A Regular Occurence

Tiger Woods Golf... a wholesome family activity.

Bryson has mad joystick skills.
Did you know you can 'create' your own character?
Here's Bryan's version of himself...
Pretty close, I'd say.

The Little Hailee

BEFORE:


AFTER:

I call her... 'Little Hailee',
kin with 'The Hailee Marie'.

Gotta love green velvet.
Gotta love the DI.
Gotta love those little projects that make us little moms feel special.

You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.

I likey this quote... (thanks Dacia)

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend,is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."

-Dr. Adrian Rogers 1931

Guess Who is Who?

The first one is Bowen, then James, then Bryan.
They're like little triplets.

And then there's me...
No resemblance. jk.

Pics of Bryson are on my broken-now-fixed computer which is on the fed-ex truck as we speak.

James' Baby Blessing

The infamous 'Bean Game'... (if you haven't ever played it, order it NOW!)

(Dan, Mark, Bry, Ben, Mom, Libbly)

The 'must have' 4-generation pic that James is 'not havin'...(Great Gma Thella, me, Gma K'Lyn, baby James)

The "I will still have my ramen noodles even though there's artichoke dip, spaghetti meatballs, garlic bread and cinnamon rolls" pic...

(Bo)

The "Joe has obviously been pumping iron" pic...(Uncle Jo Jo and Bailey)

The "No pictures, please" pic...(Bryson)

The "I'm just gonna take a little rest right here" pic...

(Uncle Jeff and Bo)

Pics, pics, and more pics...(Mom and Ryder)


(Dad & Gma Rula)


GGma Thella & James)


(Lauren)

All My Brothers

I had all my brothers here with me this last weekend (except Ed who had a baby Saturday. Congratulations!)

For those who don't know, I have 6 brothers (3 older, 3 younger). No sisters.

It's fun and all bartering and slighting each other in "The Bean Game" (WAY fun actually) but the most amazing part of this whole weekend was when all my brothers got up in Sacrament meeting and put their hands on James' head to give him a blessing.

When they got up there and put their hands on each others' shoulders in a circle around my son I was blown away! Here are my brothers... snot nosed, booger finger, sweaty outside smell, 'teased me till I'd cry' boys that have grown up to be righteous men who honor their temple covenants and who called upon the power of God to give James a blessing. They looked like "a fortress of protection" surrounding my son. It was none other than awesome.

I didn't realize how much it meant to me to have them there. As if they were saying, "We're here for you. We'll bless you, be an example for you, call upon the power of God to serve you, because we love you."

Thanks guys! And you know you want to move here. *wink wink*

In all their cheesiness...

(Joe, Ed, Dan, Ben, Brett, Mark, Dad)

haha ( :

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?