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Grandpa memories and a little culinary art

Monday was Memorial Day as we all know and we spent it at Grandpa's grave. I can't believe it's been a year since he passed away- I miss him so much.

I was reminded as we went of how special Grandpa was to me in my life. I remember one time when I was 6 or so that I had just gotten in trouble by Mom for doing something bad (which probably means Brenna did it and I got blamed for it. Oh the joys of being the oldest). I was so distraught as was typical for my dramatic 6 yr old self and so I called Grandpa and said, "Mom is being mean to me!" I don't really remember what Grandpa said to that, but he came over to our house about 20 minutes later, picked me up, took me to the store, and bought me the biggest stuffed animal I had ever seen. I slept with my new favorite rabbit every night.

 

Unfortunately we forgot to bring candy to put on his grave, so instead we headed to Dairy Queen and got blizzards in memory of Grandpa. Mom got a Heath one, Grandpa's favorite.

I am so thankful that I had such a great example, teacher, and grandpa that showed me what true charity really is.

On Memorial Day we also had a ward BBQ and considering I was asked to bring a dessert I thought I'd try and copy my mom and make some delicious tarts like she made at the baby shower.

I did it a little differently than she did, but I think they turned out great! And I took the tray home empty so I think everyone else agreed :)

Day Date with Maddy

Yesterday my sisters complained about my parking job and I said, "Hey, I'm sick!" They also teased me because my bed sheets are all over my floor and I said, "Hey, I'm sick!" And my internal self is getting on me for not writing more often and I say, "Hey, I'm sick!" That excuse didn't really fly on the first two, so I doubt it will on the last. And besides, I'm not even that sick :)

Because of being near my deathbed, I can't say I did much this past week. Although I have been playing quite a bit of werewolves, so stack that up as some small sort of accomplishment. But by far the highlight of my week, actually to be technical going out to lunch with Steph would be #1, was having a party with Maddy on Friday.

Maddy and I had big plans for the day. However, the weather did not. We were going to go to one of the best parks of all time but it was raining. There was sunshine for about ten minutes and as soon as I saw it I said, "Maddy, get your shoes on! Hurry, get in the car!" But halfway to the park it starting pouring again so we went home deflated and ate our lunch.

It stopped raining for a few minutes and Maddy moved her lunch outside. I preferred to sit inside where my seat was not wet :) She also got in some good one-on-one time with the trampoline, so although not the best day ever, still pretty fun :)

And you know how sometimes, despite what mood you're in, some things just can't help but put a smile on your face? I'm talking about rainbows after it rains, a good book, a walk when the air is crisp, leaves crunching under your feet, laughing about the smallest things, stopping everything for just a minute to think, getting a hug when you're upset, and, let us not forget, chocolate. Well, my rainbow of the morning was this beautiful video. I am so glad that the church takes the time to create these! Happy Sunday!

Games, sweets, and parties

Well, I haven't written in over a week (which means I'm off to a bad start of using this as an online journal haha). However, I've just been having too much fun to write!

My number one excuse is that I've been busy falling in love...... with Austin Walker. He is by far the most adorable baby ever and if his mom wouldn't notice, I'd probably steal him. I've also been hiking, going to lunch with friends, doing some zumba, soaking my feet in hot tubs, playing handball, driving with Max and friends, taking a boot camp class, going to bonfires, and going to the zoo. Oh, and lets not forget some intense rounds of Old Maid with the fam.

Oh and as an update on Mother's Day, it was great! I mean, I'm not a mom but I definitely enjoyed myself :) And my mom enjoyed these delicious buttermilk pancakes with a buttermilk syrup that is to die for. Yum!

Many things lately have topped my lists (including a $3 dress I bought at salvation army that will change fashion as we know it), but here are two that are recent enough that I can remember :)

I found this beautiful loveseat at the good old Goodwill for $30!

Maddy was kind enough to model it for me in her pjs after I recruited Vicki to help me haul it home. I've been looking for a piece to use in my sessions, especially with families. Prayer answered!

And with Maddy of course no photo opp is complete without her getting to show off her nails haha

I am VERY excited to try this piece out on some fams!

Today we had Lois' baby shower at our house and it was a blast, even with the mass amount of cleaning I was privileged to do :) As you can tell below, my mom is pretty much a party animal and is known for her hosting skills!

We're so excited for baby Sloan to come! She will be one well-dressed baby girl! And of course what party would be complete without some pre-party whipped cream shots?

My mom did a spectacular job with all the food.....but doesn't she always? :)

And of course Olivia was there getting all pumped up to be a big sister! And trust me Liv, it's a blast :)

Such a CUTE family......I am so excited for them! Until next time!

Mother's Day Build Up!

These last two days have been nothing but FUN!

Friday I got to spend the morning with the Coleman kids and if getting them ready for school is always that fun then sign me up again! I loved making their cute little lunches, including the classic "note on a napkin" that frequented my childhood. And as we can see, Vicki is a choosy mom, because we were all Jif that morning :)

As Maddy and I were in her room picking out some clothes for her we suddenly get a loud knock on her bedroom door and Brandon yells, "Police, open up!" Well, we were surrounded so we found all the stuffed animals we could and took 15 minutes out of our morning routine to play a little cops and robbers. But with that kind of armory, are you surprised at all that the boys won? (Maddy and I are currently investing in R&D for some pink and stylish guns of our own).

And of course no morning could be complete without a few battle scars, which Maddy insisted needed a band aid :)

Oh, and don't forget a little "I want to eat this even though I'm not allowed to" :) ..............

As we dropped the boys off at school I yelled "Have a good day!" and Maddy got in her own "Be careful!" before the boys ran out of sight. Then Maddy continued to tell me about the "tiny people" that she goes to preschool with. Not children, tiny people. We spent the rest of the morning wearing cowboy hats, eating crackers, and making this Mother's day present for Vicki:

In the afternoon Jenn and I took a trip with Max down to the temple. It was wonderful, especially the hilarious part when Jenn foolishly had too much to drink on the way there.....and then could barely hold it during the session :) On the way home we of course had to stop at Deseret Book. I got a good look at my love infatuation that I see every time I go there and I also got this wonderful cook book:

I will definitely be cooking out of it soon!

Today I went and had the emissions tested on my car (of course Max passed with flying colors) and then I finished my mom's Mother's Day present:

I'm sure that she will LOVE having this to spice up her classroom. She's such an AMAZING teacher!

I was also elated this morning when my mom took her temple picture off the wall that she's had since I was born and replaced it with a picture I took recently. Now, this may just be the adult form of displaying finger paintings on the refrigerator, but I feel pretty darn special!

Out of all this though, my largest project of the day was what you see below:

I made these for Aunt Di and Grandma for Mother's Day and decided I'd make a few more for some other mothers I adore :) Hope you all have a great day tomorrow and show your love to all the mothers in your life!

Cinco de mayo- Yay!

Well, this was one wild cinco de mayo, and it's not even over! And when I say wild I mean that it was busy......cause I guess it really wasn't that wild.....yet :)

I found myself entranced by old family videos for a good 45 minutes this morning after I studied. I mean, watching cute kids like this wouldn't you get glued too!?

Then I finally pulled myself back to 2011 and starting getting things done for the day. I went to Winco, Costco, had lunch with Beth to celebrate her taking an AP test, worked on my Mom's Mother's Day present (get excited for the reveal on Sunday!), helped Christa find a job, ate dinner with the missionaries, and......whew, I'm tired just thinking of it! So I took a siesta in honor of mayo day and listened to a good General Conference talk while lying on my bed.

Now I'm off to go spend some one-on-one time with Em, and then who knows! Happy cinco de mayo!

Just because

Hello everyone! Normally in the LDS community people start blogs when they get married or have a baby. Of course both of those things are exciting and deserve a blog to capture all the fun. But I decided that my husband-less and baby-less life is also pretty fun :) And one day, my beautiful children and awesome husband may want to know what I was up to before they came around. So, I've decided to start capturing all the moments!

As of late.......

For the first year ever, we dyed Easter eggs without my mom this Easter but it was still pretty fun because my dad is the master of egg dying. I also made one to tribute NYC cause......well, do I really need a reason? :)

Also, after the amazing talks given in April, I decided to follow President Monson's counsel from General Conference and take some pictures of the Portland, Oregon temple to put around our home. I LOVE the temple!

As an update for those who don't know, I have a job with Fisher Investments that I am VERY excited about, but I don't start until June. So, to keep myself occupied until then I've been doing some things to keep me busy. For example, I sewed my own temple dress (thanks Jenn!), redecorated some of my room, and bought a car!

Yes, it may not be that big of deal to anyone else but I have always wanted a jewelry holder that met all of my needs....and I finally found one!

Another easy change was buying those cute plants you see above from Ikea, and adding some art I've had in my closet. I think I like redecorating a little too much...... Next up, a white headboard for my bed!

And last but definitely not least, Max! Yes, I've already named my car and I'm pretty sure I'm in love. I think about him all the time and I would love to just drive around all day. Only rising gas prices can squelch our love :)