Just edible

Pictures from this angle are my FAVORITE!!!

Alyssa's Birthday

The birthday girl...

She was gifted such treasures as you see beholding in her hand... (apparently 'beholding' IS a real word.)

And in that big purple box behind her was such rare items as you see in the pic below...

You guessed it.
Each item represents a McClure book and Alyssa had to guess which book from whence it came.

After hours of serious conversation about... fake eyelashes (among other fake things) we decided to attempt a freeze frame.

And then it starts to get crazy...

Even James gets in on the fun...
"I'm flattered" pose...
"I'm so happy I'm crying"...
Alyssa had a fabulous (I'm being sarcastic) idea to have us all pose as gargoyles.
I, of course, emphatically refused until at such time as Alyssa played the 'but it's my birthday" card.
Hence, a reenactment of the Twilight baseball scene...

And lastly, an attempt to recreate Alyssa's 'no nonsense, I am your cult leader' stare....

Community Playthings

I pretty much think this is the coolest thing ever.

Wouldn't you have died to have one of these when you were little?

They have some of these items at Bowen's preschool and so I googled the brand and found their website. They're called Community Playthings. They have the coolest stuff... kitchens, nursery gyms, you name it. They're kind of expensive because they're extremely high quality. They're meant to go in a daycare or preschool and last for years and years. The wood is extremely nice.

That awesome play loft area above is $5000. ( : Hm.

They also have a lot of WAY cool toys at Bo's preschool of which I also googled... they are Lakeshore brand. Bowen specifically likes the magnetic color maze below. SUCH a cool toy.

Fellow Foodies of St. George

CHECK THIS OUT!!!

Little Chefz

It's a preschool/cooking school for children.
And it's less than 30 seconds from my house.

Is that not the best news you have ever heard in your entire life???

I am so excited I could die.

I don't know how many times I have died in the last few days.
My life is just that exciting.

To go to a cooking class WITH Bowen...

Would that not be just the most fun on this entire planet? Seriously.

The stars are aligning. ( :

RED ALERT!

I COULD NOT put this book down.
A MUST READ!

Do it! Do it! Now! Now!

A Bride Most Begrudging by Deeanne Gist.

This other book of hers is supposed to be just as good if not better!
I CAN'T WAIT to read it!

Fun with Foam

You'll never believe me when I say I actually GAVE them this box of foam pieces to play with.

I just handed it over and said, 'Have fun'!

And that they did for TWO hours.

A splendid morning activity I'd say.
And then we just left it and went to Pizza Planet. It is still a mess to this day...

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? As if I could walk away from a mess like that. It's very presence would drive me mad with frenzy... the enormity of such dissaray... my very own form of chinese torture. No no, we immediately cleaned it up right after.

Gave me an excuse to rearrange the furniture, too, which just makes the whole world seem anew.

A Sunday Morning

Bryan and the kids are still gone.
It's Sunday so I can't go shopping.
So what does a girl do with herself with hours on end on a Sunday morning?
Some might quietly read their scriptures and ponder the mysteries of the kingdom.
Me?
I spend hours on end curling my hair.
What is that expression on my face? That is a worthy mystery to ponder.
I feel like a lion with a mane.
Actually, I remind myself of the saloon girls in the Deanne Gist book I just read.
Hm, I really can't think of better use of my time.
I would say the morning has been well spent.

DI Find

Look at what I found at the DI for $25!!!...

Glorious! GLORIOUS!
I think that is my best DI find TO DATE!

(incredibly crappy picture because I have to use my stinkin' camera phone)

My Adventures

I walk into Roberts Arts & Crafts store and I see THIS...

Well, naturally I had to whip out my camera phone and snap a picture so I could duplicate it POSTHASTE.

The end result?...

I am so pleased with it I could DIE!

And it just goes absolutely perfect with my new Daisy Fuentes pillows (on sale at Kohls).

Even James likes it...

My, he is the SPITTIN' IMAGE I tell ya.
Handsome little brute.
Can I say brute?

Apple Cake Pops

Is this not the cutest thing you've ever seen?...

I think I should make them for Bowen's teacher.

GUESS WHAT?
My familia (minus James and I) left for California this morning.
They'll be gone for 4 days.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS?
This means a SPOTLESS house for 4 DAYS!
If you had read, "Dreams Come True for Those Who Have OCD"... well, ...

I Met Marcia Lynn McClure!

You're so jealous you could just die.

The indisputable evidence...

(Alyssa, MLM, me)

Alyssa and I drove from St. George to Layton and back again in less than 24 hours.
We're die-hards.

We gifted MLM many treasures.

Such as:

A basket of 'MLM" eye candy...
(Big Hunk candy bars taped with pictures of some of our favorite characters in her books)

On top is a picture of Tim Tebow representing Scott Pendelton in Love Me.

One fabulous perk of the whole experience was meeting the Boise girls, Kristy, Briana & Jen.

(Alyssa, Kristy, Jen, Briana, me)

Not only were they eating Cafe Rio (instant kindred spirits) but they gave us an enthusiastic recommendation for ANOTHER author that may be of the same caliber.

We're so excited we could just die... again.

Grandmatown

In an attempt to avoid utter destruction we shipped ourselves off to Grandma's house.
That's where we've been for the last 2 weeks.
We took advantage of every Grandma within driving distance...
Granmda K'Lyn Grandma Jill (how could I have not taken a pic?)

Grandma Rula and Bula (they come as a package).
Twins. 89 yrs.

Even Grandpa TedJames was rocked, cuddled, and nuzzled the entire 336 hours we were there.
Finally he got so sick of being held he just fell asleep in my arms... mid conversation, I might add.


Here he is at home saying "Where the heck are all my Grandmas?"Which is exactly what I was saying (but I won't post that picture).

Some days are just utter thunderstorms.
I'm just glad I have the widsom not to blog on those days (mostly) because I would end up saying words as such...
"WHY WHY WHY did we have 3 kids so young???"
and then I'd pull out of knife, point it at Bryan and say...
"YOU! YOU did this to me!"
I'm kidding.
Please.
It's all in jest.

And lastly, this little gem...Aw, what a sweetheart.

P.S. I never knew how entertainin' the Lawrence Welk show was till I hung out with Gma R&B. You can't tell me you don't just feel all happy after listening to and dancing a jig the likes of Gma Bula here below...

Slow-Cooker Chicken Chasseur

Bryan's exact words?...
"Unbelievable!"

An involved recipe (the best ones always are).
You have to buy such rarities as cremini mushrooms and dried porcini mushrooms... NEVER on coupon, I might add.
I went to Smiths and saved a whopping $1.70.
Hm, well, it was worth every penny!
HERE for the recipe. (by America's Test Kitchen)