Bonjour!

Bonjour!
I’m a 51 year old mother of five amazing daughters and wife to a caring, sensitive AND sexy husband. I adore my family. I’m dedicated to my faith. I enjoy a good laugh. I'm nostalgic and love to reminisce. "Remember" is my favorite word in the English language. I love life! I’m passionate about music, food and {dreams of} traveling the world. I wanna be a castle and waterfall chaser. I’m fascinated with anything European. {PARIS! Hello!} I love celebrating anything and everything! I love to read, especially a good biography, mystery, Regency Era Romance or Historical fiction novel. I love thoughtful gift giving. To me the gift wrap is almost as important as the gift itself. I have a bit of an obsession with gift boxes and gift bags. As well as old world maps & globes, apothecary bottles and jars! I love being creative…bolts of ribbon, coordinating scrapbook papers, producing a table scape, or planning décor for a themed party puts a smile on my face. I love the details! I’m a freak for anything theme oriented. I enjoy event planning, but oddly enough do not like to host or entertain. I enjoy fashion, but have to really be in the mood to clothes shop. I love purses and funky costume jewelry. Especially big rings! I’d rather wear wedges or heels any day than flats. I enjoy decorating and searching for the perfect decorative pillow or picture. However, you’ll never see me frequent high-end stores. I'm more of a Ross, TJ Maxx, Tuesday Morning kind of gal. My favorite decor style is an old world rustic Italian chateau/Spanish Villa look with a hint of bohemian! OR a vintage shabby chic French country cottage/English cobblestone farmhouse. My #1 cookie-Molasses! Autumn is my favorite season. I’d go through childbirth a million times. I enjoy biking with my man, Pilates, and power walking. You’ll never find me in a gym working out. I love movies, whether watching them in the theatre or cuddled up on the couch with my family. I enjoy a good chick flick or real life drama! I'm a sucker for movies on the Hallmark & Great American Family Channel. I have a tender heart for the elderly. I adore Disneyland. I enjoy being in the canyon on a summer or fall evening at dusk. I love my friends. While I have some extroverted characteristics. I’m a self proclaimed introvert. I’m generally quiet, calm, reserved and pretty darn private. Why in the heck do I blog? It’s a creative way to record family history. I enjoy photography. I really don’t like to write, although I write in my journal often. My journals, patriarchal blessing, scriptures, quote book, and beloved Christmas tree filled with ornaments of family memories are among my prized possessions. I love the beach. I enjoy WWII history. I love a clean, orderly house, but ours usually looks lived in. ;) PBS Masterpiece is my friend. I adore Jane Austen films. They transport me to another time and place. If I had to choose another time period in which to live, early 19th Century England would be my pick. "Sense and Sensibility" is my all time favorite movie. My 3 favorite TV series are...BBC's Larkrise to Candleford, the 1950's Spanish Drama "Velvet," and the travel/food show "Somebody Feed Phil." My biggest pet peeve is people who blow their noses in public. So gross! {Take it to the bathroom people.} I’d go on a wine tasting vacation if it wasn’t against my religion. I’ve always wanted to adopt a baby from a foreign country. I’m an avid BYU football fan. I'm a Educational Support Professional. I tutor elementary kids in phonemic awareness, phonics, reading, fluency and comprehension. I love our campfires at Scofield Lake. I have a 'thing' for fairy gardens, Gallic French roosters, fresh flowers in a vase, pretty bowls & plates, and yummy smelling candles & soap. I love summer rainstorms and warm baths. I'm a scripture podcast fanatic. I'm also a fan of several Fox News shows; Hannity and Dave Ramsey Talk Radio. I very much miss Rush Limbaugh! I hate when my kids have homework. I'd rather clean 20 toilets than give a talk or prayer in church. I have quite a collection of Madame Alexander Dolls, children's books, Disney pins, and quotes. My favorite quote is "Don't underestimate me. I know more than I say, think more than I speak & notice more than you realize." True True LOL! I always prefer sitting in a back row versus the front. {I'm sort of a seat snob..yikes} I also have high expectations for my lemonade, salsa, and french fries too. HA! I work well behind the scenes. I love a good Dateline, 20/20 or 48 Hour Mystery. I’m a night owl. I'd rather be cold than hot. I love to budget our finances! I enjoy being a chauffeur to my children. I'm not a huge fan of social media. I don't snap, pin or tweet. All I want for Christmas every year is a ticket to the Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert. It's my FAVORITE. I’m an Anglophile…a royal watcher who loves anything English! Especially tea parties! I would like to serve a church mission to England with Jaren someday. I'm queen of paper towel, used kitchen dishrags and sponges kinda make me squirm. You’ll rarely find me out of the house not ready for the day, except when driving the kids to school on the days I don't work. I feel naked without lipstick or lip gloss. Mismatched socks, chipped fingernail polish, chapped lips and brownie crumbs on the floor drive me nuts! I like to organize and BE organized..but not saying I always am. ;) I enjoy hiking to waterfalls, ATV’ing with my family and snowshoeing with the hubs. Although I enjoy collecting recipes and occasionally watch cooking shows... (Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade, Paula Deen, Jamie Oliver, and the Pioneer Woman are my favorites) I’d rather not cook. Eating out is so much more fun. I'm a foodie. I live to EAT! LOL Trying new foods and restaurants is a favorite past-time, and believe it or not so is intermittent fasting. I'm not good at a lot of things... but gosh, if you need help with a themed celebration or someone to enjoy good food with, I'm your girl. I love the joy of anticipation and the celebration of holidays. Family traditions are important to me. I'm a memory preserver. I'm a pathological picture taker ;) a visual storyteller, and a lover of happy lists!

My Fam!

My Fam!

The Hubs and I

The Hubs and I

My Girls!

My Girls!

Kyleigh Dawn (28)

Kyleigh Dawn (28)

Emma Abigail (26)

Emma Abigail (26)

Hannah Isabelle (23)

Hannah Isabelle (23)

Brielle Olivia (19)

Brielle Olivia (19)

Kate Evangelene Lyllie (13)

Kate Evangelene Lyllie (13)

Mr. Charles "Bingley" Wentworth III (4 yrs.)

Colonel Edward Fitzwilliam "Darcy", Duke of Westridge (3 yrs.)

My Man!

My Man!

Good Times!

Good Times!

Wedding Day 5*17*22

Lillian "Lilly" Belle

Disney Food Fun! 2019

Disneyland Tips

What I Believe!

Our Missionary

We Bleed Blue! {Except for the Poppi}

My list of favorite movies!

Learn more about Dyslexia!

Music To My Ears!

Monday, April 18, 2011

What's On My Happy List?


A BABY SHOWER
My cute niece, Brittney, and her husband Jon, will soon be adding a baby boy to their nest. Before it hatches {next month} our family celebrated with a baby shower this past weekend.  I so enjoyed putting together a nesting/bird/egg themed party for her. I did the invites, decor and dessert and everyone else provided the yummy food.

I found the idea online for these 'bird nest' cupcakes and asked my awesome baker girlfriend to make them for me. Didn't they turn out so stink'in cute? She did such a great job {as always}.
Of course we had to have eats that had anything to do with an 'egg'. So deviled eggs {my sister makes the best} and petite quiches were part of the spread.
              I wrapped the forks in napkins, tied with coordinating ribbon.. embellished with a feather and placed them in a birds nest....
                                                       
the party favors...robin eggs in a nest.

                                                           
Welcome to the nest little one....
                        

A mother hen with her egg

I found this scented egg soap in a nest to give to the mom to be.  
and for the baby I decorated an empty egg carton {of all things} and put baby socks inside!


Girls are represented well on my side of the family. 
Its about time someone had another BOY! 
Here are all of us girls {minus 6}. 
Love these gals!   

                                Other recent happenings...
We had an Anniversary. Our 18th! Wow. This year we contemplated sneaking away {overnight even} as the girls were so willing to take care of Kate, but its that darn calendar and and all those prior commitments that wouldn't allow it. Plus the crazy winter weather that weekend didn't help either.

At least we were able to escape for a couple of hours for dinner at our restaurant... where we had our first date, and where we went the day we got engaged. We had to wait awhile for our table and I happened to be standing in the same exact spot we waited for our table that first date together 19 years ago! The memories..too funny. 
Emma and Hannah got up way early on our Anniversary morning to surprise us by making us a French toast breakfast in bed.  Too sweet.

5th Grade State Project
If planning a shower wasn't enough to get my creative juices flowing, we had a school project in the mix.  Ya know, one of those doozies that becomes a parent project too and keeps you up late into the night.  Gotta love it. My Hannah got the state of Rhode Island...aka The Ocean State. We hear a bit about THAT because a friend of mine lives there. But after a 13 page report I think I know all I want to know and then some about that little gem of a state.    


The BYU Language Bowl
Kyleigh went down to the 'Y' last Friday with her French class to participate in the Language Fair with three of her classmates. 
She has been studying trivia cards on French History and famous 
people in preparation, staying a few times after school and studying casually at home. Nothing too major, or intense. Her team had no expectations at all going into the competition. Kyleigh herself was just happy to be going and wanting a certificate of participation. 
Well guess what? 
Her team won the whole flipp'in junior division! 

I will never forget that phone call and the excitement in her voice when she told me that they had won. 

The competition went to four rounds. On the final round they were up against Carden Memorial, a preppy private school in SL, who wins every year.  It went down to a tie breaker question and MY KYLEIGH answered the winning question! 
{I so wish I could have been a bug on the wall and seen all that transpire.} 

Those unexpected surprises in life are the best aren't they?  
That includes her coming home and telling me her new red Lumix camera got dropped on campus and it's clearly busted beyond repair. 
{ouch} 

And in more French fanfare
the fieldtrip to LaCaille with Kyleigh is tomorrow. *squeal*

Jelly Bellys
Our family's Gourmet Jelly Belly Bean taste testing contest.....in honor of the upcoming Easter holiday.

AND there is another much anticipated par-tay in the works
We are gearing up to fly the freak flag in 11 days. British style. Can. not. wait.

2 comments:

  1. #1- I would have sent a box if I had known! Also a diatribe of political corruption could have been included in that shipment. Don't get me started. Love the RI display. I'd LOVE to read that report.

    #2- This post brings back memories of the science fair experience, as well as the choral festival where our little ladies quartet was all dressed (plaid skirts if my memory serves me correctly) but never to sing.

    #3- Cute party!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's so fun to have a sister who has such exceptionally awesome partying talents!!!

    ReplyDelete