Forgive me, friends..

For I have sinned. I went to the CELINE DION concert last Sunday evening; the tickets were originally for last November- but she was sick and postponed the concert. So besides going to Stake Conference and having a delicious dinner with my family- I was singin' along with Celine! She is a great entertainer.


I absolutely love how music can bring back specific memories in life- and the great thing about Celine Dion is that she has music that can appeal to most everyone. My mom and sister Kina sat in the 7th row on the floor- and Megan, Jana, my Dad and I were in the AT&T box with two other couples and had a great view of the whole thing. Good Times!!

Oh the JOYS!

Of being a mom! Wednesday night was Book Club for me- and since it was my pick I was able to host. So after having some delicious Italian (We read Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert) I sat down with my kids in their jammies to watch an episode of Phineas and Ferb before bed. As I lovingly pat Bobby- I notice that there is no diaper on him: he says, "Shh! It's a secret. I have underwear on." I am laughing as I ask him when he put them on- and if he wants to wear a diaper to bed or not. He didn't- and stayed clean and dry until Thursday morning when he successfully used the bathroom ALL day with one little accident! Yeah for Bobby! Yeah for me! After having an absolutely frustrating experience with Jordan; I was not excited to push Bobby in any way- so now that HE is ready; things are going GREAT! I just love doing laundry and folding those tiny little briefs!!

More February Fun!

I hate to bombard the blogging world with so many new posts; but when you only download pictures here and there- I have to play catch up!

So, Valentine's Day was terrific. It seemed like my kids were so kind and loving to each other ALL day! We made cookies, more cookies, attended a bake sale for a good cause, had a delicious dinner and just spent time together- napping, eating, and watching the Aggies lose to Boise State (dang!).


In other big news- Jordan learned to ride his bike- no training wheels! Yahoo for you, Jordie!

Yet another shot of Bobby- falling asleep wherever/whenever- the kid is related to his Dad:

And Julia in her Jazz sweatbands- what a cutie pie!

Ryan and I had a little "overnight getaway" Thursday night to Tucano's for dinner, The Jazz game (Thanks to Kirstie who entered his name in the office drawing) and to the Anniversary Inn (Thanks Landon and Darci!) So, here are my observations at the Jazz game:

1- The Guest Services guy down on the court looks just like Barry Manilow- makeup and all.
2- The lady on the first row has some serious bling: her ring is five or six carats at least.
3- Over on the first row- by the basket- the model for Layers swimsuits was attending the game with a cute hat on.
4- WAY too many people respond to that "clap your hands" song- like wind-up monkeys.
5- Still, WAY too many people go nuts to get a silly shirt or a stupid ball thrown at them!
6- The guy behind us was never told that it is disgusting to snort back the boogers and swallow them..
7- The signs that the Jazz bear has to hold up are way too heavy for him.
8- If you give the Jazz an insane amount of money; they will give you a free soda and small popcorn for FREE!
9- This all sounds way too negative- but I enjoy looking through a Ballet West Playbill more than the Jazz one that talks way too much about the over-rated Kyle Korver. He made two points, people, and missed several shots.
10- It WAS fun to go to a game-Do I have ADD? I'm not sure...

But on the topic of Anniversary Inn- I will spare you details- just enjoyed a nice big room with a huge tub, cheesecake, Sparkling cider, breakfast in bed, and watching Mamma Mia! It was delightful!

My Ninja's

I have to share some pictures that are a few weeks old; but we rented a TMNT dvd from the Library and after watching several episodes, I overheard Jordan tell Bobby, "Bobby! Let's go be ninja's downstairs!" About ten minutes later- they returned looking like this:

How creative/cool is that? BTW- that's colored tape from the preschool:)

Friday the 13th

Friday the 13th wasn't an unusual day; in fact, it was awesome. Ryan and I went to our first Murder Mystery Party! Megan and Marci were the brains behind it- and it was a part-ay!! I played Dawn Sweet; the scorned ex-wife of George- who was murdered. Ryan played Shylock Nomes who gave a whole bunch of BS information to everyone for too much money. The evening played out with delicious food, a lot of laughs, and a verdict- which our team guessed correctly. With over thirty people there- it was a large group;

but the most fun I've had in a long time! We proceeded to play hide n' seek in Megan's massive home with all the lights off- it was unforgettable. Thanks to Marci and Megan for the party of the year!!

Nan- looking so lovely in her fine hat:





Jason and Tricia: Jason was in love with his wife (Tricia) and Trish was a hussy wife who stepped out on him!!




Here's the Girl's- Tricia, Nan, Mandy, Marci, Me, Megan, Melonie- smiling for the camera: Mandy is played Queen Elizabeth- and- she made me a Duchess for sucking up to her, so you may now refer to me as such.



Here's the picture after Doug said that we needed more authentic expressions on our faces and said "Think of Sex!" I don't ever want to hear that word from you, Doug!



(See Tricia covering her mouth? And Nan said, "Did he just say that?")

Easily Amused

I have to say lately that I don't enjoy most t.v. anymore.. besides American Idol. However, in my perpetual kiddie land that I live in- there are two shows that I LOVE to watch with my kids:

#1: Curious George on PBS:


I love the monkey. I love that he explores all kinds of math and science- love the show. I can easily sit and laugh over this show with my kids!



#2: Phineas and Ferb (Disney Channel- on Demand) Holy crap. This cartoon is so funny and once again, I love watching it with my kids. Basically- the two brothers are always building fun things and their sister is always trying to bust them doing it- all while their pet platypus is a secret agent... love it.



I am just a kid at heart; not a day over 18.

I ate..

Five doughnuts today. Just thought I'd share that.

The Happenings of Late..

Is it possible to have the Guinness record for the most Blue Painters' tape? It's transition central around here.. and we've still had room for fun!

-We made Hide and Seek Cookies for fun yesterday: Bobby grabbed his cookie and said, "Mom, I'll be right back." I told him he needed to eat his cookie in the kitchen, to which he replied, "These are Hide and Seek cookies- I will go hide it and you can come find it!" He is so cute.

-Julia dresses herself- well- she picks out her own clothing lately- both her clothes and dress-ups- she keeps me smiling.

-Jordan is getting super-creative with his marbleworks building- he made a bike for him to ride with the pieces and it can be a gun, too- with the whole gun thing- a boy can make a gun out of anything, I gave up long ago.

- Ryan seems consumed with Scouts- he went winter camping last weekend and continues to go to scouts every Tuesday and Thursday nights.. which leaves us little time to make progress in painting and moldings- we made this effort to go late with no kids to Home Depot (thanks, Nan) and we got there just to see that they closed at 9, not at 10.

-Amanda- I can't seem to get enough done in one day.. but I am proud to report that I have exercised once this week, have had fun swinging kids in the outside snow, life is slowly returning to "normal" but with a twist: our FOURTH baby is on the way! I'm pregnant and due at the end of September!

You're just too funky for me..

I hope I never live in the house I remodel...ever again. It's a good thing that I've been patient! My house is a wreck... however- the floors and new floor boards are fabulous- and by the time we're done we will feel like we're in a new house. Right now, there's nothing on the walls, I have a new kitchen table, my master bedroom has been FULL of stuff, Ryan and I have been camping in the Boy's old room on a FULL size mattress which leads me to this conclusion: a King size bed is a spoiler. But I just painted my walls a fresh green- so funky and sophisticated-the pictures don't do them justice! My goal is to have my home back together before Book Club at my house at the end of the month... and then I'll be having a NEW catalog party for Scentsy.. you're all invited. In the meantime.. it's slow but it is progressing! And by the way- the red is not staying- too Christmasy for me. Ryan: you totally rock- (he's my carpenter and second brain on this project.)

Valentine Quiz

I LOVE Real Simple- because that's my goal... to Simplify! I found, however, a quiz that I thought would be fun to share with all of you! Click here
Try it out! I LOVE Valentine's Day!

The Girl's Got Talent..

I am totally taking advantage of winning a free photo session with Haylee Bean Photography! Her photography style is very intriguing to me- full of color and life! Check our her blog.. I only wish I could have her as a fly on my wall to take such fabulous pics of my kids in their everyday glory! These are my faves of her daughter, Molly! Check it out!

California Dreamin'

On such a winter's day...