A Stub Your Toe Kind of Day

This last week has been a little tipsy! I don't know how to describe it other then....
that crazy frustration and pain you feel when you really REALLY stub your toe...
you aren't mad, or sad or upset you are just CRAZZY UUUaagghhhh!
Graham and BJ after BJ told him NO while he was dropping rice all over... he was SO sad and need a love! He had some crocodile tears... it was sad!

Well this week has been a mix of stub your toe then laugh and then stub your toe again... until all you can do is curl up and laugh or cry!

One of the greatest women I wish I knew said...
"The only way to get through this life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache."
Thanks Sister Hinckley
Amber and I have SO much fun together just goofing off! We were making these Chocolate Dipped Oreo's and just decided to get silly! I LOVED IT!

SO to all you Stub your toe kind of moments......
I give you a big huge fall on the floor giggle!

One of my biggest faults is that I jump to conclusions and see the absolute worst in situations when I am sad or offended! SO I am working so hard to look for the absolute best or silly in those situations! I might have to do a little "fake it till you make it" but LAUGHING is so much better for the spirit! And who wants to be a Sour Sally? I DON'T!
Amber and I decided to dance it out! IT WAS A BLAST!

A few moments that have got my heart racing and my mind working this week...

I got a calling! !! YIPPIE!
What could it be.....
I know your dying to know.....
WELL....
Its NOT NURSERY! whew....
I am team teaching the
10-11-12 year olds in the Valiants class!

I am SO excited! I am teaching this coming week! I have been reading and studying the scriptures for this lesson and I am stoked!

I have also been baking and dreaming up all the yummy things I can make with my mixer! I am going to take a few pics tomorrow!

Another little something is that dinner tonight was WONDERFUL! Over and Sister Stuff they have weekly menus! Everything I've made of theirs has been SPECTACULAR you have to try this Orange Chicken! OOOOOoooooo we all loved it!

And to counter act all of that I have been going to Work Out Group.. it hurts SO good! Today as I was walking to the car my legs were so tired and sore I couldn't walk straight! But if feels so good to be getting out and exercising!

I am working on a "Live List!" One of my favorite blogs is The Polished Pickle and she challenged everyone to make a list of all the things they want to do! SO I am going to get mine together! It gets me all bubbling inside!

Whew... I am excited..
Try and catch me now Stub My Toe Moments!

I DARE YOU!


What do you do when all the little things make you want to AAAaaagggghhhhh?

A Good Day

Friday was my first day back to work since before Graham was born! I was unsure and unesasy about how I would do after so long but I am HAPPY to report it was GREAT! Cristy teased me about jumping back into it, that you never forget cause its like riding a bike! I STILL dont know if its that easy but I sincerely enjoyed being creative and getting back into what I LOVE!
the arrangements I worked on..This is what the cooler looked like at the end of the day...
B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L right?

Its easy to forget the simple little things!
I LOVED:
how your fingers get a soft tint of green after arranging for a while AND
creating a "vision" for the order and price you have before you AND
the RUSH you feel as you go into the cooler and "shop" around for what will make THIS arrangement extra special!
AND
how I love adding lots of dimension to my arrangements... its kind of like a game, how much texture and space can I create in this AND
the contentment I feel when I get to spend the day creating, expressing and pushing myself!
Other arrangments for the Bloomers booth at the Bridal fair

THANKS to all the Bloomers girls, I had a great time, I am anxiously awaiting my next chance to come back!

I have to share these pics... When we woke up Friday morning the snow had DUMPED in Cedar and so 3 of my helpful sweet boys went out to scoop the driveway for mom! They were having WAY too much fun so I caught it on the camera........Thanks boys for helping get me ready for my big day! I sure looked forward to coming home to you!

ahhh.... lovely

For Christmas my big gift was a Kitchenaid mixer! I have wanted one for SO long and was shocked and thrilled when I ripped the wrapping paper off to see it! I picked a silver color and am in LOVE with it! Today I made some cookies and really recognized how much easier it is then a hand mixer! NO MORE standing around beating... I am a multi tasker now! Except when I get caught up in how amazing it is and just sit and WATCH it go!

THANK YOU MOM AND DAD I LOVE MY MIXER!

I have a some other news that I am batting around in my head! Tomorrow I go back to work... just for the day.... I dont know how I feel! Its been SO SO long since I've gone to work!

I am excited to see the girls at the Flower Shop

I am excited to play around with some flowers, the Bridal Fair is this weekend and that means we get to be CREATIVE!

I am excited to get away.. NO KIDS.. NO FIGHTING... NO WHINING

And Yet.....

I feel a little unsure! I dont know what I am unsure about! I know once I get there I will be on cloud 9 but until then I feel a little nervous and overwhelmed! I know this will help me to get out and use some of my talents with out little hands and needs but I am unsure if I were to go back to work a few times a month if I could balance everything? I am sure I am over-thinking it.... Ill be sure to take some pictures of my day tomorrow to share and reflect after!!!!

One WONDERFUL Year With Graham

Over the holidays Graham turned 1! Its hard to believe its been a year but he is getting so big and trying so hard be be as grown up as the big boys its hard toaccept he isnt a baby anymore!I made him a bath tub cake for his birthday and I think he loved the Jello (water inside the cake:) as much as the cake itself!
I found a few pics of our little Grahamy to show how much he has grown and to remind me of how little he was!
All dressed and going home...
First bath...loving those bubbles!Looking ruggedly handsome for his Blessing! I have to say those are the best kiss me cheeks EVER! Exploring and lifting up his head, trying to figure out where all the noise is coming from!He has always had a sweet still calming personality and that has added a important element to our family! I love just kissing those chubby cheeks and resting with him for even just a minute!
I love this picture you can see how his curiosity is growing and his ability to play and get all dirty is getting better and better!
All ready for the wedding! Gotta love that bow tie!Playing with the family can be memorable and slightly traumatic We went out hiking and he loved being outside and was getting used to playing with the big boys!His first bath where he splashed and played with the big boys! Spencer and I have started calling him Grahamy Pants... I dont know why but its our go-to nick name! Dont worry Graham by the time you can read this I am sure it will have worn off! :)For his 1st Halloween he was an itsy bitsy spider
And now at a year old he is still a sweet little boy with lots of opinions a big appetite and a hunger to be on the move! He can crawl so fast and is taking 5-7 steps at a time, soon we will have 3 big boys running around our house!Your Dad and I love you so much Baby Grahamy thank you for being a part of our family!!! I cant wait to see what you will grow into and the wonderful boy you will become!
x0x0
Love Mom!

Wii are having fun!!!!

Wii have been getting together with friends playing, dancing and battling on the Wii! This year for New Years Even we went to Amber and Dangs house and had our first taste of how deliciously fun it is to play the Wii!Amber made up some scrumptious drinks that we had at the non alcoholic mini bar! My favorite was Citrus Splash! It had a lime slice, orange slice and lemon slice along with ginger ale, bitters and a cherry hmmm YUMMY! We also had virgin Pina Coladas! We came back over a few days later because we just couldn't get enough of the Wii! This time we took a few videos! LAUGH ALONG WITH US! Amber and Dang are SO SO GOOD at it! They stay right with each other!

BJ and I were not as ... lets call it.... polished in our dancing skills! But we had fun!

I AM WORKING ON THIS VIDEO... IT WILL BE ADDED SOON!

The kids had a great time boxing each other! I think they had fun beating each other up! By that point in the night I was pretty worn out! All that dancing and boxing is a fun workout!



BJ JUST used his Christmas Gift Card and bought a Wii for us! I am sure there will be many more videos and funny stories as we practice and play on our very own Wii!

Looking back on Christmas

BJ has figured out how to get pictures off our almost broken camera.... he is a miracle worker! SO I have quite a lot to show you, I love looking back at Christmas!

We continued our tradition of reading Christmas stories and having hot Coco on Sundays! I really look forward to the Sundays in December! I hope as the years go the boys will start to look forward to this tradition too!!!

This year was a year to spend with my family so we had our Christmas exchange with BJ's family a little early! All the cousins pick a name and exchange a gift! And all the siblings and their spouses exchange so we got to give our gifts and see the excitement on their faces! ( I made most of the gifts this year so it was extra special to give them out!!!!!) We all had a great time!!
For Christmas we meet my fam in Logan! They found a GREAT vacation house so we could all hang out together! Dad took all the big kids to the BYU game down in Vegas and so Mom and I stayed with the kids and "relaxed!" Mom helped the boys make thier first candy Santa train! The boys had a ball I cant wait to make it next year! The next day we went to the Dinosaur park in North Ogden ! WOW it was PERFECT for the kids! The dinosaurs were HUGE and looked so scary and real! They had a blast! We meet everyone in Heber City and Grandad and Gramzie took the boys on the Polar Express!

Christmas Eve came way to fast and Spencer and I made some treats for Santa and wrote him a thank you note before bedtime! Then we read my favorite Nativity story and headed to bed .... KIND OF ...the kids had the hardest time falling asleep.... I wonder why?
In the morning the kids went around and woke up EVERYONE and waited patiently to open their stalkings! They just sat and stared... giggling and wiggling!!!
The boys were so spoiled this year! Santa brought them each their own Star Wars Rex Helmet and Mom and Dad got them a few toys too! Gramzie and Grandad gave them two big bins of legos and the boys got each other a few Star Wars action figures!

Even Graham got in on the action and got a super fun BUCKET of VEHICLES! (which he found with a little help from Coop!)
I wish I had more pics of what everyone got from Santa! We were all spoiled this year! THANK YOU SANTA!

Later Christmas day Sommer and Chris and BJ and I took the big boys sledding! It was a great sledding hill, even if it was crazy steep! Spencer couldn't get enough, Cooper unfortunately got the bum deal because Mom and Dad fell on him! So he didn't love it as much as the rest of us.. Poor COOPER!

Back in the Groove

I have finally defeated the mountain of laundry that has been waging war all over our house! Thanks to B.J.'s help we are gaining control. I am very relieved to report that all but one load is folded and put away! VICTORY!

I have started making dinner again! It feels SO good! BJ's schedule seems like it is a constant state of change but I have decided whether or not he is here the kids and I need to eat! SO ..... we are having "Picnic Dinners in the Car" with Dad! Ill make dinner and then the kids and I will drive over to his work and he will eat dinner with us in the car! (since we cant go inside.... for obvious reasons) Its been really nice to see him even for just a few minutes and to eat a real dinner on top of that!

The kids are having fun with all their new toys! So far their favorite new pastime is LEGO's! They both got LOTS of legos from Gramzie and Grandad , which they love, THANK YOU! The boys have been making lego houses, and fire stations, and airports and castles! They are getting so creative and are actually sharing.... BIG SIGH OF RELIEF!

They are also having fun with their Craft boxes Amber made them! It is so nice to see them use their imagination and make something all on their own! And of course all their new Star Wars gear and action figures are all over the house! The kids like to have epic battles between their action figures! Its really fun to watch them play! Even if I am constantly picking up little toy light sabers and blasters!
BJ has been working what feels like non stop since we got back trying to make up for the time off during Christmas! I am trying SO SO hard to be grateful he can pick up the hours and not be sad he is gone.... its tough!! But I am looking for the silver lining! He turns in his application for Grad school next week! SO PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE pray for us! We wont know until March if he is accepted but we would appreciate all the help we can get!
Graham is ON THE GO! He is crawling so fast on his knees now, he has ditched the army crawl all together now! And he is taking a couple steps....when he is encouraged, bribed, and begged! :)

Life is getting back to normal! We had a great vacation.... which i hope to blog about once I get pics from my parents....pressure pressure pressure!!! I am SO glad to be home and back to my version of "NORMAL!"

HAPPY

My new favorite song is Happy by Leona Lewis.. if you havent heard it... check it out here!

In her song the chorus just really hits me when she says

So what if it hurts me?

So what if I break down?

So what if this world just throws me off the edge

My feet run out of ground?

I Gotta find my place, I wanna hear my sound

Dont care about all the pain in front of me

I just wanna be happy

My mom called last night and told me a VERY sad story about a family with 3 little boys and thier baby died on Sunday after falling off a chair and hitting his head! That night BJ and I talked about how blessed we are!

Life hurts sometimes, I break down, I feel like the world throws me off the edge every now and then

BUT

I am blessed and I can CHOOSE to be

HAPPY

or

SAD

I CHOOSE TO BE HAPPY

Here are a few of my reasons for happiness TODAY:

The boys and I danced and danced around the kitchen during lunch time

GRAHAM gave me that million dollar smile when I was twirling around that made my heart jump

BJ called to say hi

I drank a DDP for lunch (my drug of choice Diet Dr Pepper)

BJ will be here for dinner YIPPY

Girls Night TONIGHT! I am looking forward to some quality girly time

And #1 I have a beautiful family who is messy and grouchy and imperfect but we are safe, happy (75% of the time which is a GOOD percentage) and we LOVE each other!

Christmas post.... its on its way, sort of! The camera came back to us for a few days during vacation but it died again and I think its gone for good! My parents are sending me the pics...HOPEFULLY.... this is BLOG pressure! MOM... DAD.... email me PLEEEEAAASE