Cashin' in!

You might remember that I had a post where I offered the first three responders (and yes, I do make up my own words as need arrives) a homemade gift sometime this year. Well, I posted because I had responded on my sisters blog--and too bad for those of you who responded on mine instead of hers, because your gifts will not be near as cool as the ones I just got! :) Just thought I'd share what I cashed in on--the girls love their new tutu's!!! Thanks Chrissy!

Aren't they adorable? Oh ya, I know my girls are, I meant the tutus! lol I can't believe my sister makes stuff like this, she is so creative, talented, and awesome for making them for ME!

Digiscrappin' Fool!

I think I can say I'm officially a digiscrapper!! I've been totally addicted since I started. I definitely had a few frustrating days in there as I was trying to learn the program, but I'm getting the hang of it, and LOVING it! Thanks to my friend Christina who showed me the ropes and also gave me a bunch of her stuff--I'm now on my way! Here are a few of my first pages: So, what do you think? I'm just trying to figure out what I'll do with all the "hard" pictures I get, like school pics, Christmas cards/pictures, etc. I'll have to ask Christina what she does! :)

Big Sexy Hair

OK, so I just discovered the marvelousness (I know, I know) of using a root boost! So, first I wanted to let everyone out there who doesn't already know about it or use it that YOU SHOULD--your hair will do whatever you ask it to do and it will STAY that way and it will look AWESOME! And, secondly I want to ask all of you who HAVE known about it and HAVE been using it WHY WHY WHY haven't you pulled me aside and (either kindly, or pointedly--because you know you could never really offend me--and if you don't know that then I don't know how you got my blog address because you must not know me. . .hee hee) explained to me that I could have much better hair if I just used this marvelous product called ROOT BOOST???! I'm so sad that I've always just thought my hair wasn't like everyone elses who could make it look "that way" and I've been living with flat roots for so long! :) Anyway, sorry about the bad bad sentences, but, also if you know me, you know that I often take off on tangents and now you know that it also happens in my writing! OK, so for any "beginners" out there--the best root boost I've found is BIG SEXY. . .so go try it! You spray it on (it's a spray foam) your roots when your hair is wet--just part it in three different places and spray down the roots, not sparingly, then pat/rub it in. Then blow dry upside down and cool upside down (you know, with the cold button that you never understood what it could possibly be for) then flip up and style--you'll love it! And, you'll love me for telling you!!!

Points, points, and LESS points. . .

Well, I'm getting back on the bandwagon that I bailed from about 6 months ago! I'm counting points again (weight watchers points, that is)! :) I pretty much quit working out and watching what I ate--for who knows what reason!?? It all happened slowly of course, but I still recognized it and didn't do anything about it. Dave and I were trying to figure out what makes the difference, why are we able to do so good sometimes and not others? I'm not really sure what it is, but the other day I realized how UNCOMFORTABLE I was in my clothes and decided enough was enough!! Why was I letting myself feel this way? So, something clicked on inside and I have a renewed desire to get healthy again. I hope I will keep it up forever this time. How do you all keep your fires lit?!! :)

Seriously, I AM so blessed!

If you're not into sappy, don't read on. . .I just have to say that I really can't believe how blessed I am to have so many family members live near me! Dave and I have always chosen to live as close to family as possible, but until the last two years--I only dreamed of actually being neighbors with my sisters and brothers! I used to say (and actually still do) that I would be in "heaven" if my whole family could live in my neighborhood! Well, that has practically (as much as is conceivably possible) come to pass over the past few years! Dave and I moved here to West Jordan nearly 8 years ago, since then Becca (my sis) moved to Sandy, Frosty (my bro) moved to SLC, my dad moved to SLC, and Julie (Dave's sis) moved to Riverton! But, as if that wasn't enough, just recently (in the past two years) Afton (my sis) moved to West Jordan, Rachel (my sis) moved into the neighborhood next to mine, and then, to top it off, Hobie (my bro) moved to the neighborhood next to her! My kids are in cousin heaven and I'm on cloud nine! I LOVE my neighbors/friends and NEVER want to move for that reason, but having family around has definitely been the icing on the cake! Everytime I sit down to ponder or think about what to write about--I just end up being so thankful for everyone I have around me--and wondering how it all came to be. It started as a dream, and now I'm living it! Now, don't get me wrong, I still dream of having MORE (I know it's hard to believe there's more, but there is) of my family live close, but. . .this is definitely more than I ever thought was really possible. I know it might not be this way forever, or even for very long, but I'm sure loving every minute of it--for myself and for my kids! Families really are a blessing--and I know Heavenly Father gave us families because he loves us. I'm just doubly blessed because I happen to really love my family! :)

Dance, Dance, Dance

My girls love to dance. Darci is always wearing a dress/skirt (or "pretty" as she calls it) and showing me her dances. I put Kyra in a ballet class this year just for something fun to do with her cousin Emily. She has enjoyed it and it has been way cute to watch. Darci can't wait to do "ballallet" too (hopefully with her cousin Elizabeth--they practice together all the time). Here is a cute clip of her dancing just before going to Kyra's recital--she can't let her sister get all the attention!

Kyra was so excited to show us everything she has learned in ballet so far this year. Here are a few pics from her recital:

Here is a clip from her solo dance--I'm glad she didn't tip over from spinning so much! :) Oh, and don't mind my giggling--I tend to do that a lot! I just thought she was adorable--and I was so proud of her for doing it all on her own.

Call Home!

My family has a newsletter "Call Home!" that we put out once a month (my maiden name is Call if you don't already know that). I will be posting my section under this title every month. It will usually be pretty long as I sort of recap everything, so if you're interested, read on. . .

I (along with the help of Dave’s mom) home schooled Mark this month. It has been fun and a little bit crazy, but also productive for both Mark and me. But, now (through Phil and Becca—whose nephew attends, and my neighbor—who teaches there) we’ve found a Montessori private school that Mark is excited to go to. We don’t know yet if he’ll be able to start immediately or if we’ll be waiting until Fall. We toured the school and it seems that everything is taught in a very “right brained” way. Mark is most excited about not having to wear shoes, getting to do his work on the floor (at his own pace), having a quiet lunch room, and getting to go on a field trip EVERY Friday. Needless to say, I’ve been very busy and going a little bit crazy trying to adjust to all the changes around here. Hopefully we’ll be able to settle back into some sort of routine soon.

Well, we’ve all had dental appointments where 3 of us (Mark, Kyra, and I) had to schedule again for fillings and crowns. What is up with our teeth?!! It was fun to have mom here for a few days after Reed was born, she and I got to go to the temple together. Speaking of--Rachel, Robert, and I just took all the kids through the Draper temple. The kids LOVED it! Darci thought all the lights were pretty, Mark loved the “heaven” room and the sealing room where “he will get married,” and Kyra liked seeing where we do baptisms for the dead—in a font on top of 12 huge oxen. It was a great experience and I’m really looking forward to attending the temple dedication with Mark in a couple weeks.

We’ve been taking advantage of the awesome weather this past week. I took the kids to the park on Tuesday and finished my book while they played (yes, my kids are old enough to do that now), Wednesday Rachel, Irene, and I took all the kids to the zoo, and yesterday Becca called everyone and we all met at the park for the afternoon. We missed Irene and kids and Frosty, but the rest of us “locals” were there to have fun together for a few hours.

Kyra and Emily had a little dance recital where they both volunteered to do solo’s. I was so surprised that Kyra jumped right up to perform without any reservations—she’s usually too shy and nervous to do things like that in front of other people. When Dave asked her if she was scared she said “No, my teacher told us to just pretend we were in class and that no one was watching, so I did that and it wasn’t even scary.” They were both adorable and did a great job!

Dave just got a third job (second being a jiu-jitsu teacher at the gym) with a security solutions company that provides training for the Special Forces teams from all branches of the military. He’s the high threat environment instructor who teaches them the hand to hand combat and ground fighting. Last week they told him he’s the highest rated instructor they’ve ever had. Now he is part of the required curriculum for their program.