Lady in Waiting

This was the beautiful dress Chris picked for her winter formal at the "U". Sooo classy and absolutely gorgeous. I LOVE this dress.

So the night of Christine's dance, my mom and dad were going to be gone and my mom mentioned being worried about Chris being able to get in her dress by herself. She needed say no more . . . I was so there! I thought of all the times I missed out on helping her get ready for other similar occasions because we lived so far away. She was only 10 when we moved to Oregon.

So on this lovely Friday evening, the girls and I headed over after taking some pictures at my cousin Mary's basketball game. (It was a fun family-filled day.)

When I arrived, Chris was working on curling her hair and showed me a hairstyle "how to" she found on YouTube. Now, I am not a hair expert. It is not one of my strengths. My girls are most often wearing the washed and combed style. Sure we often throw in a headband or barrette, but buns, ponytails and piggy tails are usually about as fancy as I get. I would LOVE to learn how to do more and have tried on a few occasions, but consider this a weak area for me . . .

So when I created this . . .

I was positively giddy!!

I was so proud I posted it on Facebook right away.

Christine looked like a princess and the girls oohed and ahhed enough to give Christine a nice big boost of confidence just before her date, Jake, arrived.

Natalie always provides some comic relief wherever we are. Looks like she found the coconut bra! Why didn't we think of that! It would have been a nice touch with the dress.


Another view of "the" hairstyle.

Before Jake arrived I briefed the girls on things not to say or ask that would embarrass Christine. Things like, "Do you like Chrissy?" "Are you going to marry her?" "Do you think she looks pretty?" "Are you going to kiss?"

They did pretty good and were cute and acted a little embarrassed around him. After all, he was a handsome boy in a tuxedo - girls always get a little weak in the knees at that!

The coast was clear for Chris until just as she was shutting the door, Natalie whispered kind of loud, "Are they going to get married?" (o: I tried.

Here are Christine's pretty flowers from Jake that I put in a vase after she left.

And here's a funny thing I found while taking care of the flowers. Must be the work of dad or one of my brothers. The Jimmer fever was a little annoying to them, I guess. (O:

Be Mine

Ahhh, that time of year again. This time I had three girls in elementary school - which equals about 90 valentines to make! I prefer to do something a little more hand made than the ones you get at the store. I take many shortcuts in other areas of my life, but for Valentines, it just feels more special making something. Nothing fancy, mind you.

I found a bunch of foam on clearance at a store going out of business and some cute foam sticky hearts. See what we came up with . . . It was really pretty slick. The cutting took the longest, but we all worked on it while watching TV and it went pretty quick. The next steps were sticking on the hearts, writing names and then I hot glued the giant smarties on.

If you stick out your tongue, it turns out better.



This multi-layered heart design with sparkle hearts was for Angela's teacher.

Say "Yes" to the Dress

This particular Saturday, Marvin* had to actually work - we had been spoiled for a long time and forgot that sometimes people have to actually work on weekends. Something not uncommon from our days with Intel, we'd had a break from that for a long time. But the wonderful thing about living in Utah is that we can call up family and do fun stuff with them to help pass the time! So I called up my mom and we met her and my dad and Chrissy for lunch. It was great fun. Then we found out Chrissy was going to look for a formal dress for her fancy shmancy school dance coming up. Well, my girls volunteered right away to help her with this important task. She couldn't just go on her own - she needed some expert opinions on style and looking royal.

Watching the girls in the biggest formal dress store I've ever seen was a treat! They could not pick a favorite. Everything was so colorful and flowy and sparkly. They were in heaven!

The judges. I love that Natalie happens to be wearing a crown and moon boots. (With princesses, mind you.) AND of course, her foofy skirt. My mom found a quote that so fits her personality - it goes, "The day you were born, the world had to make room for a little more fancy." So perfect for Miss Nat. (o:

Chris was hoping she could hold up under the scrutiny.

Here is dress #1 - the little, black dress. A classic, and you might guess what the girls thought about it amongst all the frills and sequins. B O R I N G (o: Still, I thought it was cute.

Dress #2 - This was one of my favorites - I really liked the unique silver color, and I am a sucker for shiny and sparkly too. Unfortunately, the fit was a little less comfy/modest than a dress Chris tried on previously at another store.

Dress #3 - very pretty and I believe the girls favorite of the ones Chris chose. I don't remember what Chris thought of this one though. Obviously not enough to get it. She ended up choosing to go back and get the dress she found at another store, which will be shown in another post.

This is the dress Natalie would have picked.

This one was Sarah's pick.

I know it is weird, but I LOVED how they had all the dresses organized by color. It looked so pretty. I had just as much fun oohing and ahhing (and gasping! at the prices) - what a fun outing. And I have to say how awesome I think Chris is. I really appreciate that finding something modest was part of her criteria. I have always tried to teach the girls to be modest, but when it is reinforced by their hero, aunt Chrissy, that really brings it home for them. Thanks for your good example, Chrissy. You are awesome!

Hibernation

These shots were taken during a very cold end of January/beginning of February week. We did a lot of hibernating this winter. Above, Angela working on her 100 days of school homework. My girls got in their jammies early many a evening because jammies are just cozy.

Sarah taking a sick day. Just a fever for a couple days, nothing too exciting. I actually like these kind of days. I love having the kids home and hanging out with them. I slow down and enjoy the break from a busy schedule too. I am so grateful to have this luxury - to not have to stress about getting work off when the kids are sick.

Dress ups are always entertaining when one is stuck indoors. This was actually when Natalie was heading over to JT's house for a princess/knight party two houses down. She "rode" her horse there. And she even wore those ridiculous shoes walking over in the cold. No snow, luckily.

Triple Decker Sandwich Recipe

Ingredients: 3 kids - not too skinny, 3 bean bags - nice and fluffy
Begin with one bean bag, then layer one kid on top, repeat three times. Top off with a little dollop of a pillow if desired.

Spring Tease

Every once in a while, during winter, you get those days that make you just crave spring. January 29th was one of those days this winter. We had a little impromptu croquet game. Ralph, our neighbor's dog, came over to play too. (O:

Sarah was mad about something. She's a little competitive!

Angela acting like an old woman with a cane.

Natalie had interesting form. It was nice to get outside!

Thank Goodness it's Friday!

We love Fridays around here! One of the nice things about the schools out in Utah is that the kids get out early on Friday, an hour and a half early. It works out perfect because the rest of the week we are busy with homework, dance, violin and piano. Friday is the day we have playdates and 4H (every other week). They are fun days and we live for them! Above, Sarah and her buddy Sophia are making sun catchers. Sophia lives just down the street - we love having friends that are close enough to walk over!

Angela got invited to her friend Abbi's house for a cookie party that same Friday and brought home a cute new apron and these darling cookies. It wasn't even a birthday party - just for fun. And I believe, this same day, Natalie was playing up in her room with Janie. Did I mention we love Fridays? (o:

Baluga Whale Report

Angela had to choose an animal from the polar climate to do a report on. For a couple weeks we read books and looked online to find out all about Baluga whales. They are pretty fascinating - I think I had the most fun learning about them. For instance, did you know they have a bony head and no dorsal fin which aids them in breaking through ice to get a breath of air?


Ang had to write down three sentences sharing what she learned and then had to present her "pizza box" and do a little oral report. It turned out so cute.

Science Club

These are not the greatest pics from my little point and shoot, zoomed way in, but this was a fun thing for the girls and I. We love science and doing science experiments. We used to have our own little Science Girls club once upon a time. So when I heard our new school has a Science Club, I was thrilled. This was the kick off day and the kids had a ball seeing all the funny stuff this guy brought (I think he was from BYU) to get them excited about science.

It's Official

We are officially Utahns. We have the driver's licenses and plates to show it. I still have my Oregon ID for sentimental purposes, but it is no longer valid. It was kind of weird changing our plates. We put it off for long enough. My brother, Mr. police officer, gave us a little motivation when he told us the fine for having out of state plates for longer than the grace period (60 days) was going up. That was all we needed. And the notoriously horrible DMV was AMAZING! It was so organized and fast, we could not believe it. We had new drivers licenses in about 30 minutes, including the time to take the open book test. Miracle of miracles.

Now we just need to change our Oregon cell phone numbers . . .

Tap a Tap Tap

Angela looked so cute for her little dance class I had to get some pictures.

Town Mouse Country Mouse

For school, Natalie had to make a diorama about a book that she read. I was so impressed with how good it turned out! She amazes me with her artistic talent. I did not do a single thing but get the box lid for her and this is what she came back with! Good work Natalie!

Special Dinner Guests

One of our favorite things to do now that we are back is to invite family over for dinners at our house! We had a Winco turkey left over from the Thanksgiving sales and decided to have grandma and grandpa come share it with us. The girls helped out and even decorated the chairs with little pictures. Angela's favorite part was eating the powdered doughnuts grandpa brought.








The evening entertainment was watching Angela eat a powdered doughnut while laughing her head off. (o:

Dance Dance Dance

Look how cute - Angela in a leotard and tap shoes. What could be cuter? That's her bud Abbi with the blonde hair. I was so excited to hear about this great dance teacher from Abbi's mom. She teaches in her basement about a mile from our house and her hour long class includes tap, ballet and tumbling. What a deal! Natalie is also taking the same class with older girls. I have been so impressed with Shelly and her fun choreography. And the girls have learned some really good skills. She is great. I can't wait for the recital in May. I had a cute picture of Angela dancing around, but the girl behind her had a problem with her top coming down and was showing a little too much to share.

Sweet Gracie

Another fun family birthday! Sweet Grace is getting so big. I love how she is blowing out the candles. I'm surprised she got them out! I think sometimes, since Gracie is the one of the littlest ones in the family - the other kids think she is a dolly. (o: My girls love her and think she is so cute. They are right!

Sunday Stations

I think I mentioned this one a while ago, but it is such a good idea and has become such a tradition, I wanted to do another post on it. My friend Tina had this brilliant idea. On Sundays, in our church, we try to keep the Sabbath Day holy and avoid things like watching TV, going shopping, going to movies, playing sports, etc. Not because they are bad - it's kind of a day to take a break from the world and focus on our family and create an atmosphere that welcomes deeper thought and reflection on what matters most. This can be hard for kids who just want to watch Sponge Bob, play their DS games or jump on the trampoline outside. And I'll be the first one to tell you we aren't perfect at this - I don't think we've ever missed a Super Bowl game. Anyway, it is tricky to get the girls excited for Sundays. But Tina had a great idea called Sunday Stations and we totally copied it and love it. It is set up similar to the way we used to do preschool with "discovery stations". I set up 5 or more little stations with an activity - some are religious (like looking up a scripture, solving a book of Mormon puzzle or figuring out how much tithing you would pay for different amounts of money) and others are art, nature, etc. Most of them tie into church topics somehow. (Building a temple with Legos was a big hit.) The girls love this so much and ask every week, "Are we doing Sunday Stations"? It is great because now they don't dread Sundays. Plus, I'm getting to use some of my preschool kits still! We don't have time to do them every week. Some weeks we are visiting family instead, but we do it about twice a month. The picture above was one where I told the girls to draw a picture of the first presidency. I thought it might be too hard, but they all did such a cute job I'm tempted to send them to The Friend magazine. (a kid's church magazine)