Calling all Moms!!

So about 1 1/2 years ago our ward was split and we were sent off to the 9th ward. I was really mad and did not want to go, but I went anyway because I knew it was what I was suppose to do. Well, I have to say, it hasn't been all that bad and I have met some really great people. Take my Visiting Teachers, now I'm a terrible visiting teacher so they motivate me to go and see my people. Anyway they came to visit and it was so much fun to have our kids play nicely with each other and for us to just sit back, relax, and chat! It was refreshing for me. I've been dealing with the Fall Blues. I hate it when Summer is over! And it depresses me because I know that the long cooped up days of Winter are not far behind. So I've been thinking about ways to stay in contact with all of the fun moms in the area; and I've decided we will just have to have inside play group! My basement is big enough, why not? Or I'm sure we can take over a kiddie play land somewhere. So if anyone is interested, let me know and we'll get our kids together and play!

A lesson we all could use...

Hello again!
Wow look at me! Two posts in a row! Whatever will you do with yourself?
So for those of you who really know me, you know that I don't put up with a lot of crap from people. Sure we all have our pet peeves and I'll be first to admit that I not perfect. Close, but not perfect. ;) I'll also be the first to say if someone or something is bugging me. Sorry, I use to beat around the bush but it didn't get me anywhere, so I try to be nice but clear.
One of my main issues is I don't like people who are mean or inconsiderate. It drives me up a wall, which is probably why I need a straight jacket every time I return home from driving around and running errands. It's really sad to me that some people can get so caught up in themselves that they don't see the people around them they are hurting. And even more disappointing is some people will never see it.
So this leads me to the link of the lesson we could all use...
http://mystoriesandlore.blogspot.com/2008/09/dont-be-mean-charlene.html

I think I'll use this with my Young Women lesson on Divine Qualities. It's just a good reminder. :) jc

The Swiss Miss reports...

Ok so once again I am playing blog catch up! For the past couple of weeks, I've had those moments of "Oh that would be a great blog..." I've even taken pictures to go along with those moments, only to see that I don't get on and post them! Part of my issue is Cole told me about a month ago that I spend too much time on the computer and I need to focus more on him and Ashlyn. Now many of you know me and know that I don't usually tolerate those type of comments, but I felt he was KIND OF right, not COMPLETELY right, but KIND OF. So I've been trying to limit my time, but in doing so, I haven't been able to update my blog or stay updated with everyones blogs. So I'm going to slowly slip back into my old ways and make time for the blogging! Hey it's cheaper than therapy!

So two weekends ago, I went up to Swiss Days--both days. Now I've never done that before and I can speak from experience now, that the best day to go is Friday! More stuff, less people, less lines, etc. Anyway, I went with my sister and Ashlyn on Saturday and we had a great time just strolling along the booths. I found new things that I had totally missed on Friday, and they are things I think you need to see. So below I will be posting more about them. But first, I must share a story with you about hair girl. So I'm standing in the Swiss Taco Line...by the way, Megan Hinckley has the perfect comment on her blog regarding "Swiss Tacos and Pocahontas" click over and see it. Anyway, back to standing in line... So my sister had decided she was going to get the Swiss Chicken, so she went to stand in that line, while I stayed with Ashlyn in the Taco line. So mind you it is hotter than you know where and I have a fan that clips to my stroller for Ashlyn, but she keeps throwing it, so I have it blowing on me now. Well hair girl is standing behind me and starts talking to me with the usual small talk. Ok, no big deal, I'm a nice, social girl standing in a long line. I'll chat with her. Anyway, she's small talking and Kristin returns with her chicken sandwich and I'm almost to the front of the line, so I say, "Well, it's been nice chatting with you." and I turn around and start talking to my sister. So she taps me on the shoulder and the conversation goes like this: "Can I ask you a question?" "Sure." "Do you have some one who does your hair?" Ok mind you it is hotter than you know where and I have my hair up in my signature summer hair do...the clip. "Yes" I say. "REALLY?!"
(with a look of disbelief) "Why?" "Did you notice my roots?" Side note: I realize I hadn't had my hair done in a while, but I had an appointment for that next Wednesday. So she continues "Well, Yes actually I did notice them, that's why I had to ask." and she proceeds to give me her sales pitch of "Hair on Wheels" she comes to me! My sister and I were shocked she had said that. Hello! If you are trying to get new customers, you should say positive uplifting things, like..."No, I just think you have really pretty hair." Anyway, she said, "I look forward to hearing from you" and I said,"I'm sure you will." Rude. Ok enough about miss hair on wheels....and yes, I went to my hair appointment and I'm a brand new girl :)

So back to my Swiss Days finds. The first thing I found that I absolutely love and think everyone with small children needs is this:

The Amazing Action Alphabet. The link is http://www.seeheardocompany.com/ It is the coolest thing! Each letter is an animal that has a story and action to go with it. It teaches the sound the letter makes and helps with letter recognition. I also got the workbook, CD, and place mat. Ashlyn LOVES it and she does the actions and is learning all of the sounds. It's fabulous!!

The second item is: Live Well Stitchery http://www.livewellstitches.com/

I love their stuff! This is the first booth I seek out at Swiss Days. Here are pictures of the ones I bought this year:

The third best find is: The La-Di-Dolls. Those wood dolls with felt dress up clothes. I got Ashlyn the baby and she loves it. Now I just have to cut the clothes out! I think it will be perfect for Sacrament. (Sorry they don't have a website!)

So that's my Swiss Days adventure in a nut shell!

Money, Money, Money!

I can't believe how quickly Ashlyn is growing up! Cole said to me today, "She's just a little person!" Ashlyn is learning more and more words every day. Her latest favorite word is Money! I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing. Today, she figured out how to take her shirt off, well sort of-her arms got stuck behind her head. It was pretty funny! Then she found some of my Hallmark Gold Crown stickers and proceeded to place them all over her tummy. She came over to me and said proudly, "Mom-money! Money, money, money." I was laughing so hard. She was so proud of herself for finding "money." As the day progressed, I continued to find her "money" stuck to my shoe, feet, shorts, purse, computer chair, etc.

Then tonight, Cole's mom and brother Craig were here and Ashlyn started going through my purse. Denece asked her what she was doing and she said "Money, Money, Money, Money" and pulled out my wallet and started her hunt for the hidden treasure. After the purse snatching was interrupted, she got Uncle Craig to tickle her feet. She demanded to have her shoes removed and gave him her blush brush to use. He's a good sport for doing as he is told! One things for sure, she knows what she wants! So I grabbed the camera and took a few pictures. Enjoy!

Wow! What a summer!

Ok so I've been really crappy keeping up on my blog! I am re-committing to do a better job. We have had quite a Summer and I'm sad to see it ending! Summer is my favorite time of year. I love the warm (not HOT) weather, swimming, traveling, boating, play group at the park, etc. So since I haven't blogged for the past few weeks, I'll give you a brief update on our life...

Here goes:

Ashlyn and I returned home from Denver safely--Thank you airline for destroying my car seat travel bag. I do have to say though they paid me $40 right then and there. So now I have to remember to order another one before our next vacation...who knows when that will be but I want to be prepared. For the 24th I convinced Cole to take us to the Bountiful Park to enjoy Bringham's Fry Bread and go fish...always my favorite :) Ashlyn had a good time, she got a glow wand which she proceeded to disassemble before we had left and she got a stuffed pig that when you pull the string between the legs it shakes. Yes I think we all would. Hello! Who sits in the meeting and says, "Hey, I have an idea! Let's make a little stuffed pig and put a string between its legs and have it shake." "Oh that's a great idea Chin Chog Chu, and we can sell them as carnival prizes!" Anyway, sadly for all parties involved...the pig's string broke.

After the park, we went to Cole's sister's house to watch the Mueller Park Fireworks. They were great and Ashlyn now walks around pointing at the sky and saying "BOOM!" and then moves her hands in the air like the fireworks. She is a smart kid!

After the 24th, it was time for the Stampin Up Convention! It was held at the Salt Palace, which is nice for me because I didn't have to fly anywhere or pay for a hotel! :) We had a good time and I actually won something this year!! I won a new stamp set from the new catalog...it's not my favorite, but hey...it's FREE! And UPS donated a free stamp set to every demonstrator there! I can't find my pictures right now, but I'll post them when I do!

While I was at Convention, Cole quit his job...the guy was a total swear word. So he has decided to open his own shop! So if any of you need car repairs on any car, PLEASE call or e-mail us! I came up with the name...CARS--Cole's Auto Repair Shop--Don't even think of stealing it! Anyway, I was quite impressed with myself! So tomorrow he's going to go look at purchasing a shop in Sugar House, but for now he is working in the shop behind our house! It's been really nice having him around, and he isn't as stressed out as he was working for swear word dude.

So we arrive into August! Ashlyn and I have enjoyed many day trips around the valley. We spent an afternoon at Cherry Hill. It was so much fun! We also took our Beehives there last Wednesday and had a blast! We went to the Zoo. My cousin Paige and my friend's daughter Kienna, came with us. It was fun but it was humid! The bear was playing in the water (look behind us). We went to see the Elephants and the Elephant show started while we were there...may I just take a side note and say...Why on earth to people push little kids out of the way so that they can watch the show? Come on Lady! Get your butt out of the way! I told the old grandma she needed to move it because Kienna was there first and she was blocking the view! We also ran into a Barn Owl. He was out promoting his new Bird Show, which we decided to skip...sorry owl, but thanks for the Kodak Moment! Then we went to see the Ghost of the Bayou!! Ohhhh scary! Heck ya it was. The past times I've seen him, he has been asleep and looked dead. Oh not today! He was all over the place and he was starring at us...look close...see! Then he started climbing out of the water and over to the glass and to make matters worse, they put a microphone in there with him...what in case he decides to do a stand up routine??? Oh no, so you can hear him hissing and moaning... At that point, we decided to leave.

After that we rode on the new carousel at the Zoo. Why they don't use the money to improve animal areas in beyond me! After walking around some more, and visiting the gorillas, we went on the train. It was a fun filled adventure!

Well that sums up the past 3 weeks for you! I promise I'll blog more often...if I have any blog fans left!

A Really Great Movie...

Great movies only come around every so often. To me, a great movie takes you away for awhile causing you to completely forget about your life and live in someone else's life. I also think a great movie makes you want to skip and sing your way out of the theatre. Take Enchanted--A classic princess romance mixed with comedy and catchy tunes. I left feeling like there wasn't a care in the world. I loved it! Then there are movies made from Broadway Plays--already a given that it's going to be great. Come on...it made it on Broadway, it has to be a hit! Hairspray was a hit. For months, my cousin Missy and I would text each other lines from the songs such as "I can hear the bells" or "Good Morning Baltimore!" or "Mama, I'm a big girl now!" We laughed and memorized the songs. Ahhh Good Times.

Now it's Mama Mia! It's FABULOUS!!! If you've seen the play you will be pleased to know the story line is the same. No surprise endings, etc. If you haven't seen the play, you are in for a 2 hour moment of bliss. Who wouldn't enjoy starring at the beauty of Greece? I want to go there now!

So how good is it? Well, the first time I saw it was opening day (last Friday) in Denver with my Aunt, Mom, Ashlyn, and Cousins. Yes, Ashlyn enjoyed it too. Then we left Ashlyn with a babysitter on Monday and went to see it again. We were singing along and danced our way out of the theatre. I know people thought we were crazy; including Missy and Paige, but I know deep down inside they loved it! Then today-my mom, sister and I went to see it. Yes that's right...3 times in 1 week, and my mom wants to go again tomorrow!

After the 1st time we saw it, we bought the music. After the second time we saw it, both cars had the music cranked and we were trying to out do each other with our performance--you should have seen the look on the teenage boy who's music was drowned out by ours! So much to mine, Missy, and Paige's surprise...this is what we were greeted with when we arrived back home: The Dancing Queens

:

and here is the video of it too...

How do we compete with that?

We had a great time and I HIGHLY RECOMMEND SEEING THIS MOVIE! So until next time..."Does your mother know that your out?" and "Thank you for the music!"

OH NO!

Well SO much has been going on in my life that I've neglected my Blog. I apologize to my visitors...if there are any left! So here is a quick update of all of the events that have been going on in our life.

My birthday was a few weeks ago and I was hit with the "Bunko Bug" I had played Bunko 3 nights before with my friends. We have a great time laughing, eating, and tossing dice. Anyway, the flu bug was passed on to us through the dice. Four of us were hit with it that Friday. So I spent most of my birthday on the couch watching movies. My cousin Paige was so sweet to come and watch Ashlyn so I could take a nap. I felt much better by that evening so my whole family went to Market Street Broiler. It was fabulous!

The next event was preparing for Girl's Camp. Holy Cow there is so much to pack! Now I remember why I don't camp. :) Too much work for too much dirt!

For Girl's Camp we headed up to Camp Barlett in Idaho, it was a 3 hour drive. My beehives had already reserved seats in my car a few weeks before. They were SO excited! Thank goodness for my wonderful advisor Michelle. She was my navigator and she was so good with the girls. She does a great job! Once we arrived at camp we were busy setting up the tents and unpacking. I had brought our ginormous tent and it was perfect for our 2 queen beds and 3 leaders! It was huge though! Our camp theme was "ER" Eternal Rewards. We had scrubs and ID badges that held our daily schedule and a picture of each girl. The leaders badges had pictures of celebrities. Mine was Carrie Underwood. I actually had someone tell me they liked my picture. What a nice and optimistic man. I clean up well, but not that well!

Camp Bartlett is so beautiful! They have over 600 acres of land! They also have a TON of activities to do. We were so busy we didn't have any time for the girls to fight. It was heavenly! We went canoeing, swimming, river running--and two of the jr leaders tried to pull me under the water and I cut my knee on a rock. I have now named my scars Tazia and Stephanie. No worries...I got them back! :) I also learned how to tie a variety of different knots, first aid, which plants you can eat (yes I partook), and I shot a riffle and hit the center of the target all 10 times! Thank you, Thank you. I also stayed up way to late every night and the last night I started a silly string fight with the 3 jr. leaders...note to self--next year take more than 1 can. They had 4 and started to attack me back! I tackled them to get the can nozzles away from them, then we laughed and talked. It was a lot of fun, but it took me 3 days to recover!

My girls also had to participate in Star Gazing. It was amazing how clear the sky was and how bright the stars are. We all laid on the grass and watched for shooting stars. I also had a great time getting to know the other ladies that I serve with. It's amazing the impact Girl's Camp has on everyone who attends. Our testimony meeting was fabulous. I really enjoyed watching each girl's testimony grow while we were up there. I loved every minute of it!

Cole, my mom, and Paige were lifesavers! They worked out a schedule to watch Ashlyn so that I could go up for all 4 days. It was very nice and I really appreciate it! When I got home, Ashlyn was not very happy with me for leaving her for so long. By the next morning she had warmed up to me again.

The day after camp was the 4th of July. We went with my family to the Bees Game to see the fireworks. Ashlyn invited herself to eat the cheetos of the man sitting next to us. He was very nice and opened a new bag for her. I think it made his day. She is getting so big, I can hardly stand it! The fireworks were great! They played music along with the fireworks and it really made me reflect on how thankful I am for the freedoms we have in this country and for the men and women who have fought and are fighting for our freedom.

Ashlyn eating Cheetos Cole and Ashlyn Julie and Ashlyn

The next day we had our annual family BBQ at my uncle's house. He makes homemade french fries and hamburgers. They were divine! We also have fireworks care of Ryan and his trip to Wyoming. He bought some pretty cool ones this year. The neighbors across the gully called the police--Party Poopers. Anyway, it wasn't until Ryan lit off the "finale" firework which included 8 in the air fireworks did the policeman show up. He admitted that it was an impressive show, but said he was there on a complaint and that they are illegal. Anyway, Jay sweet talked him and he didn't give him a ticket. We had a great 4th!




Now we are in Denver visiting my aunt, uncle, and cousins. We are having a great time. Stay tuned for pictures and stories from our trip........