The Happenings!

The past week has been so busy! Kaidan's Birthday was on the 26th and on the 28th he was baptized. The 28th also happened to be my daughter McKenna's birthday AND my 17th wedding anniversary. The next day Becky had Aaron blessed. It was good that we could do everything all in one weekend but it made for a very BUSY weekend. Here's a photo of Kaidan and Kelvin at Guadalahara's for his and McKenna's Birthdays
McKenna and Kelvin at the restaurant also!
This, of course, is the best part of a Mexican restaurant. How could you go there and not have plenty of this? They have a wonderful salsa bar there. That's the biggest reason we go there instead of somewhere else. Kelvin and I always share a meal because the chips and salsa fill us up. We got two orders of fajitas and shared them. Them were mmmmm, mmmm, good!

This a photo of Kaidan ready to blow out his birthday candle. We decided to get a separate cake for McKenna to eat at the dinner after the baptism. I kind of feel bad...it feels like both of their birthday's got kind of gyped. I don't know why I feel like that, we took them out to dinner and also to the movies. We took them to see "Coraline" The movie was pretty good except for two things: she said the Lord's name in vain a couple of times and it showed two women in very risque clothing (pasties). I thought that was a little bit odd.
Anyway, maybe it was because we didn't get them a present yet. Man! I am soooooo bad! I feel like I'm a step behind all the time!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH! I just lost half of my post!!! I have to do it ALL over again!! Isn't this supposed to save automatically!!?


Here's a picture of my Dad...


He's such great Dad! After the baptism, we had a dinner in the cultural hall, since my house is way too small to house both my family and Kelvin's family. My Dad was pretty much cleaning up after people the whole time. I think he only stopped when he was eating. The rest of us were just sitting there visiting. But not my Dad...
I love my Dad!!!

And now you can meet my Mom....



She is the go-to girl! Whenever she comes to visit, she never stops! (I wonder why she's always tired!) She's either cleaning or cooking or just helping out where she thinks she needs to. I wish she could come for a visit where we aren't doing anything and she could just play. Becky just invited her to Vegas for spring break. We'll see if she'll come....it would be fun though...

I love when my whole family is here! I wish that we all lived a little closer together... I miss them a lot. I think we are going to move a little closer to my parents after Kelvin retires in about 5 and half years. It will be great to be closer to Melissa (my little sister) who loves to do a lot of things that I love to do. She's CRAFTY!!! HA! I love it! (I hate to craft alone!)
Speaking of crafts...this week was Activity Days and each of them made their own pillowcase. It was really fun! We're finishing up so I'll get some photos of their pillowcases then. Here's a picture of the one that I made! I know! You can't believe that I actually made one right? Well, I did! And I am SO proud of myself!! I know, I know...it was only 4 seams right? Well yeah, it was... but I did them so well! AND...the inside seam was hidden. Wanna see...?


And now here's Bryn and Emma. Bryn insisted that she get the pillowcase! And when I wanted a photo of it with her and the pillow, she wouldn't get dressed again. I swear, every time we get home she sheds her clothes! What is it with toddlers that they love to go naked!! Well, she wasn't naked, she did have underwear on! Now every other child in the household is asking me for their own pillowcase. My mom makes them one every Christmas, so they aren't without a homemade pillowcase, but I guess it's better when Mom makes 'em.

Here's another thing I did that was crafty! I love this stuff!...


McKenna had a birthday party to go to that was tonight and I forgot to get a birthday present. I decided to make a card and she put some cash in it. Now listen here people, this is literally the second card that I have ever made. Can you believe that! I have a store of supplies and I've only made 2 cards in my entire life! I love it too! It's so bright and cheery! And it's perfect for a teenager! She loved it! (I made her open it while I was there! Cheesy huh?LOL!)




I forgot to tell you what we had for dinner after Kaidan's baptism. We had Taco Soup. I was going to make some of Lynn's wonderful Caesar salad, but I got too overwhelmed and made just Taco Soup! Everyone loved it though. I cannot tell you how many people asked me for the recipe. It is soooooooo easy!! It takes like 15 minutes to make up!

Here's the recipe:

1 lb. gound beef (browned)
1 large can of Kidney beans
1 large can of pinto beans
1 regular can of black beans
1 family-size can of Vegetable soup or Beef Vegetable soup
1 regular can corn
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1 cup of salsa
1 cup of water
2-3 tbs. of taco seasoning (1 packet)
2-3 tbs. of chili powder

Isn't that easy? It makes up a huge pot! You put some in a bowl and add a dollop of Daisy (Ha ha! A dollop of Daisy! LOL! I am soooo funny! It's sour cream if you don't have a clue what I'm laughing about...) Then mix it up and add cheese and some Fritos. With this combination it is phenomenal! My kids love this stuff! So do I!
Oh! I forgot! We also had a carrot cake from Costco! It was for McKenna's birthday but in the hustle and bustle we forgot to sing to her! I know, another thing to feel bad for...

HUH?

What is it with the instructions on these patterns?! Are they supposed to look like Japanese? Hmmmmph!....(Tell me you DON'T know what I'm talking about...)

Made my decision...

Well, after much consideration (and a little help with my blog friends. Thanks!) I've decided to get little white t-shirts with cap sleeves, leave the ric rac off the dress and add it to the t-shirts. Wouldn't that be cute?! I think it would look better. Maybe I'll do it both ways and you guys can tell me what you think when I post it!
I took the twins to preschool today and was on my way back when my sister Becky called. I think she was having a bad day. I decided to go back to her house and visit with her for a while.(Remember those baby blues, where everything makes you cry?) Anyway, I talked with her a bit and decided she needed a little bit of time without Baby, so I watched him while they went to pick something up. Two and a half hours later, they came home. I think that Becky felt better. Too bad that she didn't catch a movie or something! That sounds like more fun than driving to pick up a remote control for their gate...(Tell me I'm right...)
I'm bushed tonight, and came home to a big wreck. (Not too happy, but I guess it can get cleaned)

Pattern!

Here's the pattern I'm going to be using for Emma's and Brynleigh's dress. It only goes up to a size 4 but Emma's so skinny all I'll have to do to alter it is make it longer at the bodice and skirt. Easy peasy, right? We'll see! It's cute for one of those super simple sundresses. Here's a question for all those LDS moms. Do you think it's o.k. to wear dresses like this when they are little or do you think you should wear a t-shirt under them. I used to be o.k. about it, but now I'm not so sure. I could put a cute little white, small sleeved t-shirt under it. But then I don't think I'd put the ric rac. I think it would look funny. My mom always told us to wear things that we could wear after we were married in the temple. This particular dress isn't too bad, it's just sleeveless and not really just straps. I don't know. What is the protocol? Anyone know?
Here's a funny Jo Jo story. Yesterday we were having the missionaries over for dinner and I decided to make some french bread. I have heard that if you turn on the oven to 200 degrees, turn it off, and place the dough covered with a cloth in there, it will raise significantly faster. So I did. But, I left the door to the oven open because it seemed awfully hot in there still. I did tell everyone in there to not close the door. Well....they did, of course close the door. I opened it back up and it was like the BLOB! Going everywhere! (Apparently the yeast is fantastic!) So, I took it out and reformed it and hoped it would raise fast enough, to be done in time for the missionaries to eat. I took it out of the oven and placed it on the table to finish raising while I preheated the oven. It looked really good! I thought to myself,"Good, I can still get it done" I came back a few minutes later and it was flat! Someone did a smackdown!! That's right! You heard me! I said a smack down! It looked way too fluffy for this little five year old to walk by without pushing on it. Both loaves were significantly flatter. My first thought was "Oh, I am MAD" Tried to find out who did it. Still mad....found out it was JO Jo. How can I be mad at him, he just had a lot of curiosity. I can't be mad. So.....I just put it in the oven and hoped it wouldn't be pizza bread instead of french bread....
The french bread came out just fine! I couldn't believe it! It still raised up in the oven. I really thought that it wouldn't. The missionaries would've eaten it anyway, but I would've felt bad. Glad I didn't yell at JO Jo. Although I did start yelling and asking who did it. Gotta control my temper a little better...

Fun Projects on the way!!

These are some fun fabrics I picked up at Joann's today to make Emma and Brynleigh a dress with. Actually it's for 3 dresses. I think I'll make Brynleigh an extra one because she loves to wear dresses. She cries everytime we put pants on because she say they're too tight. The contrasting fabric is for a hat that will have both fabrics on it.
I called my sister Melissa today and challenged her to go get some Tutti Fruitti fabric and make her daughter a dress too! I think she will, although she says she's not a person who likes to make clothes. (At least not for herself) She's got such a cute daughter, how can she stand not making something for her!

O.k. my peeps! This wonderful Moda goodness MIGHT be part of the "Pay It Forward" challenge. I know, I know, stop the clamoring for a moment. I DID say "MIGHT"! It's just so lovely, that I don't know if I can part with it! Maybe I should make myself the same thing so I won't miss it so much.(For anyone that knows me well, I'm a collector. I don't want to run out so I get a lot and then don't do anything with it, cuz I love it so much!!!! I just want to look at it and drool...)



Here's the cute Chocolate lollipop holder that I made for the twins preschool teacher for Valentine's Day. I wanted to make one for Kelvin and the kids, but I procrastinated and didn't get it done. Darn it. I got a Template for it on Papertrey Ink website and made a few improvements. It turned out so cute. I love the packaging! Don't you?

Oh my gosh!...

I CAN NOT believe that I didn't remember to blog this story! Here's another funny one. Jo Jo asked me one day (as I caught him doing something naughty) how I know everytime he does something. I said,"Cuz I have eyes in the back of my head!" in a totally cheerful voice. He just says, "Nuh uh..."
Fast forward a couple of days...Jo Jo is behind me on the couch and all of the sudden I feel little hands searching through my hair...I totally realize what he's doing, and ask him,"Are you looking for the eyes in the back of my head?" He says,"Yeah..." I say, "They are closed" He says, "They're sleeping" very matter-of-factly.
Oh my gosh....I died laughing...(just as soon as he was gone, cuz I didn't want him to know that I didn't have eyes in the back of my head and ya know he would've found out if I'd have laughed right then!)

So FUNNY!!!

Today, while I was gone, Brynleigh fell and hit her nose on something. It started bleeding profusely and she panicked! In her little girl voice, she started yelling "I yam dying, I yam dying!" Of course she was crying too. Then Emma (5 years) started crying and trying to comfort. She was saying,"No, Brynleigh, you can't die! You are my favorite sister!....
Brynleigh didn't stop crying and yelling about dying, until after her older sister Beth, finished giving her a bath and there was no more blood to be seen.
Ya, I'm thinking that we watch too much NCIS. What do you think?
I am so glad I'm writing this down, because I am missing soooooo many funny moments because I didn't write them down.