It's My Birthday!

I had THE BEST birthday! I can't believe I'm 35! I realize now that I am totally an adult. Like, you don't get any more adult than being in your mid-thirties! Weird. . .I don't think there's anything I could be asked to do that I could justifiably think "I'm not old enough", or anything that anyone else is doing that I'd be justified in thinking "it's because they're older than me". It's just so crazy for me to realize! I DON'T FEEL AS OLD AS I THOUGHT I WOULD BY NOW! So, I was having this conversation with my mom the other day, and she admitted that she still thinks that way sometimes--even at 62 yrs. old! So, apparently we never FEEL like we're ready for say, a big calling, or big assignment, or to lead up a big event, etc. I thought others felt prepared and able to do these things, but they must be running on faith as I would have to! Luckily, I haven't been approached with anything like this in my life so far, but I'm watching it happen to people all around me--and MANY of them are even YOUNGER than I am! OK, whatever, if you're still with me, I'm just curious if I'm the only one who feels this way, or if we ALL do!??

Anyway, back to my awesome b-week! I went skiing with my sister Bec and then with my neice and bro-in-law for the first time in about 10 years! It was AMAZINGLY FUN--as great as I had remembered--and it came back fast (only it hurt my knees more)! Then, Becky and Trisha (my awesome friends) went out with me to get pedicures and chat over lunch. The next day I went to the temple with my cuz (actually my hubby's cousins wife, to be exact) and again out to lunch for some more chatting, and that night I got to hang out with some great friends/neighbors for games and laughing! And THEN the NEXT day my sisters (Rach, Bec, Affy, and Irene--I missed the rest of my sisters!) took me bowling and. . .yep, you guessed it, out to lunch again! For more chit chat of course! :) What a fun week! I sure felt loved! I also have to mention that I LOVED getting all the birthday wishes on FB--it brought a smile to my face each time I read who had thought of me for even a split-second that day. Funny how fun that was! :) I'm truly greatful for all the friends and family I have around me and for all the chatting, giggling, and pampering I got to enjoy with them!

On the slopes again!!! (w/Sarah)

Bowling with my sisters and their little ones

Oh, and yes, I did win (they insist they didn't LET me) even with the sad score of 126! :) We had a great time!

Easter Fun

Boy, we make a bigger deal out of Easter than we ever did growing up. We took the kids to an egg hunt in the neighborhood, had a little egg hunt at grandpa Call's, searched for Easter baskets and colored eggs at grandma Meyring's, woke up to new dresses (even Baby got a dress to match Darci's) and shoes on Sunday morning to wear to church (of course, with baskets and a few more candy-filled eggs), attended church to remember the TRUE meaning of Easter (the resurrection of Jesus Christ and how the atonement blesses our lives every day and in every way), and now we're looking forward to having dinner with more family! The kids love it and therefore we love it. . .that's why we do it all, and why we will do it all AGAIN next year. . . :)

Digi Scrappin'

When I mentioned that I was going to try out digi scrapping, a few of you were interested in what I thought, so now that I've been doing it for a little while I thought I'd update you all. I'm TOTALLY ADDICTED and LOVIN' IT!!!!!! :) I wouldn't say it's faster to create a layout, but I've been able to scrapbook a lot more often (at the dentist, doctor, while watching movies in bed, etc.) and I've LOVED that aspect of it. I do a book for myself and also for each of my kids, so even though doing a layout takes me the same amount of time, it will be WAY faster in the end because I'll be able to use the same layout for each kid and just swap the pictures! Anyway, I started a scrap blog (mainly so my sister in MI can see my pages) and I thought I'd let you all know in case you want to check it out. Now remember, I told you before that I'm not real fancy, but some of them look that way a little because they're quick pages and other's don't because they are my own creations--you'll see what I mean if you check them out. The link is on my side bar. LMK what you think. . .are any of you interested in switching from paper to digital? Do any of you think you'd do digital even though you don't do paper scrapbooking? Just curious.

Character Letters

Many of you may not know that you can write to the disney characters and some of them will "write" back. Mark has written quite a few letters to lots of the characters! He sends them to "character" @ Disneyland, CA and that "character" sends him back a picture--often with a signature and a little note "to my friend", or "to our pal", etc and then sometimes they sign it. Obviously, just be sure that the return address is legible and the rest can be written by your kid. (unless, of course, YOU are the one who wants a letter!) And, just FYI, you can also write to Santa @ the North Pole around Christmas and get a response from one of his elves. If you live at our house, this also works for Transformers, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny! :) Here is a collection of Mark's letters from the characters. Enjoy, and let me know if you get, or have gotten a letter back from anyone else.

Call Home!

We had a great time having Emily and Elizabeth with us for 10 days this month while the rest of the Hokansons went to Beliz! The girls loved every minute of it. When I told Emily that it was the last night and she and Kyra could sleep in the tent together, she said "But, my mom told me we would sleep here for a looooong time!" :) We went to the park almost every day because the weather was so nice. Irene went with me a couple times and Afton even made it over once before the girls got so sick! I made the kids green oatmeal on St. Patrick's Day--Mark didn't enjoy eating it (but he did) and Darci wouldn't go anywhere near it! I got all five kids to church clean, happy and ON TIME (thank you very much). Irene helped watch everyone while I had a cavity filled at the dentist and while I helped with a service project in our ward. I also had a great night with a bunch of my neighbors one night as we karaokied (I know, I know) to the songs from Mama Mia--it was totally fun rockin' out with a bunch of girls. This past week we've had blizzards and ice cold weather--you gotta love Spring! Kyra and Mark both gave talks in primary and both did great jobs. I got to take Mark with me to the Draper Temple dedication--that was pretty special. I actually went running twice last week and kind of liked it, so I told one of my friends that I'd try running with her in the mornings! I'm not sure what I'm getting myself into, but I have a feeling I'm going to find out as soon as it warms up a bit again. We actually have a small group of girls that want to run together now, so it should be fun. Irene has a workout for me and Rachel as soon as it warms up too. With all these great influences around me, it should be a piece of cake to drop some lbs! I had my friends over for scrapbooking at the beginning of the month and one of my friends helped me get started with digital scrapbooking. I've been doing some pages and I LOVE IT! I'm so excited to get faster and be able to start whippin' out the layouts! :) Well, I got a speeding ticket, took Mark to another craniofacial clinic apt. (the yearly one where we see MANY of his doctors in one long afternoon), got Mark's CURLY hair cut, and even had Kim and kids here to visit for a couple days after her visit to TX. We had so much fun! One night Rachel and Irene got away for a little "girls night" with us where we made cookies, watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and worked out on the elliptical! Very fun--now THAT'S what sisters are for. We missed Afton because her girls were really sick, and Becca because she was in CA! Now, I'm about to go out to another "girls night in" with my friends and then tomorrow I'm gearing up to go skiing with Becca! Woo Hoooo. I can't wait. I haven't been in over 5 years! Dave is in CA for a tournament where a bunch of his students are competing. He was excited to go and have a whole team there to coach. I hope they all do well. We have Lainey's (Julie's baby) and Reed's baby blessings to look forward to on Sunday and a family dinner here afterward with hopefully everyone who lives close plus our parents--I LOVE FAMILY GET TOGETHERS! Love you all and sure can't wait for the reunion in July! It can't come soon enough. Oh, and we're so excited that the Jaspersons will be here a full week BEFORE the reunion and that Chrissy and girls will be staying for a few weeks AFTER the reunion! Yippeeeeeeeeeeee. Bring on the Fam! :)

Here are a few pics of our family get together tonight:
My sisters Afton and Rachel, and Elizabeth
My brother Frosty, Kyra, Emily, and Hunter My step-dad Gordon and sister Becca
My dad and sis-in-law Irene and Boston
My mom, brother Hobie and silly Mark!

FB Rocks!

Can I just tell you all how much I love FB? It has opened up a whole new world of friends for me! Or, maybe I should say, it has opened up a whole new way of getting to know my friends better. I've realized that you really do get to know people well just by seeing how they spend their time, the kinds of things they do each day, the comments they make to other people, and the things they write about themselves (of course all the "notes" help--I love those!). I was really skeptical when I first learned about FB, because it just seemed like it would be glorified texting. I just couldn't fathom that people could really get to know each other without "being" together. I had heard that teenagers would communicate on FB pretty much before they even knew each other and then they would go out on a date having not ever really met. Anyway, now that I'm a part of it, I definitely see the benefits. Don't get me wrong--it's AWESOME to get together with others, but let's face it--it's less and less practical as we all get so involved with our families. I do think that over time we will become more available to hang out with friends again, but for now FB seems to fill that void. I'm able to communicate with others on my own time and they on theirs and IT REALLY WORKS! I'm able to cultivate friendships that I otherwise wouldn't be able to and I'm able to get to know people that I otherwise just don't cross paths with anywhere else. It's really great. But, just a note of caution--it is also addicting! :)

FB Note--more random stuff

1. What is your occupation right now? I'm a mama
2. What color are your socks right now? white
3. What are you listening to right now? Darci and her cousin Forest talking into their cups and giggling about it. Also, Bill Nye the Science Guy in the background which is keeping Mark and Kyra happy.
4. What was the last thing that you ate? the crust off of Mark's pb&h sandwich
5. Drive a stick shift? no, but I would love to--I miss it.
6. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My brother Hobie--discussing the purchase of honey for me from Costco. . .food storage--I don't know if we could ever live without honey!
7. Do you like the person who sent this to you? yep
8. How old are you today? 34, but so close to 35 I can feel it!
9.Your favorite sport to watch on TV? gymnastics, by far
10. What is your favorite drink? good ol' H2O, I can't stand anything carbonated, and I don't have the calories to waste on juice.
11. Have you ever dyed your hair? yes, highlights are a must, only I don't do it as much as I should.
12. Favorite food? I'd have to say pizza or choc chip cookies! OK, or anything mexican and smothered. (hence. . .#10)
13. What is the last movie you watched? My Big Fat Greek Wedding--last night with a few of my sisters, we had a good time!
14. Favorite day of the year? any day that we are with family--family reunions and holidays are the best.
15. How do you vent anger? cry or sleep it off.
16. What was your favorite toy as a child? the "little people" little girl with blonde hair, I called her Lacey.
17. What is your favorite season? That's hard, I love Spring, Summer AND Fall--I don't really enjoy much about Winter except that it makes me appreciate the other seasons more.
18. Cherries or Blueberries? that's a hard one, I really LOVE them both, I eat frozen blueberries on a regulare basis (in my oatmeal), but I don't have cherries as much as I'd like.
19. Do you want your friends to respond back? of course, I love these!
20. Who is the most likely to respond? well, I think Jenny will probably do this. :)
21. Who is least likely to respond? Chrissy, she doesn't like to reveal too much about herself to people.
22. Living arrangements? We live in our home with our three kids, near to a couple of my siblings, with great neighbors and friends and have a pool in our neighborhood to top it off! :)
23.When was the last time you cried? hmmmm. . .it seems like I had a small breakdown a few days ago.
24. What is on the floor of your closet? dirty clothes because "someone" can't seem to quite get them into the laundry basket!
25. Who is the friend you have had the longest that you are sending this to? That would have to be Esther--since 3rd grade!
26. What did you do last night? you mean after preparing and feeding everyone dinner, cleaning, reading stories, helping get pajamas on, family prayer, and getting kids in bed? Well, refer to #13 (we also made cookies and took turns working out on the elliptical --I know, I know, they pretty much contradict eachother!--while watching the movie)
27. What are you most afraid of? my kids getting teased or hurt and not knowing how or being able to help them
28. Plain, cheese, or spicy hamburgers? spicy and with cheese.
29. Favorite dog breed? Rottweilers
30. Favorite day of the week? ummmm, I guess I don't have a favorite, they're all pretty much the same when you're a mom. . .you're just hurrying from one different thing to another and cleaning up different things, depending on the day.
31. How many states have you lived in? 3--WY, UT, and CA
32. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds
33. What is your favorite flower? Lilly
34. How many country's have you visited? 2, but I only barely crossed the border of both!
35. What is your favorite color? well, that obviously depends on what it's for, but I suppose I could go with red.