A special wish

I woke up pretty early this morning...a little after 6am. The sun has been up for a little while the birds are chirping like crazy and I couldn't go back to sleep. My mind started racing and thinking about all the things that I needed and wanted to get done today. Then my beautiful sister popped in my head...

"today is Tifani's birthday".

The past few months have been very difficult for my sister. She has gone through something that is the hardest thing a mother can go through. I'm amazed at her strength...her courage...and her faith. I admire her...I look up to her...she is a beautiful person inside and out. She constantly helps to remind me what really matters and what is most important and I'm so incredibly grateful for that. She is an amazing gift in my life and I love her more than I ever thought I could.

Growing up with my sisters we didn't exactly get along ALL the time...who does really? I was the oldest and will be the first to admit that I wasn't always the nicest sister to these girls! I never could have imagined back then how I would feel about these girls now. The connection that you have with a sister is priceless. I was blessed to have 3. We each are very different...have different tastes...styles...personalities. I love these girls and I cherish every part of them...they are my best friends.

So today my sister dear I wanted to send you a wish...a special birthday wish. I wish that your day is full of bright sunshine and happy thoughts. I wish that you feel loved and adored. Any wish that you would like today I wish for you. I love you so much...HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Going back to Cali

I haven't really posted much of anything in like a month! I was talking to my sis Tif the other day and as soon as she answered the phone she goes..."You're alive!" Life has been a little crazy around here the past few weeks and I think we are finally starting to feel back on track again...maybe! A couple weeks ago Dave and I flew back to California to help move his sister Kirsten and family back here to AZ. As soon as we flew in we had just enough time to go into San Fransisco and see Fishermans Warf and eat at Bubba Gumps. It was one of the last places open at 10 o'clock at night and we were starving! We ate yummy food and Dave was in heaven with his pot of seafood. It was so amazing to go back there and it was so good for Dave to get away from the office and have no worries. We had so much fun!

There were bright green hills everywhere and I was loving the beauty of it all. We drove by Dave's old house and he just walked up and down his old street remembering the past. We went into downtown Danville and had lunch at the Rising Loafer...yummy! We drove by his old high school too. That area is so beautiful it was amazing! What a fun place to grow up!

After we were all loaded and packed up we started our journey back home to AZ. There was this place that Dave's family always had to stop on there way down to southern cali and it is called Pea Soup Andersen's. Dave and Kir were SO EXCITED to have pea soup and I just didn't get it! It was such a cute place but I passed on the soup...not really a fan. But they had all you can eat...Brandon loved it too! It was fun to be in a place that had such happy memories for them. Brandon was a little trooper driving all that way! We made it home safe and sound and we are now one big happy family:) It was a super quick trip but we made the most of it and had a great time!

Road Trip

Dave and I are on our way to California tonight and I'm SOOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!! I wish I could say the reason for our trip was to get away and have some "us" time(that will come later I hope). But we are actually going there to help Dave's sister Kirsten move back here to Arizona with her family. We have been so excited to get them here and have been looking forward to this little trip! We fly in later tonight and are rushing like mad to Fishermans Warf to get some play time in before we have to start our road trip home tomorrow. I haven't ever been there at night before so this will be a new experience for me and a flood of childhood memories for Dave. The kids are each going to a friends house for the weekend! Not having to worry about them for 2 days is a vacation in its self! Even though it's going to be a super fast trip we are so grateful that we can go help them out and get their booties in AZ for good! Woohoo....road trip!!!

Lemon trees and Orange blossoms

I LOVE this time of year in Arizona. You simply can't beat it! The weather is gorgeous and so refreshing. You wake up to the smell of orange blossoms...at least in our neighborhood...there are orange trees everywhere so the smell is delicious! The sky's are blue, the sun is bright and the temperature is perfect. The citrus trees in the backyard have been very good to us this year. We've loved eating the oranges and grapefruit but haven't used too many lemons. We go out there all the time to pick a few and I even made lemon bars one day and those were SO GOOD! It hasn't even made a dent in the tree...this lemon tree has exploded this year...they are everywhere! The kids and I went out there yesterday and the lemons were GIGANTIC...ENORMOUS...HUGE!!! I've never seen lemons so dang big! I grabbed a couple bags and just started picking away. The smell was amazing! Before I knew it my bags were full and my arms were covered in scratches from the thorns on the lemon tree. Ouch! We went inside and made fresh lemonade and even added a strawberry puree. I love strawberry lemonade...it's my favorite! We sure had fun and the house smelt sooooo yummy!

Much needed Pampering

For Christmas this last year Dave got me a gift certificate to get a pedicure. Here I am in the beginning of March and hadn't used it yet! He also got me a massage for my birthday and I still haven't used that. I know...I have all this pampering at my fingertips! Last week I decided to go get my toes done and I brought Ashlynn with me. I thought she could get her little nails done too! She is constantly asking me to paint her nails and if one chips the world is over as we know it! She was kind of nervous at first and didn't want to be away from me. So the girl let her sit in a pedi chair next to me and she did her nails there. Ashlynn was the happiest little girl on the planet at that moment! It was so much fun to go together and have a mommy-daughter day! I felt like a whole new woman afterwards...it was simply FABULOUS for both of us!

Ashlynn's 1st Primary Talk

This last Sunday Ashlynn gave her first talk at church! When she got her paper last week she was so excited and kept saying..."i get to go up on the stage mom, the stage!!" She thought she was going to talk in the chapel in front of the whole church. I had to explain to her that she would be on a smaller stage in front of all the little kids. That's our little entertainer for ya, she's not shy at all! When it was her turn to go, I was helping her up the steps and I started to get teared up and started crying. I had to shake that out of me quick! I couldn't believe that my baby was old enough to be doing this...she's almost 4 years old! Where has the time gone? She was such a big girl and did such a great job!

Someday I'm planning on printing my blog postings into books so I can have them around. So I have to write her little talk so we can remember it. Her talk was on "Family Members have Important Responsibilities"...her ya go...

"This is my family. I have a Daddy a Mommy and a big brother. We live in my Grammy & Grandpa's house while they are on a mission. My parents teach me many things. They teach me to be kind and to love my brother. I like to help my mommy cook & clean. My brother likes to help Daddy outside in the yard & they love to go on bike rides. We try to obey our parents but sometimes it can be hard. We love to do things together like going to the park...play games...and just be silly. I like to pick out what song to sing for Family Home Evening & my brother picks a song too. I like to say the family prayer sometimes too. I love my family."

I need me

The past few months I have been in a 100% slump. I haven't been exercising at all...I've been eating what ever I want and I have a sweet tooth that is a MILE long...maybe two miles! I go to bed way too late and I normally have a craving for something sweet before bed. It's almost like I have no control and I just didn't care. I wake up in the morning to my kids saying, "I'm hungry mom, I need a drink, I need this I need that". I would wake up every morning not ready for the day and feeling like I'd been run over by a truck because I was so tired. I was just flat out annoyed to be quite honest. I don't know what has happened to me but I decided this week that it's not happening ANYMORE! I'm not going to let my body go down the crapper. When you don't take care of yourself and you don't feel good about your self it really does show in so many ways.

This week I started doing what I did all last year and I don't know how I ever let it go. I wake up around 6am and meet my exercise buddy Suzie by 6:30am and we walk/run a little over 3 miles. This morning as I was leaving the house, the sun was barely coming up so it was still pretty dark. But it was so quiet and peaceful and a little bit chilly. As I was walking down the street I took this deep breath in and it felt like the best breath of fresh air I had ever taken! I just felt so happy and ready for my day...it was awesome! This was my time for the day and I so need to have that "me" time. My kids and my husband need me and need me to do things for them all the time and that's OK...that's life. But it's SO NICE when I can wake up in the morning and know that nobody needs me yet!!! It's about me now...I need me now. The only time I can squeeze in for me may be early in the morning but it's there just for me. I think as mothers we are always taking care of other people and we forget about ourselves. I know if I take care of myself first... I can take care of everyone else so much more...and I'm happier! It's really a huge bonus all the way around.

So all you mothers out there...Remember to take care of yourselves and to have some "ME" time each day! Don't allow yourselves to feel guilty or feel that you're being selfish. Just take charge and do it! It can only make you better, more happy and able to give more and who doesn't want that??

...I Need Me...

Is telling the truth really this hard??

I knew this was a stage in life that all little kids go through and I was just hoping that mine would pass on by it. Who was I kidding? For the past year Tyler has been telling little lies here and there...making up stories...you name it. One day Ty came home with this BIG story on how 3 kids and school were trying to beat him up during recess and that they were on top of him and calling him names. I was totally upset and wanted him to tell me the whole story, every detail, so I could call and talk to the principle. The more he was talking I just kept getting this feeling that something wasn't right. I kept asking him to make sure he was telling me the truth because I was going to talk to the school about it. After a few minutes he finally told me what really happened and it wasn't as big of a deal. But the lie was. We talked to Ty and have been trying to explain to him the importance of honesty. We thought it was sinking in. Maybe not! The other day I caught Ty in my room and he was being super sneaky and hiding something. I noticed something was missing off my dresser and I asked him if he took it. He looked at me right in the eye and said no. I knew he did it and it bothered me so much that he looked me right in the face and told me no! He is more afraid of getting into trouble from taking something then fibbing to me about it. He went to his room for a while, we talked about it and then we moved on. I swear...not more than two hours later...I noticed something else that was missing in the kitchen...I asked him if he took it? I told him that I could tell something was missing and that he better think hard about being honest. He walks over to the counter and says..."ummmm, let me see if somethings gone....nope mom, I didn't take anything." I wanted to scream my brains out, I was so frustrated! He went right back in his room until Dave came home. We both agreed that Ty needed to have a punishment that really hurt him and made him think about what he has been doing. We've taken away t.v. before...his bike...playing with friends...the normal stuff. I was so upset that I told Dave that we should take away EVERYTHING...i was done! He was kind of surprised but agreed with me. When you have to punish your kids it is usually harder on the parent than the kids...in my case anyway:) For the record books this is the first time Tyler has been grounded. I have to admit though this week so far has been really nice around here. The kids get up in the morning and they know the t.v. isn't aloud on. Ty comes home from school and we have much more together time and we aren't distracted by other things. Ty and Ashlynn are playing better together and not fighting as much. There has definitely been a change in this house this week and I'm really liking it. Yesterday Ty said, " ya know mom...not having the t.v. is kind of nice." I just has made me think about things that we have around that we don't REALLY need. I think things have been going better because we've been spending more quality time together as a family. Even though Tyler has been the one grounded for the week...it has really made me think of things too and reevaluate things around here a bit. I just hope that he gets over this lying stage...SOON!

Hot Cocoa and Smores

I haven't felt like writing very much since my last post a couple weeks ago about my sister and their baby passing away. It was so wonderful to have Tifani and her family here with us the past couple weeks. We were all getting used to having them around again and it just felt like they lived here. We shared some special moments together and created some wonderful memories. Good things they will be back home for good in June:)!

My next few posts are just some fun things that we did together. We decided to make smores and have hot chocolate at my parents. I don't know why smores are so yummy to me but they are! I could have sat out there for hours around the fire...enjoying the fresh air...enjoying the good company...and eating smores! It was really nice!

When we lived back in Iowa I mastered making smores in my oven. It was so dang cold outside that it wasn't even worth trying to get a fire going out back. So I improvised and it worked out quite nicely. I always craved them later at night at about 10pm. I would look out my front window and see if our neighbors (the Kook's) lights were on. I knew they always appreciated a yummy treat even if it was a little late. So here I am this crazy girl running across the street at 10 o'clock at night, knocking on their window, bringing Sara and Tom smores. They just laughed at me and called me the devil but they loved them anyway. I think that's when I started loving smores so much...all the way back to our Iowa days...I really do miss those days:) Good Times!

Holy Hamburger

In our family my dad is kind of known for making the most delicious hamburgers EVER! They are huge and have the best flavor...seriously they are to die for good! It was our last night to hang out together with the whole family and Tif and I had this idea. We were going to cook out hamburgers and then go out back by the fire and make smores. Mom and Dad always have a date night on Friday night and we kind of changed their plans for them. Thanks for letting us do that guys:)! It was so much fun and we just had the best time together. As you can see Dave's burger was so big he could barely fit his mouth over it. But did that stop him? Of course not! The kids always get so silly and giggly when they are around each other it's so dang funny.

Here is Ashlynn holding little Brock. I love this picture of her, I just think it's so darn cute. She is going to be a great little helper when we decide to have another one.

Here are my girls...my beautiful sisters...my best friends.