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!

Wednesday, November 09, 2011

What's On My Happy List?


Brie's 7th birthday
The birthday girl was awakened by me belting out my best rendition of Happy Birthday, {Poor kid} as I presented her with her birthday breakfast..decorated waffles all aglow.

We had a Scooby Doo/monster themed birthday...Brie has always loved Scooby Doo. 
All my girls have, and I happen to be a big fan myself! 
{One of my favorites as a kid.}

We generally do a friend party every other year for the girls. Brie gets one every odd birthday. But when she turned five she was not in Kindergarten yet and didn't have very many close friends, {our neighborhood is not swarming with kids her age} So we just celebrated with the fam.  We waited until she was in school and threw one last year for her 6th birthday. Because it was her first friend party, I went all out, much to the annoyance of all the other family members as they were forced to help.  
{Kyleigh swore she was not giving her kids birthday parties til they were 10 haha} 
Anyhow, it was great fun, but it got us off track, because technically this year was the year for a par-tay. So what to do? A big bash back to back years I, nor the rest of the family, was not ready for. But to make things as fair as possible ...we invited two of her good friends to join us for our afternoon activities. This way I figured I'm legitimately covered on another friend party til she's 9! 

She was not expecting friends over at all, so it was fun to throw in that little surprise for her....


I added googly eyes to just about anything I could, even to the cupcake decor to make it look like a one eyed monster!....

We played pin the eye on the monster....

With karo syrup, food coloring and yes, more googly eyes... we made the monster, La Chupacabra from the movie Scooby Doo Monster in Mexico.....

Got the idea here



We made ours purple cuz the creepy dude in the movie was purple, but we used too much food coloring..oops!...they didn't turn out even close to cute as the green ones...oh well, we tried. ;) 

Next, I sent them off on a Scooby Doo scavenger hunt. They loved this! I handed them Scooby Doo with a note from him asking for help in finding Fred, Velma, Shaggy and Daphne so they could travel to the city of Veracruz Mex-i-co to solve this puzzling monster mystery...I hid each Scooby Doo character figurine with a clue and a little prize to put in their take home party favor bucket. 

Off to search for the Scooby Doo gang....

 Now don't laugh at the clues, they are pretty corny but 7 yr olds don't care...I had to come up with them way fast...

Clue #1  was to find Fred. Ever responsible Fred, was at his after school job at the post office stamping envelopes to put in the mailbox...you can guess where Fred, a halloween stamp and the next clue was found.....the girls were way excited and could barely wait for the next clue... 

Clue #2 They had to find studious Velma. She was at the local library where she was trying to do homework despite having troubles reading because she needs new glasses. On the office bookshelf they found Velma, new monster glasses and the next clue.....  


Finding Shaggy was next...Because his stomach is a bottomless pit where else would they find him than at the local malt shop? slurping a milkshake with a straw! By the milk in the fridge they found Halloween straws and Shaggy with the next clue....

Clue #4 revealed we would need to travel to the mall where we would find fashionable Daphne buying a new pair of earrings at Claires.

The clue said while you are there to get Brie's ears pierced! 
{That's the gift she wanted for her birthday!} 

                                                  
She was so brave! No tears!

                                                            
 whoot whoot!

               
We literally found Daphne by the earring rack with the last clue! The surprise on her friend's face says it all.  She couldn't believe Daphne was really there!

Now that the Scooby Doo gang had been rounded up it was time to head to Mexico to solve the Monster of Mexico Mystery.

We went to the Mayan! It's Brie's favorite eating place and her first choice for her birthday dinner.  When she told me that, it became my inspiration behind the theme of the party... {Sadly,the Mayan unexpectedly closed for good four days after we were there.}  


                       
They enjoyed the chips & salsa the most and watching the divers....one little girl DID NOT stop talking the whole entire time. It was crazy!

While seated we even heard the monster of Mexico *wink*... some monstrous eerie sound (not kidding) not once, but several times... After eating we quietly searched for him down a dimmed, spooky corridor in the restaurant. The kids were hesitant. I spontaneously yelled out a "Boo" and the kids wigged and hightailed it out of the restaurant. Pretty funny. We didn't solve that darn mystery after all but we sure had fun trying... 

                                                                         
The gifts....




                                                   
Their best monster faces...

Grandma Cooper lost her mind and gave Brie not one but two Madame Alexander Dolls...she always gives her the Halloween inspired ones since Brie is our Halloween baby...this year it was The Batty Ballerina and Witchy Wendy with her Quirky Cat...Just too stink'in cute! 

                                                    
Her birthday cupcake cake......

                                  
Brie's favorites at 7

Favorite food: pizza and chocolate chip cookies! She's my green vegetable lover...broccoli, asparagus, green beans, edamame and even brussel sprouts she likes...

Favorite book: is Green Eggs and Ham...

Favorite TV shows: So Random and Phineas & Ferb

Favorite things to do: Run, eat, laugh, draw, listen to music, and conquering her fears, like getting her ears pierced.

What do you want to be when you grow up? "An artist in Paris, then you can come visit me, she said. And we can have Thanksgiving there. " {hilarious}

How old is mom? 20 {love this girl!}

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