Bonjour!

Bonjour!
I’m a 52 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, 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 (24)

Hannah Isabelle (24)

Brielle Olivia (19)

Brielle Olivia (19)

Kate Evangelene Lyllie (14)

Kate Evangelene Lyllie (14)

Mr. Charles "Bingley" Wentworth III (5 yrs.)

Colonel Edward Fitzwilliam "Darcy", Duke of Westridge (4 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!

Saturday, June 25, 2011

What's On My Happy List?

The summer fun continues....

We had a Backyard Camp Out for FHE... 

            
Here is Dad trying to escape the mayhem as fast as he could....actually he opted to sleep IN the house with Kate so I could sleep out with the girls. I got the better end of the deal. What fun! The girls and I had some good laughs. 
                           
What's a camp out without s'mores? We made BBQ'd Chocolate Chip Cookie ones. THESE ARE TO DIE FOR !!!! Seriously so good.
 This is a Paula Deen recipe. She is one of my favorites on the Food Network. {on a random side note...I so want her gorgeous gray hair when I'm her age}.
Gotta share the recipe because you are going to want to try these. Perfect summer treat! This will make 5 s'more sandwiches.

Ingredients:
10 store-bought chocolate chip cookies (the larger the better)
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 cup small marshmallows
1 cup chocolate chips
{she puts cut up banana on hers, but we didn't}
On a piece of aluminum foil, place 1 cookie. Top evenly with banana slices, marshmallows, chocolate chips, graham cracker crumbs and top with another cookie.  Wrap foil around the sandwich and place on the grill until warmed through and melted. 
                                
I love doing campfire s'mores but they do not compare to these!

The family talent show
If this wasn't a hoot! Emma, Hannah and B. Olivia have been working on this for three weeks!!!!...

  They performed out on the backyard deck for me, dad, Kyleigh, Grandma and Uncle Braden...

Emma choreographed the opening number....Tonight, Tonight by Hot Chelle Rae
Kate loves this song...the instant she hears it she is dancing!

Hannah played "Merrily We Roll Along" on her recorder....

Brie played the drums to One Republic's "Good Life"....

There was even an intermission...

For the second act....they sang the song "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes"...to appease Kate..one of her favorites. She even does the knee to toe actions but she was being poopy and wouldn't come out on stage.


             until she changed her mind...and made a grand entrance....{a girl can do that you know}

especially when you rock the booty shorts with thunder thighs so well...love it!

Emma played a flute solo...As the Eagle Flies...Our musically inclined next door neighbor heard her playing and came and told Grandma the next day that she sounded so good and that she should perform with the choir at church. haha..that would be an absolute "NO WAY" from Emma! 

Hannah performed a looonnggg song/poem called "Fifty Nifty"...a song about the fifty states...the memorization alone was impressive! Love the patriotic prop there, Nana Bella.  

They danced the finale to the Tangled theme song.."What Something That I Want". That baby of ours can shake a groove just like her older sisters. So fun to watch.

If we haven't had enough sugar this week...it was also National Ice Cream Soda Day. Whipped one up for Brie and Kate....
                                Kate was in heaven..she went to town on that thing.


Other goings on this week....

*Kyleigh at Youth Conference up in Wyoming at Kingfisher Bend Ranch. {miss her}

*Breakfast out with my Visiting Teachers and all the sisters they visit. I'll be visit taught that way anytime! 

*Our attempts at summer exercising is becoming comical. We've managed three times {is all} this summer to get ALL of us out on a morning walk before the morning slips away. {what a production}. One day this week we resorted to just turning on the music, doing jumping jacks, running up and down the hall numerous of times, throwing in some crunches and we called it good...  

* I was brave and watched "I Am Number 4" with Jaren and the girls. Do not like Si-Fi shows {at all}. Had to at least attempt to watch it as it is currently Kyleigh's favorite show. Was pleasantly surprised how much I liked it... 

*attending a Paparazzi Jewelry party where everything is $5 dolla...

*Slurpee run on the {so far} hottest day of the year with B. Olivia and Kate...

*updated younger threes 72 hr emergency kits...

*dads trip to Scofield to retrieve totaled ATV from the mountains with the forest ranger. Took 4 1/2 hrs to get it out of there...

*Sleepovers with mom since Dad was out of town...One night I had three girls in my bed! Needless to say, some got a better sleep than others...

*night swimming at the neighbors...

*our obsession with LarkRise to Candleford continues...when I realized that the local library had ALL of season 2 available on DVD to view at our leisurely pleasure and not have to wait for the two days in between returning and receiving the next DVD through Netflix, Emma and I did a Happy Dance.

*my chauffeuring and juggling skills are continuously being put to the test...One day this week, in a half a days time, I managed a run to the grocery store, the UPS store, a drive downtown to pick up Kyleigh from work at hospital, a drive to Immigration Canyon to drop her off for Youth Conf., back home to rush Emma off to a friends, which included a pick up at the mall and take to movie, and then pick up from movie, then take friend home, add a trip to the library, pharmacy, another store and attend a wedding reception. Once my older girls can drive for real I won't know what to do with myself. :)

*the girls playing "Miss America". They design dresses from cloth and fabrics that we have on hand or use old dance costumes. They have three different categories that they compete in. Kyleigh is the judge.


One day Emma went all out and did hair and makeup on Brie and then put her through a photo shoot. haha! 


Can't wait to see what summer fun this upcoming week brings...

3 comments:

  1. We're chubbing up one blog post at a time around here. Chocolate waffles! Hello. Now another treat we have to try.

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  2. Kate is so cute in the talent show. What a fun family night!

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  3. I think the family talent show is great! I wish we were all together at the same time more often to do stuff like that and the family camp out...OH ya - I hate to sleep outdoors much less in a tent! Does family hotel night count? LOL

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