"Technical" Difficulties

Go ahead and chalk up another T for Justin in church ball. No kidding- at last night's game he got another technical. This time for "chucking" the ball at the ref (after a bad call, when it was the other team's turn to take the ball out). He had to sit out for 2 minutes. In Justin's defense, everyone agreed that the ref was being really dumb about it. But still- third times a charm. Unbelievable!

Goodbye President Hinckley

Just heard the sad news that our beloved Prophet, Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley died tonight. He has had such a wonderful influence on the LDS church over the past 12 years he served as our Prophet. I have always loved his humor and relatability- he was always so down-to-earth and practical. I know that members of the church worldwide will greatly miss him. He has had so much impact on the face and growth of the church. I'm truly thankful for him and his legacy- it will be hard to get used to having a new Prophet.

Pres. Hinckley's death has really sparked some interest in Jace and he's had a lot of questions about death and such tonight. I wanted to record this to remind myself of it later. We were trying to explain why he died and said it was because he was getting really old, because he was like an old grandpa guy and Jace said, "I don't want to be a grandpa" and then he asked if he'll ever see Pres. Hinckley again and we said that he probably will when he dies and Jace responded, "No, I don't want to see Pres. Hinckley right now- I don't want to die." Then tonight while saying his prayers, he said.."Thank you for Pres. Hinckley and please bless that he won't miss us too much." He also started naming about everyone of my family members and saying, please bless that so and so will find out about Pres. Hinckley." And the last few things- I was showing him a picture of the 1st Pres. and trying to show him that Pres. Monson would be our new Prophet and he pointed to Pres. Eyring and said, "No, I want this guy to be- because he's got glasses and so does Pres. Hinckley." Finally, when they showed an old video of Pres. Hinckley speaking on the news, Jace goes- "Is that the new Pres. Hinckley?" I love the innocence of children.

For more info on his death or the announcement of his death go to http://www.lds.org/

Good, Better, Best

So... this week I've been focused on tying to do better than I've been doing. I just feel like we as a household have become a little sluggish on the things that really matter, so I've been organizing, planning, setting goals and recommitting myself to not just be satisfied with "good" but to strive for the "best." Have you ever just had a day of reckoning? The past year was busy and crazy and a little out of sorts for us in general- a lot of changes, adjustments, etc. so as a result, I started letting a lot of things slip- in pretty much every aspect of my life. And well, frankly, it's time to get back on track.

A great motivator for me came from Elder Oak's talk at conference (Good, Better, Best). I recommend reading it if anyone else ever feels like I do- that we "have more things expected of us than we can possibly do." (as Elder Oaks put it.)

I have many plans of what I want to do, but so far this week we had a FHE on expectations and how we as a family could do better. We implemented this little chore chart for Jace (inspired by my friend Angie) and I'm also planning on making a "Family Rules" poster as well. I also went back to the gym this week and trying to do better at meal planning/shopping, etc.

But...I'm looking for some ideas. I want to know how/where/when everyone fits everything in. I'm interested in knowing when you read scriptures, how you divide up your house work (wash on a certain day or a load a day, what do you do monthly, weekly, etc. in terms of cleaning, do you split cleaning duties up or do them all in one day?), how you distribute time between kids (who want to play/need you) and all the daily duties that are also desperate for attention. I'm just finding it difficult to keep up on everything and be a mom and enrich my children and teach them the gospel and get in shape and....you know how it goes. I know it's all about balance and priorities but I'm looking for specific ways to stay on top of it all effectively. I'd appreciate any ideas in my pursuit of "bestness." Anyone else up for the challenge?

Yummy Bakery Tour

This week we went on a yummy tour of the Albertson's bakery with the mommies group from our ward. We got to see them decorate and write on a cake, taste their delicious frosting and see the big mixers and ovens. Fun for mom's too! And the cookie at the end--fresh chocolate chip... to die for. I ended up buying a bag. That's so unlike me.

Tag- All About Me A to Z

I'm sure all you bloggers out there know about the infamous "tagging". My friend Bree tagged me and as I told her, this is probably the first time I've been tagged since about 3rd grade. So...I'm a rookie to say the least. I'll give it my best shot.

Attached or Single: I usually have about 3 people attached to me, my two kids clinging and my husband close by.
Best Friend: I have roughly a dozen best girl friends who are all equally important to me. However...if I had only one friend left, I'd pick Justin. Sorry girls.
Cake or Pie: Cake over pie, but a brownie or cookie over cake.
Day of Choice: Probably Friday- typically no scheduled activities, lookin' forward to the weekend and usually have my house in decent order from the week-long work I've put into it. But my real day of choice would be one where I have no distractions and can get everything done I've been wanting to get done.
Essential Item: Paper towels. Use them all the time and for everything. I just think they're more sanitary than a hand towel and with kids- they're a must. I love them for wiping hands/faces, cleaning, spills, etc. I go through about a roll every day or two. And.. I usually buy Bounty because I HATE cheap paper towels.
Favorite Color: I like different things about each color. I love the crispness of white, the classic and versatile nature of black, I love neutrals, but also love happy spring-like colors(but not fluorescenty). I'm also very specific about color- I love red, but only certain shades of red- no bloody, christmassy red. I like it deep and rich. But..I would actually say that I love color combinations better than one specific color. Like I love pink and brown together or maybe a certain shade of green accented with black, etc. I could go on all day.
Gummy Bears or Worms: Actually eating worms as we speak, but probably prefer bears.
Hometown: From the birthplace of television- the one and only Rigby, ID
Indulgences: Blogging, TCBY's white chocolate mousse with oreo, a good book with uninteruppted time to enjoy it, E! News or tabloid bits at the check out, "me" time, being in the comfort of old friends- doing absolutely nothing, a warm batch of choc. chip cookies- any treat really.
January or July: July without question. I love the sunshine and summertime.
Kids:Jace 3, Rylee 9 months
Life is incomplete without: Faith, Family, Friends (& a few of those indulgences mixed in)
Marriage Date: May 24, 2002
Number of Siblings: 6 (Stacey, Kristie, Jennifer, Hollie, Greg, Allison- Yes! 6 girls, 1 boy)
Oranges or Apples: Apples are easier- I hate peeling oranges
Phobias: Mice
Quote: Cherish: The life given us by nature is short, but the memory of a well-spent life is eternal. Cicero
Reasons to Smile: Justin getting home from work, getting good mail, hearing from friends, receiving Christmas cards, happy children, warm weather, lounging at the pool (which I don't have now), when laundry is done and house is clean, going out, learning/experiencing something new, seeing/reading/watching something clever or funny. Really no reason not to- happy home, great husband, loveable kids, good health, blessed life.
Season: Spring & Summer
Tag others: TASHA, HEIDI, KATIE, NICOLE, ALISH
Unknown fact about me: I've got mighty toes. I can pick anything up with them and can also give a mean toe pinch with them. Watch out!
Vegitarian or Meat eater: I was raised on a cow farm- meat, but I do like veggies too.
Worst Habit: Besides staying up way to late most nights? Or running late more times than not? Also saying "like" or "you know what I'm saying" a lot when I talk in conversation or telling a story. Or... giving too much information. Jus thinks that I tell too many details. For instance, if I'm returning something at the store, the clerk will ask, "is there anything wrong with it" and instead of saying a simple "NO" as Justin would, I proceed to give a lengthy explanation about why I decided against it. I'm working on both of these, but not that you can tell by this lengthy answer. I guess I have too many bad habits. Can anyone say resolutions?
X-rays: Just at the chiropractor. I did have a broken finger once though. Did I have an X-ray?
Your Favorite Food: Pork Salad at Cafe Rio- dang I wish it would come to Idaho!
Zodiac: Aries

January 14th- Happy Birthday Justin!

Tonight (actually last night since it's now past midnight) we celebrated Justin's 28th birthday! So fun....bowling and pizza with all my family and afterwards we came back to our house for frappe, cupcakes and a few presents. The bowling alley gave Justin this pin that said Happy Birthday to remember his bowling b-day party! He had birthday luck too- scoring 170 one game and 168 on the second. Way to go Jus! He even got the turkey strike once! I came in at 110, which is way better than I normally do.

Jace did awesome on the kids bumper lane- he did it all by himself, heavy ball & all

On Sunday, we celebrated with Jus's family. His mom made a nice Sunday dinner and got the traditional Dairy Queen ice cream cake (which is so good). All in all, I think he had a fantastic B-day! Time just keeps marching on...another year gone by. This time last year, the hole for our house hadn't been dug yet, Rylee wasn't even born and we had just moved from Utah to Idaho- what a difference a year makes.

Make a Wish! He didn't get to blow out all 28 candles, but he did get his favorit e cupcakes- rainbow chip with rainbow chip frosting

Jus sporting his new snow boots

Boy am I glad that he was born- have you ever thought about how significant someone else's life has been to you? This is one life that has certainly impacted my own- can't imagine life without him. Hope it was a good one, Jus!

Game On!

Oh yea, Church Ball has officially begun. And church ball just wouldn't be church ball without Justin getting the big T. I'm so embarrased, but this is the second technical he's gotten in a church ball game. He got one when we lived in SLC and if I'm not mistaken it was for swearing at the ref (yes in a church ball game) And this one.. for intentionally pulling or pushing some guys shoulder while trying to steal the ball or something like that. Which, of course, Jus disputed and said was not true, making even more of a big deal out of it. I cannot say for sure as I spend most of the game socializing and only paying attention to the game every now and again- I didn't even know who had won. I had to ask Jus when we got in the car to leave. Surprise, surprise. Jus always gives me crap because of the lack of interest or understanding I have for sports. I was a cheerleader for 5 years and I still get offense and defense mixed up. Go figure. What? I was busy cheering- who had time to actually watch?

Anyway, since he's the "athletic director" in the ward, you'd think that he'd try to make a better name for himself out on the court. But that's just my take on the matter. By the way, his team won- yay! (But who's keeping score, really?) Let the games begin!

Inspire Me

Okay so.. we've been in our house for nearly 4 months now and I have yet to hang anything on the walls. I don't know what it is- usually I have no trouble with decorating and get things up right away, but I'm stuck here. I think it's that I just don't know what to do yet- we're probably going to switch out our furniture and we have a couple really big walls, which has proven to be a bit intimidating- I'm such a perfectionist that I want it to be just right.

My bare walls are calling to get some attention- and I'm about to the "going nuts" stage of not having anything finished yet, so does anyone out there have any great ideas? Send me pictures of what you've done or what you have on walls or for decor. Inspire me please. And.. is it just me or does this picture look weird- it's like a freakin ring of fire- must be the flash bouncing off the light or something. I promise it's just a normal wall- no weird faux going on.

Sunbeams!

Today is a milestone- it was Jace's first day of Sunbeams! Oh yea! Our handsome little dude is growing up on us. He walked right into the Primary room, sat with his class and really enjoyed himself. Such a far cry from his initiation to nursery- it took us a long 7 months to get him to go happily. It's really unbelievable to me that he's already old enough to be in Primary- he has become quite independent, is developing such a personality and is learning and growing so much each day. I feel like our baby is slipping away from us. It seems just like yesterday that our sensitive little cling-on wouldn't leave my side for anything and now he's registered for preschool in the fall and declared to me yesterday that he's too big for his tricycle now and that he needs a big bike.

Can someone please get me a tissue?

Now What?

Does Anybody else ever feel like this after the holidays are over? Where am I going to put all these toys? Who's going to eat all that candy from the stockings? Under the tree is empty- all the deocorations have served their purpose for yet another year and it's time to put it all away and get on with the new year. It's like now what? Fun to give and get and to celebrate and then you have to deal with all the aftermath. I still have the toys in our living room, added a few more home decor items to my pile stacked against the wall and luckily, I went pretty easy on candy this year, so it's pretty much consumed.

Yet, there's always a piece of it that I don't want to put away yet- I decided to hang all of our picture Christmas cards this year and I just can't bring myself to take them down yet.

Bringing In 2008

Happy New Year! Isn't it crazy that it's already 2008? It seems just like yesterday that everyone was making a big fuss over the Year 2000 and now it's almost been 10 years since. Time just goes too fast these days.

Jus looks thrilled- remember it's wayyyy past his bedtime here.

We celebrated New Year's Eve with my family- a prime rib dinner prepared by my dad, a couple games- Life and Loaded Question, chocolate fountain part deux (also did this on Christmas with Jus's family) and of course, watched the ball drop and made some noise!

Christmas 2007

It was our first Christmas at our own house this year! It was so nice that our kids got to spend the night in their own beds and that we didn't have to haul anything back and forth. It was a nice and relaxing Christmas this year- one that I didn't want to see end. I really enjoyed the Christmas season and was in no rush to get it over with.

Awesome! Jace excited about his new guitar

Rylee gives her stuff a little taste-test

Our kids surprisingly both slept in until 9 a.m. on Christmas morning, which was so nice- no complaints from me on that. Jace actually forgot it was even Christmas- he was a little worried about Santa coming into our house the night before- didn't like the idea of an intruder. However, once Justin reminded him that we needed to go see if Santa came- he was pretty excited. Rylee didn't really get what it was all about. And naturally was more excited about eating the wrapping paper than anything else.

Jace showing off his new fireman outfit and cool slippers

Yummy wrapping paper

After enjoying our Christmas morning as our own little family- we made a quick trip to my parents to open a few gifts and then headed off to Justin's parents for the rest of the night for Christmas dinner and to exchange gifts and hang out. We also enjoyed a little chocolate fountain fun! These are seriously a fun party idea- bring a bunch of different dippers and it can keep you entertained, not to mention, sick for hours.

Rylee lovin the hippo pusher Zach & Shantay's dog, Bently gave her.

Enjoying the delicious chocolate fountain

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve 2007

We spent Christmas Eve with my family (the Price's). There was a huge snow storm that day, so luckily everyone made it to my parents safely. We kicked off our festivities by decorating sugar cookies to give to those we went caroling to, then we went caroling, had dinner, opened presents (we do a cousins and sibling/husband exchange), had a family talent show and called it a night.

Here we are getting ready to take on the storm to go caroling. Our family is so not the "singing/caroling" type, but somehow this got planned for the party- so we all went along with it. We picked a few people around the neighborhood who we thought might need some holiday cheer and it was actually quite rewarding, not to mention fun. We got all bundled up and treked through the snow-the kids totally enjoyed it. They were singing from the top of their lungs in the car- what good memories.

Rylee and Jace with the gifts from their cousins. This is a tradition that I used to have with my cousins growing up.

Here's Jace and his cousins, Payton and Savanna, doing a couple numbers for the family talent show. This is a tradition we started a few years back and I love to see what everyone does. Only one person per family is required to do something, so we sent Jace up to bat after Justin declined to sing Santa Baby. (J/K) They sang a Frosty song, Guess who wears... and Must Be Santa. So cute!



We usually do the talent show, act out the Nativity and play some carols with the Christmas chimes- this is really a fun and chaotic activity for anyone who hasn't ever seen/heard of this before. But this year we just did the talent show since caroling took longer. Great memories and great fun!

And... did I mention the snow?- we seriously got a down-pour. Here's Justin snow blowing our driveway in the wee hours of the night. Just clearing a way for Santa I guess. And the hat? He either bought that while on his mission or it was a gift from one of his brother's old girlfriends? Pretty snazy.