Candy Apples

i love candy apples. it's gooey, chewy, sticky-ness make my mouth water at the sight! we made candy apples for dessert on saturday night. m said, 'this is a party'. i told b that for halloween we need to make these again. and drizzle chocolate over the caramel and then roll it in nuts! YUMMY! i can't wait. the kids really had fun with the caramel. a and k made braces with theirs and m didn't want to eat it cause it was too sticky. f took really little bites but i think it was way too sticky for his taste too.

thanks, dad for the treat!

COSTCO

i love going to costco. i develop all my photos there and michelle and i are on a first name basis. that tells you a lot about a person when you are on a first name basis with employees. love it. anyway...b and i went to costco with all the kids today. it was kind of fun. b and i don't go grocery shopping together because he doesn't stick to my list but i told him if he went he could LOOK at the flat panel screens. LOOK, DON'T TOUCH. let me tell you he was thrilled. not really. we didn't stick to the list but it was fun to go and shop with him. we ran into the smith's while we were there and thane was on an errand to get meatballs before valerie checked out. well he was looking for them until he ran into b and his searching ended. not because he found the meatballs but because he was chatting. well, we told him that they were so yummy and gave him ways to use them like making meatball subs! soo good! we haven't had them so i decided to get some. i ended up looking for them while the men chatted away and brought a bag back for thane. it was funny to see men chatting away like women. it's usually me who is stopped at the store chatting away like crazy but today it was just the opposite. we collected our things and were out of there. trading one of our children for one of the smith's children. now we have 3 girls and one boy. i love costco!

My Poor Tulips

i was so excited to have my tulips bloom this year! and then it snowed! what the crap! it's april and snowing. come on! i planted a ton and the ones in the very front were doing so well. but the ones behind the front lines weren't getting enough sun and i am afraid that they never will. during the summer my front yard is completely shaded...much to missy's dismay. but they look really nice half way bloomed...i am positive that they would have been just fine if it weren't for the snow. this fall i will just plant a zillion and one in the backyard. and by the crappy trees out front.

ps. check out my craft center link. i finished my curtains!

Dance Recital

this saturday was another dance recital in layton for my girls. it was so exciting. k got ready first. hair, make-up, and then the costume. she looked so...JAZZY! and then miss m. hair, make-up, and costume. but when we went to put on her white panty hose there was a big problem. i bought a small size for m at the dollar store, i think. when i took them out of the package they were... SMALL! newborn baby small. i panicked! it was already 11:35. we had to leave no later than 12:00 noon. so i packed all of m's costume and make-up in a bag and told b we had to leave NOW! we got everyone in the car and drove to layton hills mall, where they were performing. m and i ran to mervyn's and bought a pair of white panty hose. we then ran to the bathrooms to change her quickly then back to the recital site. as we ran past shoppers i could hear all kinds of comments like, oh my gosh isn't she the cutest dancer! and oh i want to see that little girl dance, she's so cute. loved it. so we got back in time to put her go-go boots on and her make-up. then the recital began. all the dancers looked amazing. our teachers really do a good job at picking out the costumes! all the moms said so.

m did so good. she danced to THINK PINK.

k was rockin to S.O.S.

i was so proud of my girls. they really did a great job. i love my little dancers.

XCEL OPENED 24/7

okay i have 6 1/2 weeks before our trip to aruba and this is where i will be spending most my time. at the gym.

we will be doing BODY PUMP and BODY COMBAT!

we have scheduled to go m-th, and sat. somedays we will go to classes and other nights we hit the cardio machines. i am so excited to have gb's that are as dedicated and excited to see the lbs. fall off. it's too bad they literally don't fall off...in chunks.

i hate working out by myself and jason c. hates that his wife is wasting $ on a membership she wasn't utilizing...so we came to a decision. nellie and i will work out together! and then lynette joined the gym! HURRAY! now we are fierce gb's.

we read the funniest sign 2 nights ago at the gym. i can't rememeber it word for word but we like to laugh at the gym. out loud. and the other night we were laughing and i mentioned that no one else in the entire gym was laughing...

the sign said...

please refrain from any loud laughter while working out.

it is distracting to those around you.

we laughed at that. and kept laughing because honestly we don't LIKE to workout but since we HAVE to

...we might as well enjoy ourselves while we're there.

Spring Photos

i love updating my kids pics every year.

so here they are.

i just loved how they turned out. they would have been better if i had ironed the sheet but i don't care. i couldn't believe how many shots m was letting me take of her. i think i got at least 25! my little flower!

i just love the ones with just girls or just boys. they are so precious.

f was so good to smile and say cheese but only if i gave him jelly beans first. thanks buddy! i am so happy with them and uploaded them and ordered them from costco before my computer shuts down again.

*if you know of any computer specialists who could take a look at my computer please send them my way.

The SHED!

well b's tuff shed came and he loves it. he has moved things in and is already planning to build shelves. when he walked inside he said he should've had a vent put in because it's gonna get really hot. but he is so excited to have it and to clear out the garage. as we were driving around on thursday running errands i was noticing all the sheds in people's backyards. this confirmed one thing to me...the houses here don't have storage space. very sad. i guess ulitmately that means that if you want storage space you have to live on the hill. in any event we have big plans for our shed and just love that it matches out house. perfect. now i can plant tulips around it in the fall! hurray.

SMALLVILLE

we finally finished seasons 1-4 last night. i came home from working out with danielle last night and b was watching the season finale of 4. i was a little confused. what season is this i asked? he said 4. i didn't see that one. i don't know how i missed it. holy cow. i walked in when b was 20 min. into it so when it was over i started it at the beginning. that one was REALLY good. so now we are ready for season 5! i am SO EXCITED! i can't wait to see what happens.

CRAFTS

okay so all my home projects and crafty things will be posted on another link. if you scroll down my side bar...under craft center, i think, i will post all my happenings in Let's Get Creative.

Easter Egg Hunts

we started our saturday morning off early...with a pancake breakfast at the park. our ward pulled together a wonderfully delicious...or so i was told....breakfast. complete with egg casseroles, muffins, fruit, juice and milk, and pancakes hot off the grill. i couldn't believe how many families were there right at 8 am! it was amazing and so good to see.

after our yummy ward breakfast...we had photos with the easter bunny! there were so many kids that were terrified of the easter bunny. my own kids would not sit with him. then we had the easter egg hunt. it was crazy! every child was able to get 10 eggs. f didn't want to find eggs so he just watched all the other kids running around like crazy kids on sugar. it was so fun.

after lunch we took the kids to grandma creswell's house so they could decorate eggs with their cousins. it was really low key but they had fun. after what seemed like 5 hours we finally hid the eggs and let them go look for them.

f was more willing to look for eggs now so he searched and searched. he found lots of eggs and even random pieces of candy on the ground. he was really excited.

after gathering their eggs, the older kids helped the younger kids get the rest of theirs. then we all sat in the shade and relaxed and watched the kids dig into their easter buckets. they had a great time.

More Decor

okay...so i am going full speed ahead to finish my family room. and yesterday i found unfinished frames for $1! i brought them home and used some rustic americana scrapbook paper i've had for YEARS! then i put strung them together, thanks lynette for the idea, with raffia and place 4th of july pics from last year of the kids. i love them! hurray.

So Many Projects...

why is it that when you receive those scrapbook emails from various magazines they are always jam packed with the cutest ideas ever? so what do i do...i copy all the pics and directions i can and then....nothing. i always forget about them and they just sit here on my computer waiting. there are so many great ideas out there of ways i can use my photos and i can't find the time to sit down and do them. okay girls...whoever is reading this and lives by me...and i do mean WHOEVER...we have to do these crafts. here are some i copied today...and i really want to do them. if anyone is interested let me know. having a friend(s) to do it with is such a motivator.

Project #1

Project #2

Sweet Georgia Brown

oh how i love saying....sweet georgia brown. that is the color b picked out for our family room. we had to repaint due to f's lovely art work. we had to paint over that marker 7 times! 7 times! but oh how i love our family room now! b likes it too. i painted all saturday day and night. i was up till midnight.

then up sunday morning finishing the last 2 walls. listening to conference while we worked, which is probably not the best thing to do, but family was coming over for dinner and i wanted it done before they came. it really makes the family room warm and inviting. i love it. i brought my homemade frames downstairs to the hallway and finally used the vinyl lettering i won at a bunco night many many moons ago.

now my white curtains and shelves, and black frames and decor really pop. i just love it all.

i want to bring in white frames to put on either side of the entertainment hutch so that will be my next project! but i am so excited. and did i mention i absolutely love it!

Erythema Multiforme

pronouced er-uh-thee-ma multi-form-aye is a common skin disorder consisting of target-like circular lesions appearing suddenly on the legs, arms, palms, hands, feet, and inside the mouth. erythema multiforme minor is the most frequent form and i generally mild. the cause is often unknown and is not contagious.

for those of you who saw this...it didn't appear mild. poor f! he spent the last 2 nights itching so bad that he couldn't sleep. the doctor said to try not to use any medications because erythema multiforme is usually caused by a reaction to an infection or certain medications. but last night it was so bad that i gave him benedryll and hydrocordizone. he looks a lot worse than a couple of days ago...it all started on his torso, armpits, knee caps, and elbow. saturday it moved to his neck, head, bottom, ankles, and wrists. now it's to his face, hands, and feet. he looks worse than it really is but poor little guy. and on top of all that he has a mucas-ie cough and runny nose. and i can't give him anything for it. the doctor said it would pass in 2-3 WEEKS! oh i hope it's sooner than that.