birthday boy

Well it's offical! Derek turned 39 yesterday! One more year closer to the big 40! He took the day off from work, with the intention of hitting a few golf balls, but changed his mind, and hung out with the family( enter the awwww here)

The girls and I had been busy getting together his gifts(Lego Star Wars game from the girls)

and a gift cert. to the local golf course. He's not really a cake kinda guy so we decided on getting him those little mini eclairs and stacking them up on a plate to look like a cake. I needed another box to make it look right, but I just kept thinking of all those extra eclairs that would have to be eaten...lol.

We decorated the dining room with a Happy Birthday banner, and balloons.. Later on in the day we went out to our garden spot to plant sweet corn and cantaloupe.(It's been so wet here I am glad we waited to plant)

It was a total family affair, and even though a little work was involved too, he had a great time. Happy Birthday Derek!

Gone Pickin'

I have been wanting to get up to Guy for a couple of weeks now, to pick strawberries, but something would always come up, and prevent it. My Mom stayed a few days with us, so we decide to try again. The night before had been really rough, with lots of bad weather, and rain

so I wasn't sure if they would be open for picking. Luckily they were, but boy was it humid!

If I didn't love Strawberries so much, I would have stayed home!

We got to the patch about 10am. Most people had come earlier, but we were lucky and they let us pick from a completely different area, that hadn't been picked over. It took us a little over an hour to fill up our 4 buckets. The rain has reeked havoc on the berry crop. Most were just mushy and discolored, the product of too much rain and not enough sun. I think Jacob had the most fun running around in the dirt and mud!

Kate kept yelling "I found one" and come and look at this one", every other second, and driving

us nuts. Lydia was very helpful, and efficient with her picking. Once we got home, we made a fresh strawberry pie, made freezer jam, and froze the rest as strawberry topping for desserts...Yum.

making weight

I really love the springtime, but it always reminds me that summer is around the corner. Even though I have been in Arkansas for 14 years, I still detest the humidity. The only way to keep cool here in the summer, is to be in the water. Unfortunately, to be in the water, you have to be semi-undressed! lol..

As a person who has struggled with her weight most of my life( as a kid I was way skinny) and often sick. As an adult, diagnosed with Celiac disease, I have learned to cook wheat-free, and for years I was making up for lost meals! So now here I am 39.5 years old(and holding) and still 30 lbs overweight! Children, nursing, all of these things have affected me. I decided around Christmas that I was ready to start treating myself better. I started by cutting out caffeine(bye, bye, Cokes) and started putting less food on my plate. I quickly lost 10 pounds. But with the stress of a new year, moving and other things beyond my control, I gained some back.

Well, here we are a month before the big 40, and got back on the wagon again. Again, I'm not doing much, except no sodas, no eating between meals, and just making healthy choices. Ive lost 11 lbs so far and plan get rid of the other 20 over the summer. I bought a really cool piece of workout equipment from Bally. Its basically a sculpting bar, that has resistance. I'm am not the jogging/StairMaster type, but this little workout bar is great! I can really fell the strengthening of my muscles.

I noticed today on Oprah that Kirstie Alley will be on. Remember her? She was the spokesperson for Jenny Craig, and lost all that weight , then gained it back? I feel exactly like her. Oh, I suppose I could beat myself up about gaining some back, but what does that really do for your self-esteem? So if any of you out there are like me, and struggling, I'd love to hear from you. Maybe we can make it together!

feeling hot, hot, hot

Jeez, it's only April and almost 90 degrees! I went out today to plant some flowers in the beds, and I was so sweaty. Luckily the heating and air guys came yesterday an installed a brand new unit in the house. The old one was 30+ years old. Hopefully we will save some $$ on the electric bill too! I'm trying to avoid turning the air on until June. I say the same thing every year, but about mid- May, I cave.

Anyhow, I am prepping for a crop on National Scrapbook Day. Yes there really is such a thing! I'm attending one in Russellville. I'm excited to get away, and try to get caught up. I'm so behind!

Easter was quiet around here. The Easter Bunny came and hid baskets. The kids had a little trouble finding them this year, with the new house and all.

We also had Bro.Stover and the Moll Family over for Ham, scalloped potatoes, rolls, asparagus, salad, and dessert. It was a nice evening. We didn't get a picture of the kids in their Easter finery, but Derek did snap this casual post, before the hunt began. Don't you just love Kate's outfit?

Yes, she did have a skirt on, but you cant see it..lol

rainy day Egg Hunt

On thursday we had a Egg hunt at Cami G's house. We had planned to hunt outside, but the rain came early, so the hunt moved inside. I think the kids really enjoyed the playroom and all the goodies we had! There are some great cooks in the 1st ward. I thought I would share a few pictures. Thanks to the Conway gals for inviting me!

moving-epilogue

well, we made it over to the new house. We didn't even break anything this time! Our printer did suffer some. Someone (I won't mention who) put it upright instead of laying it flat in a box, and well the ink cartridge leaked everywhere. Derek spent quite some time cleaning it out.
It still doesn't work right..ugh.

I have been able to un-pack quickly. All of the upstairs rooms are done, Living, Dining, Kitchen, are unpacked too. Now to tackle the basement, and our bedroom. Then I will be done Yea!

The kids are really enjoying having the big screen TV in the basement. They can watch whatever they want, or play video games. All their toys are down there in bins. I just love all the space.

Anyhow, I'm off to clean up the old house today...oh joy! Til next time...

move part 2

Well, the official move is 1 week away. I have been packing now for almost 3 weeks.

Gosh, we have so much stuff! How much stuff does one family need? Granted, a lot of it is my scrap booking stuff. The children have just as many boxes of toys and books though!

Derek is the winner on the least amount of stuff to be moved. Must have been all those moves

he did as a child.

I counted it up this is our 14th move! What is a matter with me? You would think I enjoy this or something? People often think we are in the military. I tell them, "No, we are just insane!"

I know our friends have stopped asking why a long time ago. Guess we are just nomads.

Some of you asked for pics of the new house, here it is. Looks like a Utah house huh?

the move

Yep, we are moving again. We are thrilled, but along with it comes a lot of chaos! I hate when my house is messy with packing boxes, rolls of tape, and newspapers. I have just realized how much scrapbooking supplies I really have. Im not joking-10 boxes of supplies alone. This does not include my scrapbooking tote bags, or any of my Cricut stuff, or my completed albums. ugh...


Im having one of those days I dont want to pack, I just want to clean. That's futile though with this mess. Guess I will take this time to do something else. Hmmm..I still have that un-used massage from Valentines Day. Time to go find a babysitter..lol

I'm a Barbie girl...

Lydia loves Barbie. Most 10 year olds have outgrown this past-time, but not my child. Today she grabbed my camera and starting taking pics.

Here's the group on a double date. Don't they all look great? Well, Except for Stephen, he forgot to dress-up for the occasion. Guess he's pretty confident, since hes out with Beyonce..

And don't forget the guys: metro-sexual Ken , with his Matthew McConaghey look-alike friend, Stephen.

Here is Barbie and Ken on their date, she's totally checking him out!

Hope you enjoyed this Barbie theater..lol

courtesy of Lydia..

Scrapbooking anyone?

.....Well, I finally got to scrapbook yesterday. I did 6 pages! That's a lot for me. Poor Jacob has maybe two pages completed since his birth..I'm just so busy! I did manage to get his 1st birthday photos done( see below)

I don't seem to have time for scrap booking anymore. It's too bad because, I love it so much, and it's a great hobby that benefits my family at the same time :)

Thank goodness for my Conway friends I scrap with once a month! I thought I would share a few pages....

My TV addiction...

You know I once hated TV. I hated the noise, flipping through the channels trying to find something to watch. That was all before TIVO.

Oh my gosh, now I can watch the shows I know I love, but I can also tape those ones that I keep hearing about. You can often find me (after putting the kiddos down for the night) watching my fav. new shows:

Trust Me on TNT

90210 on CW

John and Kate plus 8 on TLC

and my old standbys:

House

American Idol

Ugly Betty

Moonlight on Sci Fi

When did this happen? I swear, I have enough to do in my life, do I really need to watch that much this TV? I guess I can think of it as an escape. Yes, we can even call it therapy, and everyone can have it for about 40$ a month..lol

til next time...

Love is in the air

February is here and love is in the air.

When I was a kid I often dreamed about the man I would marry. I had no idea who it would be, just someone that made me feel special. As I got into my teen years and early 20's, I dated a lot. I made some really cool friends, but I just felt that something was missing. I knew I wanted someone who kind, caring, and someone who lifted me up. I didn't plan on marrying my best friend.

See, I've know Derek since I was 17. He moved from Utah, to Arkansas, in 87, the year I graduated from High School. He was a geeky kind of guy, long, thin, had glasses, but this geek had a really cool personality. He kinda intrigued me. We became friends as I headed of to college in Idaho in 88'. We kept in contact by letters mostly, still just friends. Then he got his mission call, and was sent to Japan. I think I wrote him 3 times, that was pretty good considering I had a boyfriend at the time. He reminds me " You always had a boyfriend!" I couldn't help it I was needy..lol Funny story: when I was 17, probably the second time I saw him at a church dance, I was with my then boyfriend, Joel. Derek asked me to dance, and my boyfriend answered for me

" she doesn't want to dance with you. Being the gentlemen that he was, he walked away without incident. Looking back, he says, I should have said something smart like "I didn't ask to dance with you", but he didn't want to start a fight.

We kept in touch a little bit through his mission, and by the time he came home, I was needing to get out of Arkansas. I had a dead end job at Harvest Foods, and my boyfriend Joey was on his in mission in Utah. I packed up my small Civic and moved to Utah to live my brother and his new wife, Becky.

On my trip to Utah, my stopping point was Albuquerque, NM. I had booked a hotel to stay at, but I got a call at home, a couple of days before I left on my trip. It was Derek and he informed that he was now home,and that his family had moved from Arkansas to New Mexico while he was on his mission. His family was inviting me to stay at their home over the weekend.

I reluctantly agreed, ( i hated meeting new people)but, his family was so warm and welcoming. We went to a single adult activity at the State Fair, and met a bunch of his cool friends. This was new for me, a guy I could be just friends with.

Now for the serious part, sometimes the transition from friends, to more than friends, is not always easy. I was torn. I had a boyfriend at the time. What should I do? I did a lot of thinking, and contemplating. I don't like to hurt people. I have been hurt many times, and its no fun.

Because I was young, and stupid, I didn't break up properly. Left my boyfriend just hanging, stopped writing altogether. It was a terrible thing. I know it happens all the time, but that doesn't make it right.

Meanwhile Derek and I were still getting to know each other, he living in NM, and I in Utah. I was so busy in Utah, working, involved in a singles branch, and helping watching my niece Whitney, while her mom worked. It was a good time for me. I was on my own, and able to take a step back, and take stock of myself. I knew there were some things I needed to change about myself. I needed to find out who I was, and what I wanted.

I wanted to be happy. I wanted to wake up everyday being positive, and not dwelling on what could have been. I wanted to get married in the temple, and change my life. That was Fall of 1991.

Derek finally moved up to Utah in August of 1992. Two days later he totally surprised me, by asking me to marry him. I said yes. It felt so right. We were married Decmeber 23rd 1992.

So how is it being married to your best friend? It's wonderful. I don't have to act a certain way, or put on a show. He loves me anyways. We just ceebrated our 16th year together. Although there has been many trials, and hardships, in our married life( that post would be really long!)

we made it through. I feel so blessed to have found him.

I hope at this time of year you, will take a look at your spouse, and remember the reason you fell in love with them. Forget their faults. We are all human. Some of our friends who married around the same time are divorced now. They say they fell out of love. I don't believe it.

They just forgot the reason they loved them in the first place.

So Happy Valentines Day. til next time...

who do you look like?

I found this neat site, through my friend Tiffany. It shows you what celebrity you look like.
It's pretty cool, although I look like someone (Bridget Fonda) who most people have never even heard of !
Take a look at the side bar ...go try it!
http://www.myheritage.com/celebrity-face-recognition?morph=1

You all know how much I love to cook. Well, recently I have been taking a look at my favorite meals and converting them into healthier versions. A lot of you are familiar with the Sneaky Chef books where you hide pureed veggies in children's food. I recently found another book by the same author, called How to Cheat on Your Man in the Kitchen. The title intrigued me, and of course it's for men who are picky eaters. You know who you are, you only eat one

vegetable - potatoes! I had to laugh thinking, okay, we have to even treat our men like children. lol... Anyhow here is one of my favs, we have tried at home....

Brawny Brownies

- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 5 ounces good-quality dark chocolate (not unsweetened), coarsely chopped (or use 3/4
cup semi-sweet chocolate chips)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup Purple Puree (see Make-Ahead Recipe #1)
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Flour Blend (see Make-Ahead Recipe #13)
- 1/4 cup oat bran
- One-half teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee powder
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Butter or non-stick cooking spray
- Optional extra boost: 1 cup chopped walnuts
> Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
> Butter or spray only the bottom, not the sides, of a 13-by- 9-inch or 9-inch square
baking pan.
> Melt the butter and dark chocolate together in a double boiler or metal bowl over
simmering water (or in a microwave, checking every 15 seconds). Remove from heat
and allow mixture to cool a bit. Meanwhile, in another bowl, stir together the eggs,
vanilla, sugar, and Purple Puree. Combine this purple egg mixture with the cooled
chocolate mixture.
> In a mixing bowl, stir together Flour Blend, oat bran, cinnamon, coffee powder, cocoa
powder, and salt. Add this to the chocolate mixture and blend thoroughly. Mix in the
chopped walnuts, if using, then pour the entire mixture into the baking pan.
> Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely
in pan before cutting the brownies and use a plastic or butter knife. Dust with powdered
sugar, if desired.

You really cannot tell that there is spinach in it. They are so moist! Of course I modify the recipe using rice flour, and leave out the oats, for my gluten-free friends.

books and more books

I don't know what has gotten into me lately! Since we have had a break from home-schooling, i have some time to do one of my favorite things, Reading! I just cant seems to get enough. On our vacation to Utah, I read the last of the Harry Potter series, Deathly Hallows.
Now those of you that know me, I usually like to read about believable things, not fantasy or make believe, but last year after going to see Order of the Phoenix with Derek, I knew I had to start reading the books. I think I was the only one on the planet who had never read a Harry Potter book. I started in January and finished the series in December. We made a deal, if I read the Potter series, Derek would read all the Twilight series. He actually enjoyed the books(except for some crazy parts in the 4th book)

In our branch we have book club also. I love getting together and discussing the finer points of a book. Last year we read: The Deerslayer,Les Miserables and Little Women, just to name a few.
I love to escape with a good book, so this indulgence is purely selfish on my part.
This past weekend I read 2 books, Jacob Have I Loved(my selection for Book Club in January), and Sonia O Brien's Epicenter. I really enjoyed her book, kind of departure from her usual storyline.

Today is Monday and the end of Christmas vacation. Back to more 5th grade reading text. Not
that I'm complaining, I'm learning so much too. I must have been asleep in 5th grade Science, because the assignments are so interesting to me now.
Well, I'm off to wake up the sleepy-head, so we can get started....

Happy New year and Family part 2

Hope everyone had a great New Years Eve and Day. We spent ours reading, eating lil. smokies, baby carrots, cheese and crackers.We watched football and folded mounds of laundry. I hate coming back from a trip becasue we usually have a pile of clothes to wash!

All in all, it was pretty quiet here, except for the neighbors popping off firecrackers!

I cant believe it is 2009. It s kinda scary, Kate will start Kindergarten in the fall, leaving me and Jacob at home.That will be different.

Dereks contract runs out at Saint Anthonys this year, so we will be shopping around probably for a new job by years end. Lots of changes on the horizion for our family.

Anyhow, and now onto our Utah trip..part 2 the Harrison Clan. As I said before, my parents were in Utah too for Christmas, and it was nice to be around my brother and his children. Well, they really arent children anymore, they are teenagers. Whitney is 16 and Curt 14. They are good kids. When I am around them they remind me so much of thier Mom. It was still hard to be in their house.I kept expecting to see Becky pop around a corner. She's been gone 3 years now.

Anyhow, we had fun Karoke-ing, Steve and I did some duets from the 80's- we both love to sing. My parents put up with our antics, and our noise. Christmas Day we had a big meal, and watched a lot of TV. I only wish that my sisters could have been there too. Here's a shot of the family on Sunday before Christmas. Thats my mom on the left, Whitney, my brother Steve, my dad and Curtis. What a good-looking bunch!

I got to meet my brothers girlfriend, Stephanie also. She seems pretty nice. I wish we lived closer so I could get to know her and her family better. As usual the mountains in Utah were beautiful. Derek snapped this picture outside my brothers front door:

Utah cetainly is beautiful, but there are so many people there! I'll stick with my littel po'dunk town here in AR ;)

family..family..and more family..part1

One of the best thing about our trip to Utah, was visiting with various family members.

All of Derek siblings, and his parents, live in the valley. My brother, and niece and nephew, live in Spanish Fork. My parents were even in Utah for Christmas visiting too! We spent a major amount of time driving in the car to every ones home, but it was well worth it.

It snowed every day we were in Utah. In one day, in West Jordan we had almost 9 inches of snow. Nine inches would shut down Arkansas for 3 days..lol

The children had fun tromping around in it and having snowball fights! Notice the street sign!

On our wedding anniversary we celebrated Christmas with the Thueson Clan. Here's the whole family!

The dinner was hosted at Diane's house with her husband Steve, as Chef of the evening. He is quite the cook.

We had cedar planked smoked salmon, spiral sliced ham, and turkey. All of the siblings brought side dishes, and there was even homemade rolls. They smelled delicious. We also took quite a few pictures, and had a cookie decorating contest. My creation won most professional looking (I was a cake decorator at one time) The kids had so much fun rolling out the dough, baking and decorating. Some of the creations were quite colorful!

All of the cousins cracked me up!The boys spent most of time downstairs in the den playing video games, and the girl cousins upstairs playing barbies. They only joined together for food and pictures..lol

That was not all the family we visited - the next post will be devoted to the Harrison Clan.

Till next time....

christmas lights

On Christmas Eve we went up to Temple square and saw the Christmas lights. The kids were thrilled with the ride up on the Traxx, we even got to see someone get arrested on our ride up-thrilling!

The kids really enjoyed the lights. Kate's comment about the annex was "look a princess castle!"My favorite part of the night was walking around the corner of the Tabernacle and seeing the huge white Christus statue. It always takes my breath away. The temple was also especially beautiful. We finished the night off with a stop at the Joseph Smith building, for a restroom break, and to get some snacks for our ride back down to Sandy.

What a nice way to spend Christmas Eve...

winter weather

Why is it, in Arkansas, we can never have normal winter weather? I swear, we are cursed.

The dreaded stuff started falling yesterday morning, and finally quit sometime during the following night. Everything is just covered. The ice is so heavy, our downspouts fell off the gutters. No, that is not our Mountain dew bottle left behind in the car carnage. lol...

Of course Derek was expected to be at work. It was so bad, his boss had to stay the night, in the Rehab Dept at the hospital! Derek did get his little Mazda hatchback stuck in the ice, so I had to give him a push to get him onto the road. That was fun!

School is out, so the neighbor kids are making the best of it. I kept hearing screams and discovered our teenager neighbors sledding down the hill tandem style on a plastic sled. It doesn't look it, but the hill is pretty steep. It runs along the side of our house.They cracked me up!

Of course my kids think it's so unfair that they aren't out in it. I keep explaining its just ice , not snow, and all they can do is get wet. I just don't want to chance anything since vacation is around the corner! I know, I'm such a terrible Mom....

Merry Christmas!

It's here, only a couple of weeks until Christmas and I'm not even ready! It seems every night we have some place to be, or go, I haven't even had much time to enjoy the holidays!
Luckily for us, our vacation is coming up. Cant wait to see the lights at Temple Square. Derek and I were sealed in the SLC temple, so it holds a special place in our hearts. While in Utah, we will celebrate our 16th wedding anniversary. Crazy..it has flown by.
So grateful for such a sweet husband who listens to me, and help me sort out the chaos when needed.

This will probably be my only Christmas post, but I wanted all of you to know, you have touched our lives, and we are so grateful for your friendship. Merry Christmas!