5 fights over using the iPod touch

1 stop at Ray's Tavern

4 1/2lb. cheeseburgers eaten at Ray's

2 car naps

74 pictures taken

600 miles traveled5 smiling faces (most of the time!)

A Fond Farewell & A Warm Welcome

2010-04-13T12:59:00.005-06:00

Or, out with the old, in with the new. Either way, Josh threatened to buy me salt & pepper shakers for mother's day and my birthday (one for each since they are two days apart (for those marking your calendar, that would be the 9th and 11th of May)) if I hadn't purchased any before then. Since I work best when given a deadline (if you will remember this) or threatened with a crappy gift, so I picked some up while perusing Target today. So with a pat on the back for a job well done even with a crack in one of them, we say goodbye to these salt and pepper shakers. My grandmother gave them to me and they perfectly match my Corelle Dinnerware Set (view HERE).And please give a warm welcome to the new S&P set that will grace our stove top and table.
Your welcome Babe!

Easter Clothes

2010-04-07T10:09:00.002-06:00

Our Talented Children

2010-04-01T12:28:00.003-06:00

Gavin had a talent show in one of his classes. He choose to showcase his monkey bar talent. We took a video of him doing the monkey bars backwards and then played it for his class, it was a hit!

Owen has been taking guitar lessons since January. He recently serenaded us at our St. Patrick's Day party. He played Song of Joy part 1, Skip to my Lou, and Michael Row the Boat Ashore. I don't have video of this yet, but here is a great picture!

A Few of My Favorite Things (Irish Edition)

2010-03-18T11:48:00.003-06:00

Hope you all had a LUCKY day!!!!

50 Years

2010-01-22T10:40:00.003-07:00

Today is Josh's parents 50th Wedding Anniversary and also his mother's birthday! We are celebrating tonight at a family party. For those of you who read my last post, it has been a long time! Hopefully the craziness of life will slow down a bit so I can get back to blogging. But we did just buy a new TV, so maybe not! To those of you who read Josh's last post, I hope you realize that that man has enough love for himself, for the both of us, to last through the next 50 years! I love you babe, for the next 36 years, 6 months, 23 days and many more!!!

Long Time Coming

2010-01-11T20:38:00.002-07:00

My goodness it's been a long time since I posted anything. You might think I had dropped off the face of the earth.
We had a wonderful Christmas,..thanks in large part to my fabulous husband.
It occurs to me I haven't talked about what a great man he is for awhile. While I have a hard time thinking of my favorite quality of his (because there are so many),near the top of the list would have to be his rugged good looks. Many's the night I couldn't sleep because I sat up staring at that angelic face. I really am a lucky woman to be married to such a simmering pot of manliness. Honestly, if I ever catch him with his shirt off, I'm done for the day. Most people haven't seen his chiseled six pack, but believe me,...it's there. And talk about buns of steel! You could bounce a quarter off that butt.
Next on the list is his fantastic sense of humor. I never truly appreciated bathroom humor until I knew him. Literally thousands of fart jokes at the ready, waiting to be unleashed to raucous laughter for one and all. The best part is,...that once he finds a joke, he won't let it drop. This is my favorite thing he does. Others might call this beating it into the ground, but I say "if it ain't broke,...don't fix it."
Did I mention what a great help he is around the house? Just the other day, not only did his socks AND underwear make it into the laundry, but he also washed all the shaving cream and whiskers down the drain. A lucky woman indeed.
I'm also crazy about his dog. I'm constantly looking for a reason to go out and see him, or pet him, or just wrestle with him. I am so happy Josh brought that lovable beast into our lives.
When he's not making a hilarious joke. He is a fabulous conversationalist. But sometimes we just watch TV. We could talk,...or not talk for hours.
Back on the physical side, he smells great. Not just out of the shower, but fresh home from work or a bike ride. I love nothing more than drawing deep into my nose, his manly essence. If only they could bottle it, they'd have a bestseller.
Obviously I could go on for hours about what a great man I married, and if I didn't think it would crash the servers at Google I would, but right now, I'm gonna go up and show that stud what I really think of him.
Love,
The happ-iest girl,...in the whole USA

Give Thanks

2009-11-30T17:48:00.004-07:00

Our computer was out sick with a nasty virus, so I'm a little late with all this. But this blog is like my journal, so here goes.

Dear Journal,

I am super thankful for crafts. Just Kidding, I'm no TAMN.

Okay on a serious note, I really am thankful for a bit of craftiness. I am no professional, but I do good enough to get by. I have a plate rack in my kitchen that rarely has a plate in it. After I took down my super cute BOO sign, I was sad that I didn't have anything Thanksgivingish to put up. However, I do have a plethora of cute paper, so I went to work on this:

I am really good at cutting rectangles and then pasting them in a line. Really good.

Speaking of really good, the desserts I made for our Thanksgiving dinner were REALLY GOOD!

I am not really a pie person, so I signed up for a pumpkin cheesecake and accompanied that with white chocolate-raspberry cheesecake bars. 5 packages of cream cheese. Yum. Plus they made super leftovers to eat while I watched The Biggest Loser. Not kidding about that.

Here are the recipes:

PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE

WHITE CHOCOLATE-RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE BARS

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!!!

I went to see New Moon and all I got was.........

2009-11-30T14:00:00.002-07:00

this super HOT beverage holder! Wasn't the movie just fantastic?!? Like a million times better than the first one! Can't wait for Eclipse in June!!!!!!!

The many (somewhat cranky) faces of Molly

2009-11-10T15:12:00.011-07:00

This girl. Oh, this girl. She is lucky she is so cute, because we may have thrown her out. For as much as she makes us laugh and smile, there is just as much screaming and crying. Don't let the cuteness fool you!

Darn we make cute kids!

2009-11-05T10:13:00.008-07:00

This year I choose not to participate in school pictures (AKA "the Chicken Man"). Josh did not agree, but who says he's in charge. He gave me a deadline to get the kids pictures taken, and I succeeded with the help of my little friend I call Torie. I call her Torie because, well that's her name. She took our family pictures last year and I knew she would do a great job. All I provided was these darn cute kids, and I succeeded in that regard as well!

Halloween '09

2009-11-02T09:33:00.008-07:00

Carving Pumpkins

Trick~or~Treating

Owen

Gavin

Molly the Cat

Have I mentioned that Molly the Cat, was the crankiest cat in the history of cranky cats?

I decided she would be a cat when she started meowing. Yes, meowing. She would answer questions with a "meow". Pretty cute, right? Well after the thousandth meow, it's not so cute. But Grandma Billie bought her some cute cat ears, so how could we not dress her up for Halloween as a cat. The first party we went to she screamed when it was time to get dressed, never got her hand made tail pinned on, didn't wear her ears, and never even came close to getting her whiskers painted on. She had also decided she wanted to be a butterfly after she saw Josh's angel wings. (Still waiting for our family picture to get emailed to me. Becky if your reading this, email it to me, THANKS!!!) I did not have high hopes for Halloween night. But Molly the Cat surprised me. She willing got dressed, let me paint her face (which she was super proud of and kept saying "look at the three colors on my face!") and wore her ears and tail with out any fuss. Miracle beyond miracles! The pictures with her mouth skewampus is when she is meowing. It is really hard to get a cranky cat to look AT the camera.

The next morning she did tell me, "thanks for my cat costume, mom" so I guess that totally makes up for all the bad "cat"titude! Ha, I crack myself up!!!

Jason & Frankie

2009-10-30T07:31:00.002-06:00

Favoritism

2009-10-26T11:11:00.003-06:00

I had the kids pictures taken and then stole them off Torie's blog. This is now Josh's desktop background. Owen and Gavin cried.

Recent Accomplishments

2009-10-09T18:06:00.004-06:00

On our fridge is a smattering of great things that have happened recently. Why post about each one individually, when I have a picture of all three together?!?In no particular order, may I present to you the following:
-Gavin received 10/10 on his last 2 spelling tests AND got all the bonus words correct! Way to go Gav!!!
-Owen was presented with a "CERTIFICATE OF OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE" on the Iowa Tests. He scored in the top ten percent nationally in Reading! Great job O!!!
-Josh successfully filled his deer tag! Now we have buck fever, which I hear is better than Swine Flu (or H1N1, if you prefer). Nice shot babe!!!

SWEET Deal of the Day!

2009-10-05T16:45:00.005-06:00

Rather than re-post the entire thing, here is a link to the HIP2SAVE blog, where you can get a great deal on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Blu-ray/DVD combo Diamond Edition. How good of a deal is it you ask? $4.99 after promo code, shipping and rebate. That's a deal!

Why were the kids out of school today???

2009-10-05T15:22:00.003-06:00

In an effort to get a bargain and my kids out of the house, we ventured to Target. Torture, I know! On our way home, we noticed that Spirit Halloween (located in the old Sears/Kmart building) is NOW OPEN. I bet we could have wondered around for an hour or more, but someone had to go to the bathroom before the pee got scared out of him.
If you go, please note: no public bathroom.
My favorite thing there: Bubble Fogger Machine. It's SPOOKTACULAR!!!

Cascade Springs

2009-09-21T16:43:00.005-06:00

We drove to Cascade Springs yesterday to enjoy the fall foliage. And we did just that.

$2.00

2009-09-18T15:35:00.002-06:00

Go HERE to get a Taste of Home magazine subscription for $2/year. It is the weekly special and I don't know how long it will last, but that's a good deal!

#7

2009-09-17T13:41:00.004-06:00

Happy Birthday Gavin!!!

Today we are going to Kangaroo Zoo with his friends, then back for cake and ice cream with the fam! Should be a great day!

1st's

2009-09-08T13:44:00.009-06:00

Gavin has experienced a few firsts this last week. Some good, some bad. We will start with the good. He finally lost his first tooth. The thing has been wiggly for about 2 weeks and was just barely hanging on in the end. He was very excited to put it under his pillow and super excited to find a dollar in it's place the next morning. He also has enjoyed sticking his tongue out the hole where his tooth used to be.

On to the bad. We got out first visit to the ER for stitches. I am personally amazed that we haven't been there before with our boys, especially Gavin. We don't call him monkey just for fun. He is really is a climbing freak of nature. I remember him climbing up the shelves in the pantry and the toy closet. Lately he has moved on to any tree, pole, swing set, or monkey bars he can get to.

We went to the zoo on Labor Day with our great friends the Taylor's (of the Burke & Kristie variety) after about an hour we stopped for lunch. We were close to the primate (monkeys) building with the lion drinking fountain. The kids had finished lunch and were playing down there while we loaded everything up. As we were walking down the hill, I looked over by the drinking fountain and could see Gavin screaming and blood running down one side of his face. I started running toward him, telling myself that head wounds bleed more. It was a blur after that. Josh grabbed him and held his hand to his head, there were so many people around and Kristie just kept handing me wipes so we could try to clean him off. The zoo security was there trying to get the crowd away from us and my other kids were standing there in shock. Molly kept saying "Gavin has an owie". When we lifted off the wipes (they were probably stinging)to put on a piece of gauze, I just about died when I saw the gaping hole in his forehead. The security guy recommended stitches (well, duh!) and off to Primary Children's we went. Kristie and Burke willingly kept Owen and Molly with them at the zoo while we went to the hospital, THANK YOU!!!!

Josh was on photo duty at the hospital. The first picture was before the doctor even saw him, the second one is right before they sewed him up. The white part in the middle of the wound is his skull. There is nothing worse than seeing your child in pain and knowing there is nothing you can do. I am so grateful we only had to go to Primary Children's for stitches, and not every day or week because my child is sick.

9 stitches, many tears (from me as well), and 3 1/2 hours later, we were back at the zoo, Gavin's choice. We rode the carousel, saw the babies of the zoo: giraffe, snow leopard, tigers and some monkey (I can't remember the name), and went wherever Gavin wanted (including McDonald's on the way home!).

I think our little FrankenMonkey was excited to show off his stitches at school today, and hopefully he will stay off the monkey bars at recess!

How do I know my Baby loves me?

2009-08-26T21:56:00.006-06:00

He brings me home a sack full of these:

CHEETOS Chile Limon flavor.

6 packages all to myself.

Mmmm Mmmmm good.

Thanks babe!

I still have yet to figure out why the packaging is different and mostly en Español, but some things are better left unknown.

QOTD

2009-08-22T17:59:00.002-06:00

Gavin: Mom, do you know what the best thing about having a loose tooth is?
Me: No, what?
Gavin: When you're bored, you can wiggle, wiggle, wiggle.

(Someone is very excited to be wiggling his tooth!)

Off They Go!

2009-08-20T08:07:00.004-06:00

4th and 1st graders this year.

One was super excited. The one that was not, was up
and dressed immediately after being woken up.

The excited one had to be woken up twice.Then would not hold still for the obligatory photo.

And their fuzzy because someone dropped my camera and broke it.

It wasn't these sweet kids. The perpetrator had already left for work.

Happy 1st Day of School!!!

Quotes of the Day

2009-08-15T21:28:00.003-06:00

Molly: "What the crack?"
Pretty sure she meant what the crap, we say that a lot around here.

After picking up all three of my kids from a sleepover at their grandparents last night, we had this conversation.
Gavin: "Molly had a bath."
Me: Why, was she dirty?"
Owen: "We all had a bath."
Gavin: "Grandpa said our feet were as black as Tony's butt."

Owen: "Ahhhhhh, this is the worst day EVER!"
Said as he found out a certain girl was in his school class AGAIN this year.

Gavin: "Owen, I declare myself the Spice Master. I've eaten the most drops of Chalula in my soup."

12 Dam Years

2009-08-14T14:18:00.003-06:00

Happy Anniversary Babe! This was the most recent picture of the two of us together.
Josh hates being in pictures + I'm usually taking the pictures = rarely are we in one together.
This is from our recent trip to the Flaming Gorge Dam. Here's to another 12 (or more) dam years! Love you!!!

The family that reads together.......

2009-08-13T12:45:00.003-06:00

knows the words to the same stories. (Put that in vinyl on your wall!) I am very glad that my children inherited my love of books, even if one of them sometimes complains about actually reading them. The other night, just before bed, Molly brought me a book to read. Since I was "working" on the computer, I asked Gavin to read it to her. They climbed into his bed and eventually Owen joined them. I love these moments when my kids can be this close to each other and no yelling or fighting goes on! It totally makes up for all the other times when I want to beat them soundly and send them to bed.

Behold The Mighty Coupon

2009-08-04T15:51:00.004-06:00

(I believe deep down in my heart that everyone needs the "groceries on my counter/table, here's how much money I saved today" post. Here is mine!)I have recently begun "couponing". I do not receive 4 or more newspapers, so I'm hardly a pro, nor do I claim to be. But I have found myself getting excited when looking at store ad's and coveting the Albertson's Twice The Value coupons. I have found some fairly good deals, and the amount of food storage we have in the basement is growing. (If you count cereal, fruit snacks and cookies as food storage, which I do!) Albertson's currently has a deal that goes like this: buy $30 worth of participating items and receive a $15 coupon to use on your next visit. That sounded like a good deal to me so off I went today. After 2 trips to Albies, 4 transactions, and 45 coupons, here is what I got:

5 ALL detergent

2 Klondike Bar 6pk.

2 Breyer's ice cream

2 Keebler cookies

2 pasta sides

11 Chex Mix

14 fruit snacks

2 Chex Mix bars

8 boxes of cereal

Total Spent $44.96

Total SAVED $143.45!!!

Coupons are FUN.

(please note that not ALL groceries listed appear in above photo.)

The List

2009-08-02T18:25:00.005-06:00

Oh the list. I love to make you, but rarely do I really complete you. Not even in a Jerry Maguire kind of way, either. I always have a magnetic list stuck on the fridge, usually from the dollar spot and sporting a theme of the most recent holiday season. The one that is currently on the fridge has the Easter Bunny and some lovely pastel polka dots to accompany him. Maybe I need to write on my list to buy a current list or at least a neutral one. But I'm not going to. Instead I'm going to print off these beauties I found today while clicking around on my friend Adrienne's blog. They are off the site Vale Design.They are functional, funny and really cute too! I can't wait to leave the home when I go to the store.
Here's the links friends:
Freakin' Never Ending To Do List
Dreamy Blog Topics To Post List
The Pain In The Groceries To Buy List

This & That

2009-07-31T21:47:00.009-06:00

FYI: My mourning of Michael Jackson's death has come to an end. Today while Gavin and I were watching part of the 30th Anniversary Special Motown Dance Dance Revolution Tribute of when Michael became a solo artist, Gavin said "This is still on! (thinking it was the funeral/memorial service, it was similar, except Michael was alive at this one!) How long has it been since he died?" When I answered that it had been a over a month, I realized HELLO, IT'S BEEN A MONTH! CHANGE YOUR BLOG MUSIC FOR CRYIN OUT LOUD! While I do love most of Michael Jackson's music and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my recently acquired "Making of THRILLER" movie on VHS (recently acquired from my appropriately named grandma BILLIE JEAN (is not my lover, she's just a girl who claims that I am the one.)) and I do truly believe that We Are The World, We Are The Future, and on a serious note I believe that one of the greatest entertainers IN THE WORLD is gone, it's time to move on. So, now my blog music is changed. But if you ever want to know my favorite Micheal Jackson songs, don't hesitate to ask!

In other news, you may have heard that my brother and his wife were on a little show we like to call WIPEOUT!

Even crazier than just appearing on that great show, is that they WON!!! Woot Woot for Mr. & Mrs. Moose!

It was so much fun to watch and cheer them on. We had a super fun party at my Aunt Mike's house.

To read more about it and see some behind the scenes pictures check out Mr. & Mrs. Moose's blog post HERE!

We really haven't been up to much. Josh is still leading the bike rides like a good ride leader should. The kids and I have found our new favorite place to be: The Highland Splash Park. Not only is it FREE (one of my favorite things!) but it's really fun too. I have no pictures because I'm too worried about what we are going to eat while we're there, not if I've packed the camera. If you ever want to go, give us a call!

On to one of my other favorite things (TV, if you didn't know). If you need something to watch this summer I would highly recommend HGTV'S DESIGN STAR. My sister in law told me about it when the last season was on and I am hooked. It is so great! Sunday nights, set your DVR.

I'll leave you with a cute little video of Molly singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. She is quite the singer and dancer lately. She is always singing a little song, it's adorable. She has started to make up her own songs, she'll say "here's how we sing the la la song" and then sing "la la la la la la la la la la".

Only 19 days until school starts. I'm just sayin'.

Chill Out

2009-07-15T08:09:00.002-06:00

Go here to get a coupon for a $.99 Sonic Chiller. You will recieve it by email and have 10 days to use it once you print if off. Chill out dudes.

4th of July

2009-07-05T16:37:00.008-06:00

Happy 4th of July!!!!

We had a fun 4th this year. I just love it when holidays are on the weekend because I get work off. We did fireworks at our house on Friday night with Melissa's family. We enjoyed our first snowcones of the season, which should explain the mess on Molly's face. The kids did a million sparklers and even experimented with lighting a few of the fireworks.

Saturday we headed up to Park City to hang with my Aunt Sharon and The Quiggles. We did a little swimming, a little fireworking, a bunch of eating and then stepped out the back door of the condo to watch the city fireworks. It was a real fun time!

Happy Birthday Molly!!!

2009-06-30T12:43:00.013-06:00

I can't believe my sweet baby girl is 2 years old! Where does the time go? We are excited to have a Dora the Explorer party for her tonight. As for today, she has spent most of the day topless while eating cheetos and asking for chocolate, who says she doesn't take after her mother! Here's a little look at the past two years.

Ditto

2009-06-26T15:34:00.002-06:00

It's time once again for the Lehi Round-Up Days of fun!
You can read all about it HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE. All the same fun, just a year later! The only difference is that my parents will be attending this year. What? You're as shocked as I am. I think they remembered their Lehi Pride. That, or I made them feel guilty enough about not going last year. Whatever works!

Growing Up

2009-06-22T11:47:00.005-06:00

A little conversation we had today:
Owen: Remember when I found that little tooth in here and thought it was mine?
Me: Yes.
Owen: Well, I know it was mine. So, I know that the tooth fairy isn't real.
Me: What do you think about that?
Owen: It's okay.

Teacher Appreciation Gift Idea

2009-06-03T09:59:00.004-06:00

I know, you probably could have used this like a week or so ago. Sorry 'bout that, now you have it for next year! But don't you fret, I came up with another idea you could use it for. I found this EASY idea off Becky Higgins blog, she used it as a favor at a baby shower.

I used it as a gift for the boys teachers, then I used the extras for the "sisters" I go visiting teaching to. I know, it's like I was channeling Pioneer Party or something. I just wrote the message on the first page and dropped it off on the last day of the month (just like a good visiting teacher should)!

Here's how to make them. I bought 5x7 notepads at Walmart, they came in a pack of 6 for $2.44. I bought the pack of 6, because a pack of 3 was $1.44, and I did the math and was like for a dollar more I can get 3 more notepads. Then using my plethora of scrapbook scraps, I cut a 2 inch by 5 inch piece of cute paper, glued it over the top of the notepad, slapped on a coordinating flower and jewel, and WA-LAH! Cute, easy and CHEAP, just how I like things! I would love to hear more ideas on things to use them for, otherwise my "sisters" are going to have a year supply of notepads.

Dance, Dance, Dance

2009-05-28T14:48:00.003-06:00

I personally love the Dance Festival. Sweating your guts out while watching the dancing ability of an entire grade school, what could be more fun?
Gavin's kindergarten class danced to "Ballin' the Jack". He knew the whole dance and sang the song many times at home. When I went to get a picture of him, this is what I got:

First he put his two knees close up tight

Then he swayed 'em to the left and then he swayed 'em to the right

He stepped around the floor kinda nice and light

Then he twist around twist around with all of his might

He put his loving arms straight out in space

All with this grumpy look on his face.

Okay, I added that last line. I could not get this kid to smile, he looked so mad. Kind of reminded me of the birthday breakfast incident.

Owen's class rocked to "Hip to be Square".

Owen is in the bright orange shirt in the middle-ish of the picture.

Field Day is a whole other beast in itself. I just can't wait for next year when Gavin is in First Grade and he doesn't have to attend with a parent!

You can watch the dance festival videos and more on YouTube!

A Girl and Her Dog

2009-05-28T14:33:00.005-06:00

Last summer Molly LOVED our dog. Here's proof.

He used to lay right by her, lick her hands and face, and she couldn't have cared less.

We are currently working through her learned fear (from her brothers) of Cockleburr. She would want to go in the back yard, but walking past the dog would stop her. She would say "Cockleburr's scary", then I would tell her he is not scary, he is nice. She would repeat that until we started toward him, then quickly jump and flinch while he lies on the grass looking at us with his one eye that works. Poor dog. Just this week she has decided he may not be so bad. She started feeding him grass and talking all sweet to him. Now, every second of the day she want to go see Cockleburr.

You can watch the videos of all this cuteness and more on YouTube!

Dear Josh,

2009-05-23T16:11:00.003-06:00

Today I was going to write a great post all about the most fantastic dance festival and field day we have experienced thus far in our grade school lives. Since this was the first year both of your sons were involved, it was guaranteed to be spectacular. It makes my heart break you were not able to participate due to previous obligations (i.e. work), but thanks for bringing home the bacon. However, due to reasons unforeseen (you going to Price to bike ride) by myself (just kidding I totally knew), all I did today was take the kids to Burger King and read a book. There's always next week.
Love, Kellie
P.S. Thanks for your great comments that never fail to prove to me that your interested in what I have to say!

FREE Hot Dogs! (today only!!!)

2009-05-20T09:08:00.001-06:00

Go HERE to sign up for a coupon for FREE Oscar Mayer Jumbo Beef Hot Dogs. Apparently they beat Ball Park® and Hebrew National® in a national taste test, who knew? Offer available May 20, 2009, 9 a.m. − 11:59 p.m. EDT, while supplies last. Limit one coupon per household, address or email address. P.O. Box addresses will not be accepted. Open to U.S. Residents, 18 or older. Allow 4 − 6 weeks for delivery.

More GREAT stuff!!! (that I forgot last post!)

2009-05-18T07:11:00.002-06:00

*Come on May 18th and get a FREE coupon for your FREE DiGiorno Flatbread Melts.
Offer available May 18, 2009 12:00a.m.--11:59p.m. EST. while supplies last
(available to the first 100,000 people to register)
Limit one coupon per household, address, or email address.
P.O. Box addresses will NOT be accepted.
Open to U.S. residents, 18 or older.
Allow 6-8 weeks for delivery.

*Check out Give Away Today! They have a give away, every day. You can usually enter more than once, good luck!
*Also Sweet Life in the Valley! It's SWEET!
* WIPEOUT!!! As many of you know, my brother and his wife (Shane & Sally) will be on a couples episode of Wipeout, it will air on August 26th. Until then, here is a preview online! Click on the link and then look for Sneak Peak 5 in the videos that appear very small under where you watch. If you move your arrow over the screen they should pop up. The announcers refer to them as Mr & Mrs Moose, can't wait for the entire episode to find out why.
*Coldplay fans, you can get a FREE download of their new live album LeftRightLeftRightLeft, by clicking HERE!

My Big Behind

2009-05-15T10:34:00.010-06:00

Oh wait, I think I meant "I Am Behind Big Time".

This is going to be a super long post, and I know on some people's blogs that if they do a super long catchy up post, they say "I won't feel bad, you don't have to read the whole thing". Well this is not some people's blog. You do have to read the whole thing (and you will like it), because I will feel bad and there will be a test on it later.

Enjoy the following, in no particular order.

Mother's Day was fantastic! I received many handmade gifts with sweet hand written notes from my wonderful children. I love how excited they get about these presents! They also gave me some flowers that did get planted and look so nice. Josh gave me a wonderful new set of pans! How'd he know that's what I wanted? Maybe because I bought them and set them on the floor on his side of the bed. Maybe. I really needed them I promise. We have had the same pans since we got married and the teflon has almost all come off. I think this is why food slides right out of some of us.

My birthday was the day after Mother's Day (the 11th for those of you who want to write that down, since Mother's Day changes ever year) and I was seriously concerned about what Josh was giving me. All week he was asking me if I wanted to know what it was, but he didn't care if I liked it I was getting it anyway, but it all depended upon someone else supplying him with it first. You would be worried too, right? Well he COMPLETELY surprised me with a QuicKutz Silhouette! I am so excited, but I have to get it out of the box before he gets home today or he has threatened to take it back. I do know that his "supplier" is out of the country for a few days, so good luck!

The entire third grade participated in doing a Time Machine. They chose someone and do a written report and poster and then they dress up as that person and come out of the Time Machine and do an oral presentation. Owen's person was Meriwether Lewis. If you just asked yourself who in the "H" is that, you're not alone. Meriwether Lewis was co-commander on the expedition known as the Corps of Discovery. Still don't know? One half of Lewis and Clark. Remember them? How in the world Owen got stuck with this guy is still a mystery. However, I (I mean he) did a great job on his report and poster, and he did memorize and deliver his presentation out of the time machine with excellence!

On Monday (my birthday) Gavin decided he was ready to take the training wheels off of his bike. Last night he was cruising around the church parking lot. Josh was so proud, if you don't believe me, just check his current facebook status.

Now for the really fun stuff! If you've read this long, you will be rewarded.

Here is a list of my favorite stuff right now and links to some free stuff! Yeah, free stuff!

*FREE chocolate Fridays! Mars Real Chocolate Relief Act. Sign up for a free coupon for any of your favorite Mars candy bar. 1 coupon per email address, 4 coupons per household. Offer available until 9-25-09.

*FREE bag of popcorn! Yahoo! is giving you a chance to cuddle up to your old TV before the digital switch. Offer is on the right hand side at the bottom, it's really small.

*FREE sample of Hawaiian Tropic! from Walmart.com. You can receive Hawaiian Tropic Sun Care After Sun Body Butter OR Sheer Touch Lotion SPF15.

These offers were found on She Shops Smart and Thrifty Northwest Mom.

My Favorite new show is Cook Yourself Thin. It is on Lifetime at 3 and 3:30 p.m. They give out the recipes on the website and claim you can loose a dress size in 6 weeks. Obviously I am just enjoying watching it with a nice bag of Cheetos by my side. People in my ward, the brown haired lady is Maryann Jones sister, I swear it. Now you will have to watch just to see!

My Favorite new mascara is Covergirl LashBlast. Try it, you'll like it!

My Favorite band right now is Band of Skulls. This is their MySpace page, you can listen to some songs. My favorite song is not on there, it's called Fires, you'll have to go to iTunes to hear more. Heather, go now to iTunes, or maybe you'll get the CD for you birthday!

Well Molly wants to go outside, so that's all folks! Oh wait, who watched Grey's Anatomy last night? Did you have a box of tissues by you? Holy Cow! I loved it soooo much, but don't want to wait all summer to find out what is going to happen. AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!! Check out Grey Matter, it's the writer's blog. BYE!!!

Sushi Anyone???

2009-05-02T11:08:00.002-06:00

I was reading Seriously, So Blessed! and clicked on an ad on the side of the blog. That took me to the Krazy Coupon Lady, and as I was reading through her recent posts I found THIS ONE. I went to Restaurants.com, entered my zip code and it brought up a few restaurants, one of them being Yapona Japanese Cuisine and Sushi Bar. Josh really like this place, so I added one $25 dollar gift certificate to my cart, entered the secret code (MOM), and it only cost me FIVE DOLLARS! Whose up for sushi?

That's a deal!

2009-04-29T19:45:00.003-06:00

Smith's has 1 dozen eggs for 50 cents (why is there not a cent sign??) and at Target you can find packs of gum for 48-52 cents. There is Trident, Orbit, Stride, Dentyne in various flavors, they are at the end of a snack aisle on clearance! Now, what can I fix for dinner with my eggs and gum?

2009-04-22T12:22:00.007-06:00

Happy Earth Day!!!

From: Molly

All Hail The Bread Ladies

2009-04-21T21:21:00.003-06:00

The Bread Ladies are coming to our Stake for a workshop. They are responsible for this fantastic bread recipe and also this. It is this Thursday, April 23rd at 7:00pm, if you are interested in coming let me know and I'll give you more information!

Spring Break Recap

2009-04-20T10:10:00.011-06:00

I know, you've been DYING to know what we did for Spring Break. Rest assured it was super fun and exciting. Here is a detailed day-to-day account of all the fun and excitement.

MONDAY

Thanksgiving Point Gardens.

We had never been to the BIG gardens before, so this was exciting. It was great to just let the kids run around since it wasn't crowded at all. Not all the flowers were in bloom, but it was still beautiful. Plus, we were accompanied by some FUN people!

TUESDAY

I like to call Tuesday the start of the bad weather, because it not only started bad, but it got worse from there. The kids played with cousins and I was left alone with Molly, so I read!

WEDNESDAY

Tax Day! Our taxes were done, so we went bowling with some neighbors. (Super fun neighbors!)I had read on She Shops Smart AND Fun, Frugal and Free (you should add both of these to your Google Reader!) that Maggie Moo's was giving a free scoop of ice cream to each customer on Tax Day. So guess where we headed after our fun game of bowling? If you said "Home to take a nap.", you're wrong. We went for FREE ice cream.They even gave Molly one, so technically I had a free scoop and a half! YUMMY!

THURSDAY

Thursday ROCKED. With our many inches of wet, wet snow, we camped out inside, mourning the loss of one of our tree branches. This picture does not even do justice to the amount of snow we had. I was way to lazy and cold to go out any earlier to get a good picture, I stayed wrapped up in my SNUGGIE!Josh did save the day by coming home with the rest of our band for Guitar Hero and the new Guitar Hero Metallica game.

If you ever need a place to rock, our living room is available.

FRIDAY

On Friday we (me & the kids) drove to Coalville where my parents were camping with old people. It was a bit chilly, but that didn't keep the kids from chasing the bunnies and throwing one million rocks into the river. All the pictures are on my dad's camera, so currently I have no proof that it was fun or exciting. But it was.

Hope your Spring Break was just as fun and/or exciting! Let's hear a cheer for back to school Monday!!!

Hoppy Easter!!!

2009-04-12T21:36:00.000-06:00

"Quote" of the day

2009-04-09T17:14:00.003-06:00

Today we were at the mall and as we walked past Claire's, I decided to quickly look in and see if they had a necklace to go with a new outfit I bought. We had not taken more than three steps inside the bright pink with every other color of the rainbow store, when Gavin said "This doesn't feel right to me." His dad is so proud.

(We were at said mall looking for Easter Sunday clothes. If you yourself are still looking for cute church clothes, go to The Children's Place. Sunday clothing items (and other select styles) are on clearance and you get another 30% off on top of that!) We picked up this, this, and this.

Barbie Cake

2009-04-06T08:21:00.004-06:00

I never had a Barbie cake for any of my birthdays, I am sad about it, but have been able to move on.

Apparently, Carrie Underwood never had one either. She felt the need to dress as one last night on the ACM awards. WTC? (What the crap?)

Can't Hardly Wait......

2009-04-06T07:14:00.000-06:00

for October!!!

New Friends on Yo Gabba Gabba!

2009-04-03T09:49:00.008-06:00

One of our favorite shows is Yo Gabba Gabba! We have watched it ever since it started, Molly was just a few months old. My famous brother had the inside scoop for us. He played a few shows with The Aquabats, whose lead singer is one of the creators of Yo Gabba Gabba! Molly loves the show, knows all the characters names and has some Gabba toys. She was serving up the Gabba gang for lunch in her kitchen the other day. So Yummy!

There are great songs on Yo Gabba Gabba!, everyone can sing along. A favorite of ours is "There's a party in my tummy, so yummy, so yummy" it's all about eating your veggies. Another good one that we sing to our kids a lot is "I tried it, I liked it", since we have difficulties with variety in our diet, so we sing it A LOT. Another one I sing to Josh is "Hands to yourself, keep your hands to yourself". No explanation needed, really.

Today is a special day on Yo Gabba Gabba! Jack Black is going to be their new friend! We are all so excited, the DVR (grrrr no Tivo) is set to record, and at 2:30 we will be tuning in. We love new friends. Here's a preview!

She Shops Smart at Old Navy

2009-03-27T12:29:00.003-06:00

(Josh informed me that just changing the colors on my blog did not count as updating, whatever Josh.)

Old Navy is one of my favorite stores and She Shops Smart is one of my new favorite blogs to read (thanks Jammie!). She uses the grocery smarts program to save money at the grocery store. There are constantly new posts about great deals and coupons. Today she posted about a coupon to Old Navy, could it get any better? No it could not. Check out her blog to get your coupon for 30% off your entire purchase!!!! and I'll see ya there!
Hurry, the coupon is only good from 3/27 - 4/02.

50 prints for $5

2009-03-16T10:50:00.002-06:00

Just what you need to develop all your St. Patrick's Day pictures your going to take tomorrow!
When you order 50 or more 4x6 prints from Snapfish and pick them up at Walgreens they are only 10 cents! Enter the code WAL4X6 when you check out and do it before March 29th.

So What? I'm still a rock star, I got my rock moves

2009-03-06T14:18:00.005-07:00

My brother and his band had the great opportunity to open for the MC Hammer & Vanilla Ice concert that was held at UVU's McKay Events Center. Here are some pictures to prove it!Robert Matthew Van Winkle aka Vanilla Ice and my brother Shane (he's in the Bulls sweatshirt).

Love You Long Time aka The Whole Dam Band with MC Hammer (he's the black guy).

Love You Long Time is (in order of appearance in the photo above): Brian, Liam, Sally & Shane. (Shane is my brother, Sally is his wife, Brian is her brother, and I don't know where Liam came from, I'm pretty sure he's not related.)

You can find out more about Love You Long Time on their MySpace page, they are currently on tour. (If you do go to their page, please check out their Influences!)

You can watch the official video for Pink's song So What, it inspired today's blog title and it's a great song, even Molly sings along.

Happy Blogiversary!

2009-02-28T21:47:00.002-07:00

We were going to have a big party to celebrate the 1st year anniversary of the wonderfully fantastic blog you are reading right now. However, the first post occurred on February 29, 2008.
That's a leap year folks, so we'll see ya back here in 2012 for the big celebration.

I'm thinking Arby's.

2009-02-25T13:31:00.004-07:00

Yes, we are having this for dinner.

Click here for a free Arby's Roast Burger with the purchase of any drink. Offer expires March 9th. This coupon also came in the mail yesterday with all the grocery store ads. Thanks to Julie for posting good deals, check out her blog: Fun, Frugal and FREE!

What Happened to You Man, You Used to be Cool

2009-02-21T10:43:00.002-07:00

Seriously, What Happened? I love Joaquin. Who doesn't? Kelly Ripa named her child after him. Gladiator is one of the best movies ever. He can sing. Like Johnny Cash.

I hope you feel as uncomfortable watching this as I did!

The Dollar Store

2009-02-19T13:27:00.003-07:00

I am not a huge fan of the dollar store, give me the Target Dollar Spot anyday! That being said, we headed to the dollar store today (the one by Old Navy, I think it's a Dollar Tree) in search of treasures. Boy did we hit it big! Treasures galore! We got light up St. Patricks Day necklaces, 680 princess stickers, a Kung-Fu Panda egg dying kit and some cute new easter eggs. But we hit the motherload (in my opinion) by the check stand. They had boxes of Chex Mix Bars in Chocolate Chunk and Turtle flavors AND 100 calorie packs of granola bars (oreo, chips ahoy, and nutter butter variety). The Chex Mix bars have 6 in a box and the granola bars have 12 in a box, for those of you doing the math, that's a good deal for only one dollar. For those of you not doing the math, I recommend a calculator. And for those of you with $5 dollars to burn, I recommend you haul butt down to the Old Navy and get your St. Patrick's Day shirt. That was the other point of our excursion in which we succeeded. But let me tell you that they don't have much of a selection this year, due to the economy. Or the lack of interest in St. Patty's, not really sure. So for those of you who are counting, ONLY 26 DAYS UNTIL ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!

February 14th

2009-02-15T17:35:00.011-07:00

My mom & dad take us out for breakfast on the Saturday closest to Valentines Day, this year Valentines just happened to be on Saturday. It is so nice not to have to cook and it's great to hang out with the family, whom we love dearly!

That afternoon Josh, Owen & I went to see The Dark Knight in IMAX. It was AWESOME! I wish we would have seen it that way when it first came out. Oh well, from now on we are saving all our pennies to see every movie we can in IMAX. Just think about Twilight in IMAX, wouldn't that be the greatest!?! I girl can dream!

Hope you had a HAPPY VALENTINES DAY filled with people and things you LOVE!

From Freddy & Me

2009-02-13T13:45:00.001-07:00

Happy FRIDAY THE 13th!!!!

6 Things Tag

2009-02-12T10:41:00.003-07:00

I was tagged by my most fabulous friend Adrienne, (whom I want to come visit me the next time she is in Utah, I don't care how short the trip is or any of her other excuses!), so I am completing this tag and saying nice things about her. Adrienne is nice.

Write down six things that make you happy.
Tag six others and let them know you did it.
Tell the person when your entry is complete.

6 THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY
1. Rainy or cloudy days. I love the shade and darkness when the sun goes behind the clouds. I could totally live in Seattle and not be depressed.
2. Reading a book.
3. My kids playing nicely. In the same room. With each other.
4. Molly saying funny things in her gruff smoker voice.
5. No dishes in the sink.
6. Hanging out on the computer while listening to music and surfing the interweb.

I did not put my family on the list because they are not "things". Love you family!

I tag Anne, Alice, Kenzie, Hillary, Janet, and Michelle!

Help The Quiggle's

2009-02-03T08:00:00.004-07:00

Two pictures of my cousins adorable kids have made it through stiff competition and are finalists in a photography contest. If you get the chance or the spirit moves you to, please hop on over to heathertaylorphoto.com/blog and vote for picture #8. #1 is also their sweet baby Barnes, but they already have a big portrait of that photo and that is one of the prizes. You can only vote once and you must do it by midnight on Thursday. Thanks in advance for your support of the Quiggle's. And really with a last name like Quiggle, they need all the help they can get!

FREE 8x8 Photo Book from Shutterfly!!!

2009-01-24T15:18:00.003-07:00

Shutterfly is offering a FREE 20 page 8x8 Creating Keepsakes photo book.
Click HERE to get started!
Offer expires February 28, 2009
promo code: CK47-5UXB-GGWH-B2YXWS

(The fine print:*Offer expires February 28, 2009. Free 8x8 photo book includes initial set of 20 pages. Offer good on all Shutterfly 8x8 photo books with photo cover. All incremental pages will be charged on a per page rate. Premium licensed photo books (including Martha Stewart Photo Books & Adventure Photo Books), as well as leather and padded photo books are not included in this offer. Taxes, shipping and handling charges will apply.)

Who new Barack had a blog?

2009-01-22T13:49:00.002-07:00

That's Mr. President to you.
You should check it out.
www.whitehouse.gov/blog/

It's a Great Day for Americans and the Irish too!!!

2009-01-20T08:50:00.002-07:00

To view it in color with cartoons for the kids, and the lyrics so you can sing along, click HERE!!!

So Long, Farewell

2009-01-19T09:06:00.001-07:00

Friday Night Fun

2009-01-16T13:40:00.004-07:00

I am hosting a monthly card club at my house tonight. It is so fun to just sit around and chat. Almost everyone in the club is from my old neighborhood in Eagle Mountain, it makes me miss it. But then we get to talk about everyone who still lives there (or didn't come!), most of whom I don't know, but that doesn't stop me! Here is my card for tonight's get-together:

Also made Poppy Seed Cake for dessert, YUMMY!!!

I am planning on a fun Friday night, hope you are too!

I heart Old Navy!

2009-01-16T09:40:00.002-07:00

Take an EXTRA 50% off Old Navy Clearance!* 4 DAYS ONLY--online and in stores! Don't miss your chance to save even more on already low prices, now through January 19. Enter promo code EXTRA50 at checkout.

Just.....

2009-01-12T13:19:00.004-07:00

putting up new recipes on the recipe blog,
thinking about doing $20 for 20 projects (all you scrapbookers check it out!),
trying not to bust open the first bag of cherry ju-ju hearts I have bought,
and seriously enjoying listening to this.

What you doin'?

Twilight on DVD

2009-01-09T15:15:00.007-07:00

*Turns out we can trust Kenzie, it will be released March 21st!*

GOOD NEWS, YOU CAN NOW PRE-ORDER THE TWILIGHT 2 DISC SPECIAL EDITION ON DVD!!!!!

HOWEVER, I CANNOT FIND THE DATE IT IS BEING RELEASED. IF ANYONE KNOWS PLEASE PASS IT ON!

***UPDATE*** My good friend & cousin Kenzie says it's out on March 21, however that's a Saturday and new releases usually come out on Tuesday, so I don't know if we can trust her. Also I won't be pre-ordering the DVD, I do think that is silly to pay for it early and not get it until days after it comes out. I will just walk into Wal-Mart or Target and pick it up that day. That's how I roll.

911, What's Your Emergency?

2009-01-08T14:15:00.004-07:00

As I looked out my front door and saw an officer of the law standing on my porch, my first thought was that our dog had got out. Do officer's bring your dog back? I don't know. My second thought was that they were coming to take either me or Molly away. (Was she really screaming that loud?) I wouldn't let her have ANOTHER fruit snack and she was screaming and so she went to bed. Before she went to bed we had a clean-up-the-living-room-I-can't-function-with-all-these-toys-out-here party (I love those parties!) and we ignored the phone because it was important that the toys be cleaned up before the baby took her nap. Apparently, the phone call was important, because it was the police station calling us back. The officer on my porch was standing there because someone at our house called 911. This is the first time in my life I can say without a doubt IT WASN'T ME! While I am grateful that the nice officer was doing his job and checking on us, I was embarrassed to death to give out my FULL NAME AND BIRTH DATE (I'm sure to run through the system, like I'm a criminal or frequent 911 caller). Lessons learned today: Give the kid another dang fruit snack and put the phones out of her reach.

18 months

2009-01-04T11:03:00.004-07:00

The age all mormon mothers look forward to, 18 months is a milestone. The Nursery milestone! I have been prepping Molly for the past few days about going to her nursery class. How fun her class will be, play with toys, see friends, snacks, yea nursery. I can't tell if she will go without a look back or scream like she just saw Santa. Lucky for me, this is not my problem. I recently acquired a calling that has left Josh taking our little princess with him for the last two hours of church. Good luck babe!
We are loving Molly right now, she is a funny kid. Sometimes when she does things I can't believe she is only a year and a half. She seems older some days. Not that I want her to be, it goes too fast. Right now her favorite thing in the world is Dora. She watches the show, reads her Dora books and plays with her tub toys. She knows each of the characters names and even says "Awww man" just like Swiper the Fox. Josh has got her saying "Awww nuts" as well, it's pretty funny. She is a jabber jaws and talks all the time.
Funny things she says and does:
Go away.
Stop it.
I know it.
Where's Molly? (with a blanket over her head)
I got you.
Dances like nobody's watching.
Sings Once there was a snowman, ABC's and itsy bitsy spider. (with actions)
Rock a bye's her babies.
Tells her babies "don't cry".
Loves Yo Gabba Gabba, Diego, and Elmo. Knows everyones names.
Points to all our pictures naming each person in them.
Loves to eat "emmies" (M&M's)
Loves to have her hair done and get a pretty put in it. (Josh is better at this than me, no lie)
Recently discovered Princesses, thanks Grandma Harris.

We love you baby!

*Just a note, she did GREAT!!! She's like her mother in that she adjusts well to new situations.

My Wish for You in 2009!

2009-01-01T17:13:00.000-07:00

May peace break into your house and may thieves come to steal your debts. May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet of money. May love stick to your face like Vaseline and may laughter assault your lips! May your clothes smell of success like smoking tires, and may happiness slap you across the face and may your tears be that of joy. May the problems you had forget your home address! In simple words ............
May 2009 be the best year of your life!!!

Once there was a snowman

2008-12-29T11:37:00.003-07:00

We finally got around to building a snowman with all the snow we have had dumped on us. Owen lent him his hat and Josh gave him the shovel! Molly treated the snowman just like she did Santa. Talked about snowman, said hi snowman, could spot a snowman from a mile away, then when it's time to go out and see the snowman, she screamed. Screamed when you put her down, screamed when you put her down in the snow, screamed when you put her down where snow might once have been. Now she likes to look at him through the window. Happy Winter!!!

Our own little Joker

2008-12-27T21:25:00.004-07:00

Gavin got a scrape on his face from a sledding crash. It's right by his mouth and looks like half of the jokers scars. Here is his impersonation of The Joker that Josh has been coaching him on all day!

My personal favorite is "my daddy is a drinker, and a fiend". So true!

2008-12-24T21:38:00.001-07:00

Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night!!!

A Christmas Visitor

2008-12-24T10:03:00.001-07:00

We have had a interesting visitor at our house since last night. You can read all about it on Josh's blog.

McCarrel Family Christmas Party

2008-12-22T09:36:00.012-07:00

The McCarrel Family Christmas Party is always a fun event that we look forward to. We love to visit with our family, eat and have fun!

As always, a nice visit with the big guy, letting him know how "good" they've been!Molly has been pointing out Santa for weeks and tells us "Ho Ho Ho" all the time. She was a little leery when he walked in last night, but after a few minutes she was waving and saying hi. Then when Santa pulled out a treat with her name on it and asked her to come sit on his lap, she turned into a cat getting pushed into a bucket of water. Clawing, screaming, screeching, anything to get away from him. Luckily I got to sit as the barrier between her and Santa and when he handed over the Dora book, things were okay. She still didn't want to look at him and I don't think she cared when he left.

The grand kids always do the Nativity. It is fun to see them all excited for their parts and get dressed up in crazy costumes. From our family we had:

THE ANGEL OF THE LORD (cutest one yet!)

A SHEPHERD

and A WISEMAN

I like to think that the Angel was screaming out the HALLELUJAH chorus here:

and here: Then she was happy again just in time for presents, truly a miracle!

We've been Elfed!

2008-12-20T10:45:00.001-07:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

The Stockings Were Hung........

2008-12-18T11:36:00.003-07:00

I always have these great ideas. Such great ideas that they are beyond my capabilities, and my most wonderful mother swoops in and completes the project better that I ever could have imagined. Thank You Mom! We all love our stockings and will treasure them as much as the stockings made by my grandmother.

Owen's 9th Birthday

2008-12-18T11:25:00.005-07:00

Better late than never right? I hope Owen had a fun birthday, he seemed very pleased with all his presents and his parties. We gave him an iPod and The Dark Knight, which we told him he could watch once it was out on DVD. Lucky for him that was two days before his birthday.

Then on Saturday we took a bunch of boys up to Boondocks for some fun filled party time. They all were so nice and had lots of fun.

Last night Owen received his Wolf (award? badge? pin? I don't know) in scouts. We are very proud of him and hope that he continues to do well in scouts and passes off all his requirements with his leaders! Just Kidding, but really why is scout so hard for the mom?

The Twilight Before Christmas

2008-12-15T10:59:00.001-07:00

I have been sick all weekend, but this made me laugh a little this morning!

My Oldest Child is 9

2008-12-11T09:27:00.003-07:00

How does this happen? You have these cute little babies, and then suddenly they are nine. I know, I know, some of you have a sixteen year old today. Happy Birthday to all, but a special Happy Birthday to my nine year old Owen. If he would eat his dinner without complaint and play nice with his brother all the time, he might be the perfect child. I will add his picture once he is home from school, bad mom I know.

My son, the walking infomercial.

2008-12-09T19:16:00.005-07:00

"You know how when you need to answer the phone but you don't want to get your hands out of the blanket. Now there's a new thing that's a blanket with sleeves." This was repeated to me word for word by Gavin, not 10 seconds ago. I thought he had come in to tell me something very serious, and it appears that he had. When I realized what he was talking about I started to laugh, this caused him to stop talking immediately and he would not be persuaded to tell me any more about the fantastic Snuggie. Not to be out done, Owen, who realized what we were talking about, spouted off with "Stupid snuggie, you buy one with a book light and you get a second one free." I believe I have just found the perfect gift for the Ride Leader and I from the kids! Merry Snuggie Christmas.

Come On Down! Your the next contestant on (fill in the blank) gameshow!

2008-12-08T09:05:00.006-07:00

My rockstar brother and his wife currently reside in LBC. Or is it The LBC. I don't know, it's Long Beach California for those of you not hip to the lingo. They apparently have all the time in the world to attend tapings for late night shows, hang out and wait for stars at movie premieres, and their newest hobby is getting on game shows. So far ,I would say they have been successful. My brother made his prime time debut on a little show called The Price is Right. Ever heard of it? Here's the photographic evidence, since he made it on stage, but didn't come away with a grand prize. Don't bring it up it's a sore subject. But you can bet he will always know the price of a new Dodge car.

Their latest escapade has landed them on one of my favorite shows from this summer. Wipeout. Couples wipeout to be exact. I will tell you a little secret, they made it to the final three!!! They tape the final on Tuesday, so I can't tell you if they win........yet. So stay tuned to find out when it will be on TV.

Go Shane and Sally, we hope you win and buy us something fantastic with your prize money!!!!!!