V.I.P. Night

We got to live-it-up in style last Friday night! Eldon and Trevor put together an awesome promotion for work, and we got to come along. We rode in a Hummer limo, enjoyed an amazing dinner and went to a private screening of the new Indiana Jones movie. It was such a great night!

Notice no pics of Gracie. We decided the movie would be too scary for her. She was so excited she got Riley (babysitter) all to herself and got to watch E.T. with pizza, pop, and popcorn just for her. Gracie is so cool--she knows what she likes.

Iowa Trip--So Fun!

Thanks, Mom and Dad! The trip to Iowa was so fun. Felt like we did a lot and got see a lot of family/friends. Missed the spouses and kids, but fun to be together like the old days! Enjoy the slide show. (P.S. The music is not correlated to the slide show--it's random from my playlist below.)

Gracie Goes to the Dentist

Here are few pics of Gracie's trip to the dentist for her fillings. She was so sweet and cooperative. Dr. Hoover is so good with the kids; they love going to see him.

This looks a little scary. They didn't have to give her lidocaine, but they did give her some N2O to help her relax. They should have given it to me; I think I was more nervous than she was!

I Am Married to The BIGGEST LOSER!

Congratulations, Eldon! Eldon won the biggest loser contest at work for the second time! He has been dieting and exercising twice a day most days. I don't know how he does it, but were proud of him!

McKyla's Mommy-Daughter Date

McKyla and I had our Mommy-daughter date last Friday (May 2nd). We should space them out a little more, but she was so excited for her turn and it was technically the next month. So, I promised her we would go, and she was all excited. Then I started to feel nauseous at work Thursday night. By the time of our date Friday, I was starting to think I had the lovely stomach flu our neighbors have been suffering with (we share everything, like good neighbors do). I couldn't cancel, McKyla was so excited. So we stopped for a little Pepto-bismol on the way to dinner. She had a cheeseburger and fries; I had some Pepto, Sprite, and peppermint gum. I did a whole lot of hand washing. Didn't get sick once on the date though and thankfully, no one else in the fam has gotten it.

McKyla chose to go to Leo's Place (it's like a Chucky Cheese). We got to play games together and win tickets. Yes, I look terrible, but we had fun.
Here's that fabulous dinner.

So proud of McKyla; so ashamed of myself. McKyla was playing a game and this little girl we didn't know came up and started playing, too. I was thinking, "Hey, I'm not paying for you to play." (I think I was a little grumpy 'cuz I didn't feel good.) When it was done the tickets came out and I thought "Hope that girl doesn't think she's taking McKyla's tickets." (Man, I was feeling bratty). But McKyla was so sweet and said, "Mom, we should give her some of the tickets because she helped me win them." It gets worse...I gave McKyla one ticket to give the girl, and the sweet little girl wouldn't take it. She insisted McKyla keep it! That is why the scriptures tell us we need to be like little children!
Looks like she is going to punch me or flip the "bird", but really she is saying, "The power of the butterfly!" That was our battle cry for the night. McKyla picked a butterfly tattoo (again with the tattoos!), and a whoopee cushion with her tickets. Then we went to the mall so she could make a wish in the wishing well, pick out a mother-daughter necklace for her and I, get her sisters some "prizes" and get our picture drawn.
Fortunately, McKyla isn't quite the shopper Annalese is, and wanted to go home ASAP after we accomplished her goals at the mall. Eldon had rented some movies, and McKyla didn't want to miss out. So happy to get home and get in our jammies!!! Love you, McKyla. Thanks for a fun date. You are so thoughtful.

5 More Favorite Little Things

1. Watching movies with my girls and some yummy treats. I love M&M's that are still crunchy on the outside but all warm and gooey on the inside. Yum! This time we put them in warm popcorn (love the sweet and salty), but I also love to make brownies, then melt marshmellows on top and add M&M's (while warm to get them meltly), then drizzle with warm chocolate frosting. Mmmmmm. If you don't try it, you're missing out!
   
2. Yummy food in general. I eat when I am stressed and when I am bored. If you know me, you know that if I am not stressed, I am probably bored. So there you go.
   
3. The man that brings me the yummy food. Eldon brought me and the girls Cold Stone and Johnnie Carino's chocolate cake one night without us asking even though he was on a diet and didn't eat a bite. Oh yeah, you know he loves us.
   
4. My girls' stories. What imaginations! These pics are of one of my favorite mommy moments. We were waiting in the car while Eldon was in the grocery store. Gracie was telling me the funniest stories and giving me the best kisses and hugs. It was pure gold.
   
   

5. Okay, this (extremely gross) pic doesn't really represent one of my "favorite things", but it is one of the little things that is coming to mean more to me. More below...

My girls spilled cereal and other messies all over the floor one morning. I was sweeping it up and feeling a little frustrated knowing I would just have to do it again after lunch, then dinner, and maybe in between. However, I've got to say I have learned something over the last week.

It started with one the NICU nurses I was working with talking about not being the "martyr" and enjoying your housework. (Yeah, sure, I kind of thought.) But I kept pondering that. Then I read Mosiah 2:17, "...when ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God." And I thought, "There you go. I'm not a slave, I'm a queen. And just like King Benjamin, I'm just being righteous by serving my people." :) I was being kind of sarcastic. But kept pondering. Slowly, I've had a change of heart as I have been working harder to keep our house clean and organized. At first I was doing it in preparation to show the house, but then I started doing it because it feels good. I've learned that this is one major way our family shows each other that we matter. We care enough for each other to keep our home clean, comfortable and somewhere we want to be. This may be my new addiction. I haven't eaten nearly as much chocolate. Ask me if I keep it up after we move though :). I hope so...

Favorite Thing: Mommy-Daughter Dates

I said I was going to post some of my "favorite little things." I'll start with Mommy-Daughter Dates. Definitely one of my favorite things! It's become a tradition. I get to have a little one-on-one time with each of my girls; they choose what we do (within reason). Eldon gets to take them on Daddy-Daughter dates, too. Anyway, Annalese and I went out on our date April 25th. Here are a few pics.

Annalese and I went out for Jamba Juice, then she came with me to my hair appointment. Afterwards we went out to eat at Primo's (her fav). My favorite part was playing airhockey with her and jamming out to Jonnas Brothers' "Year 3000" in the car. So fun! After dinner we went to the mall and got these Mother-Daughter necklaces.
Close-up of our necklaces.
This is Annalese being silly in Old Navy. She loves to see the look on people's faces when she stands in the store windows and poses as a manican. It is so funny when they look closer and realize it's a real girl. She is a lot of fun.

I am constantly amazed by Annalese's goodness. We saw one of my friends at the mall. My friend was crying and we stopped to talk. Annalese invited her to join us and was sincerely excited to have her along.

We spent more time shopping then I would like on this particular date, but we found some great deals for Annalese and her sisters. I'm really proud of the way Annalese doesn't complain when we put things back that we don't need or that cost too much, and the way she wants her sisters to be happy, too. She always makes sure she brings them something back from her dates. She really is a sweet girl and a ton of fun to hang out with. Thanks for a fun night, Lesey!

A Few of My Favorite "Little" Things

Last month I bought this framed art with a saying by Robert Brault. It seems to say perfectly something I have felt most of my life--probably due to the influence of my parents. As I have struggled with different challenges over the years, I have come to value the little things even more. I've decided to take a moment to post a few of my thoughts I usually save for my other, more private journal. I hope others can relate...

Whether we realize it or not, most Americans choose to live a very fast-paced lifestyle. It's a part of the culture of our time, and I am no exception. It is very difficult to slow down and simplify. In part I feel it is because we have become so accustomed to the technologies that allow us to do so much more in so much less time. We sometimes feel like we should be able to do it all.

I also feel like we need challenges to grow--both spiritually and physically. We may look at other people's lives and think, "Man, they have it so easy." But for them, it's probably doesn't seem "easy" at all. In the absence of "real" challenge, we will create our own challenges (though we may not realize it), because we need them. It's in our nature; it's a big part of why we are on this earth: to face the challenges, learn from them, and become better.

Finally, I believe in a few basic principles. God is real. Satan is real. God wants our eternal joy and happiness. Satan wants us to miserable "like unto himself." In this age, one of the cunning tools Satan uses to keep us miserable is to keep us so busy that we lose sight of what we are really doing. In our minds we are saying "I believe in __________" , "my family matters the most" or "these things are important to me", but our actions don't really show it. We place our true vote for what we believe in and what matters most to us by the way we invest our time and energy.

So, I have been doing a lot of thinking about where I really spend my time and energy. It's kind of hard. It's like budgeting or accounting. I may have a perception of where I'm at, but when I run the reports, I'm sometimes surprised by where the actual numbers fall. I am trying, though; and I'm learning more everyday.

I know I have labors to perform and responsibilities I cannot neglect. I just want to have a little more joy in the journey and, for me, that comes from knowing that whatever I may be working on, my heart is in the right place and my labors are pleasing to my Heavenly Father. For me that requires a lot of prayer, pondering and reflection.

I have plenty of fears. I want to spend more time focusing on my faith and enjoying the little things in life that make me so happy. So I am going to be posting some of my favorite "little" things. It may seem kind of cheesy, but it's my way of remembering what matters most to me and taking time to enjoy it. I don't want to be miserable!