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!

Sunday, April 14, 2013

What's On My Happy List?

I'm a bit behind posting here....

I'll start with our Spring Break! 
 come back why don't ya...come back!
We love Spring Break, it just gives us an excuse to relax and play and do a few things you wouldn't normally do during a given school week.  Heck, me and the hubs were even able to go on a midweek date to a Jazz game.


We even had "let's go to the park" kind of weather. Even though I don't mind the spurts of cold and rainy weather we've been having, it was lovely to have a bit of sun for a change. Brie made us a little picnic lunch. 

Brie had fun riding her bike, playing charades with me on the hill, rolling in the grass and running around with Kate...

One afternoon Brie wanted to go swimming so I took her and Kate over to the indoor pool.  Kyleigh came along to get in the water and help watch the kids. hilarious people....

Only because she kept seeing people she knew from school walk into the rec center. She was dy'in! Some of them are lifeguards there.  {One happened to be a cute boy in top right corner.} She felt like such a dork there in the kiddy pool. She was like "mom we have to get out of here!" 


Kyleigh was able to have an archery lesson with Boy #5. She was awesome at it. 


 Here is proof.

The three older girls enjoyed hanging out with friends multiple times throughout the week. Some funny stories there involving t.p. and chalk and being chased. Hannah went to Airborne {indoor trampoline place}, had a sleepover, and played night games several times. Her favorite is playing fugitive. The missionaries in the Stake came to the park and played "missionaries and mobsters with a group of neighborhood kids one night. They've done it again since. The missionaries give a thought and they pray with the kids too. Cracks me up.  

Kyleigh hosted a tea party for ten of her girlfriends...Talk about major laughter going on! Man alive. They were sure enjoying themselves. Cousin Andrew stopped by after the priesthood session. 
{The girls would have loved to have had him be the butler at the tea party!} 
Kyleigh and some of her friends were joking around about going up to Layton and crashing his Prom the following Saturday. He said some of his guy friends were still looking for dates. 
{Guess what?  I have more Prom stories to tell....}


During the break we did a little bit of work too....
This is a sight I'd thought I'd never see.... It's our storage unit and its EMPTY.  We've had this baby ever since we moved back from Arizona. 
{That would be 9 years this July.} 
We just kept it all this time thinking we would need the stuff once we made our next move. haha. Not sure when or if that is ever going to happen, so we finally decided to just get rid of it. It had dressers, cabinets, two sets of couches, mattresses, food storage and much more.  We've been slowing picking away at it...{for years it seems}...bringing things back home, taking stuff to the D.I. giving stuff away to anyone wanting it etc.  It's done and we're doing the happy dance! We celebrated by going on a Nielsen Custard concrete run.


D. I. drop...My first couches in my first home in 1998.


Some Brie and me time!
Brie had been wanting to see the new "Oz the Great and Powerful" Movie since it came out last month. So we "Oz" 'd it up around here and had a movie outing. Just the two of us.
                                                                 
                                                             And I had to be brave.

The Wizard of Oz, or anything related, is NOT my favorite. I think it's creepy. {Not fully sure why... but I think it's a combination of the tornado, flying monkeys, Dorothy wanting to go home but can't, the wicked witch, munchkins, the Oz itself... and on and on} 

                                                       I have issues with that movie. 

Even when my girlfriends and I went to see "Wicked" five years in LA here ...Although very well done, I was not blown away to where I'd have to see it again... it's just too Oz'ish for me. 

But for Brie {none of my other girls wanted to see the movie} I put my icks aside, pulled out our Wizard of Oz Madame Alexander dolls and did up a mini party table with some treats. Now why do I have Wizard of Oz dolls to creep me out? These dolls grandma gave to Emma 10+ years ago, and I think a couple of them were inherited from my sister in law.  I certainly didn't buy them. 


Anyhoo a few fun party ideas if you were to ever throw a Dorothy/ Oz party. 

Serve Ding Dongs along side the wicked witch! "Dig Dong the Wicked Witch is Dead" printable is from mypookiedesigns...Or you could go door bell ditch a neighbor and leave a treat! :)

I do have to admit a quote by the wicked witch to Dorothy has made it to my infamous book of favorite quotes...

It says this..."Oh, what a world! Who would have thought a good little girl like you could destroy my beautiful wickedness"...   
{a reminder that good, in the long run, will always conquer evil.}

I made the yellow brick road out of golden Oreos. Little Kate was Glinda, the good witch...for about 2 min's tops :) Kate's Snow White shoes turned into Dorothy shoes for the occasion. 

"There is no place like home" {Ain't that the truth!}

 K, so apparently I like quotes from the movie, but not the movie itself...

Another quote from Dorothy that I absolutely love is this... "I know that if I ever go looking for my heart's desire, I'll never go any further than my own back yard...." 
Love that! 
Rings so true to me since I'm a homebody at heart.
For the brainless scarecrow we took a trip to the library to increase our brain power! Little Brie had been after me to take her there so she could get her own library card. That's a little cinnamon "Got Milk?" straw by the scarecrow...


For the Cowardly Lion.....I had Brie think of three things she could have more courage about and wrote them down on three candy pebbles...This is what we came up with....Talking in front of her class, heights, and being able to sleep alone in the dark...
{When Hannah is at a sleepover, guess who is on our floor? :)}

Of course we all know the Tin Man was looking for a heart. In my opinion there is no better way to "have heart" than by giving to others...On our outing we looked for a homeless person to give a McDonalds gift card to but didn't come across one that particular day. {I don't know about you but I've seen an increase in homeless people standing off freeway exits of late asking for money} I struggle with this because I wonder if they are really that desperate, if it's a hoax etc. {but who am I to judge} and or I don't want to give them cash because I don't know what they will do with it, like buy beer, cigarettes, drugs or whatever. Besides I hardly carry cash anyway, so to help out in that way is not really convenient for me. 

So I've come up with a plan! I've decided I'm going to keep a few $5 Mc D gift cards in my car and try to hand out one a week along with a Church of Jesus Christ Pass Along Card... {My small effort at member missionary work..haha}  Yesterday I was leaving the Walmart parking lot and had an opportunity to give two gift cards out to a foreign looking family asking for help, who honestly appeared to be destitute. I just wish Brie would have been with me to experience it. Hopefully next time!

and lastly for munchkin land I made little edible flowers from gumdrops and sour strips...



 Just so you know the movie wasn't half bad. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. 

Family time!
My dad has had the tradition of taking the men on my side of the family out to Chuck-a-Rama after the general priesthood meetings. He has done this for years. I just think its so cute. He parks in the same parking stall at the Stake Center every time so that he can just blitz right on out of there after the meeting and not be stuck in traffic. {All in an effort to get to the restaurant before the crowd comes.} 


He also has my niece go and save a spot in line for them at the restaurant. This time she was able to capture this twice yearly event on camera. In a few months my brother, who is a Colonel in the Air Force, will be leaving on an assignment for two years to New Jersey. So this will be the last time my dad and brothers will be able to do this together for awhile.   
 While Daddy was at Priesthood, and Kyleigh at her tea party...the rest of us went for sandwiches and smoothies....


 Other memories from Spring Break week..
*Watching BYU in the NIT Final Four..
*Watching Mama Mia with Brie. We laughed and laughed. {It is her favorite show. One of mine too...}
*Playing Clue {One of very few board games I actually like}...
*Watching the General YW meeting on tv with Kyleigh, Emma and Hannah...
*PBS's Call the Midwife Second Season starting as well as Masterpiece's Mr. Selfridge. Not sure about that one yet. Intriguing enough to keep watching, but it is no Downton!
*The older girls having a cousin lunch outing..
*Baking chocolate chip cookies..
*Mine and Emma's outing to the allergist...
*Breakfast with two of my girlfriends....
*Sunday morning walk with the Mr. and Kate...
*Watching General Conference

Good week!

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