The Idaho Weather Lady

Ok, I realize that I'm constantly talking about the weather here, but seriously it is CRAZY!!! Every other day is just DUMB. Why am I so upset right now, you ask? Well, wouldn't you be if it was SNOWING at your house on the last day of April?!? I told Israel that he'd better go get his ear plugs because I'm gonna start CUSSIN' now.

Cleaning Up a MESS!

My Raspberry patch! I should have taken a "before" picture of it. It was ridiculous! It was totally overgrown with grass, weeds and dead shoots from years past. Last fall, I couldn't even reach the berries toward the center so, we are starting all over again! My weed pile was so tall it looked like we were planning to burn someone at the stake. Next, we will transplant them into orderly rows.
I'm not really sure what this used to be, but I'm debating of whether to clean it up and fill it with strawberries or maybe a flower bed. Though Israel wants to get rid of it all together and make a sandpit for horseshoes. That could be fun, I guess.

It's WARM here!!!

It finally hit 75 degrees and we LOVED playing and working in the yard. We pulled out the sprinkler for the few spots that don't get a nice coverage from the sprinkler system. Emma wandered out too close and was caught off guard by the sprinkler. The funny girl just stood there getting soaked and wouldn't walk (or run) away. We finally intervened and pulled her away.

Now Maggie, on the other hand, RAN to put on her swimsuit. And played out there all afternoon!

Fort Builders, Inc.

I should have realized what they were up to when Israel kept walking past me with more and more blankets while I was on the treadmill this morning. Maggie had to give me the grand tour when I was done. They are fantastic fort builders, I just wish they were as good at being fort cleaner-uppers.

Salubrious Sunday

note: not a picture of me. ha ha ha. someday soon, though.
Definition of Salubrious: favorableness to the preservation of health

At my good friend's suggestion, once a week I'll give 2 goals for the week and report how I did the next week. She has Salubrious Saturday, but Sunday works better for me. So, here it goes!

1. I will spend a minimum of 30 min exercising for 5 days this week
2. I will focus on protein and fresh veggies this week in meal preparation.

The Big 5 Tag

10 Years Ago:10 years ago, I was barely engaged to Israel, attending Ricks College and LOVING it. I was living with my FAVORITE roomies at the time at Regent Villa.

5 Years Ago: 5 years ago, I was working days at Westmark Credit Union and nights/weekends as a server/key manager at Outback Steakhouse and pregnant with our 1st baby.

5 Months Ago: 5 months ago, I settling into our 1st home and getting ready for the holidays.

5 Things on my To Do list today:
1. Get the Raspberry patch free of ALL grass while avoiding the snow/rain
2. Sing to old people in preparation for our concert
3. Complete the R.S. Calendar for May
4. Catch up on laundry
5. Cut Maggie's hair

5 Snacks I enjoy:
1. Chips & Salsa
2. Beef Jerky
3. Reese's Pieces
4. Popcorn
5. Moist cake

5 Things I would do if I were suddenly a billionaire:
1. pay tithing and pay off all debt
2. hire a reputable/honest financial adviser
3. buy a home in Northwest Washington
4. buy a home for my parents and pay off their mortgage
5. travel the world

5 of my Bad Habits:
1. Procrastination
2. Limited of patience
3. Eating because I'm bored.
4. Agreeing to do things I have no interest or time to do, because I don't want someone else to feel bad.
5. Forgetting to live in the moment.

5 Places I have lived:
1. Cedar Falls, IA
2. Idaho Falls, ID
3. Salt Lake City, Ut
4. Anacortes, WA
5. Midland, Texas (the last 4 were all in the past 4 years! yikes!)

5 Things people may not know about me:
1. I am currently in a women's community choir
2. I used to work at the Salt Lake Temple in custodial
3. I was born tongue tied and no one noticed until I was twelve.
4. My mom and my oldest sister were pregnant at the same time.
5. I was EXTREMELY shy until 9th grade.

5 People I Tag:
1. Amanda
2. Lori Caley
3. Susanne
4. Tamara
5. Misty
Though, I really tag anyone interested.

Before & After Photos

I'd had enough. I got my hair cut about 5 weeks before I had Emma and with job changes, the big move, buying a house, holidays, etc, etc. Well, a haircut for me just went way down on the list of things to do. Soooo, finally after almost 1 1/2 yrs, I got a new do.

This was my hair length January 2007.

This is my long hair this past Saturday.

This is my new hair do! I think I like it. Though, I don't have a lot of lift volume to my hair so it doesn't hold a good look for long. As you can see here. But, I do like it so much better than the eternal ponytail.

Song and Scripture

Every night our little family does what we call "Song and Scripture". We sing a primary song (or song about Jesus) and then read the scriptures or memorize a new scripture and finish with family prayer. Well, these days Maggie insists that she's a big girl and can read the scripture all by herself. Thus, tonight she had her shot. She flips to a page in scriptures saying, "Chapter 4, verse 18....Oh commands. Jesus will guide your heart to joy"

I'll be clear. I realize this scripture does not exist, though I found it to be profoundly true.

I Love To See the Temple

Israel and I found another babysitting-trade couple in our ward! Yahoo! With this couple we are able to trade temple days. So, now we have the opportunity to attend the temple every other Friday. I'm so excited! Today was our first day of the arrangement. It was so nice to just feel some peace in a very hectic week.

It was also so wonderful to share this time with my husband. I'm so grateful for all he does for our family. He certainly helps out far more than I remember to give him credit for and whether I say it out loud or not, it's appreciated.

Shout Out to My Friend on her BDAY

Hey, just sending a shout out to my good friend, Tamara Ardmore! It's her birthday today! Yahoo!

If any of you knew me in High School, you knew that Tamara and I had lots of fun together! Soccer, enduring Math class, Church dances, etc, etc.

I'm just so grateful she was such a good friend and helped me to become a better person. I just want to say THANK YOU and I hope you have a fantastic birthday!

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 63 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

A Fantastic Day!

It was 60 degrees today!!!! Yahoo!!! I think all of Idaho Falls was out and about, soaking up the warmth. It's been a long cold winter.

Israel and I went on our date today and it was bliss. We dropped the girls off at a friends at 1pm and then got out bikes out and biked to Subway. We picked up a sub to share and continued on to the Greenbelt (It's a walking/biking trail next to the River and Temple) where we enjoyed our lunch as we listened to the birds, the water and people watched. I love to people watch. Not to judge, but to just observe how others interact with each other.

We then biked over the the Temple Visitor's Center and watched the new Joseph Smith video. It was quite good. If you have an opportunity to watch it, I recommend it. Then we took our time biking home again. It was so nice to have a few hours to just hang out with Israel without all the distractions of chores, work, callings, etc.

It was just such a nice day and I'm feeling grateful for sunshine and warmth of friendship!

Dating Dilemmas

Israel and I have finally found a great couple interested in trading babysitting so we can go on a date every other weekend. We babysit all the kids one week, they babysit the next week. So, far it's working really well. And Israel and I have decided that we will take turns planning the dates. Well, on a limited budget we are running out of ideas.

This is where all my friends come in...I need some IDEAS!

Here's what we've done recently.
Daytime Movie
Window Shopping
Arcade
Dinner

On Saturday I planned for us to go to the IF Temple Visitor Center and watch one of the videos. Not exactly FUN, but should be nice to have peace and quiet.

So, please...I welcome your suggestions. Remember, limited budget is a factor.

Change of Allegiance?

Yesterday, was all about Mom. And today... it's all about Daddy! How quickly they change their allegiance. This is a snapshot of the girls pampering Daddy. Emma was feeding him her goldfish snack crackers and Maggie was fanning him with her hand. Please...He is so spoiled. No matter what he may tell you.
Doesn't it look like Maggie is balancing a clock on her head? I just noticed, ha!

Brownie Bakers

We all worked together and made a batch of brownies tonight. Even Emma got in on the action of screaming.. I mean stirring. They actually had a lot of fun, though Emma kinda lost it at the end as you can see in the picture. The other 2 kids you see are the ones I watch 2x/wk. They have been really great. Oh, in the top pic Emma is hoarding the measuring spoons. She apparently got quite attached to them.

Mamma's Girls

This morning my girls were little Mamma's girls and only wanted to be with me. So, Israel tried to capture the rare moment. And, of course, that's when Emma decided to bolt and Maggie got the wiggles. Typical, right? This was the best shot and it's out of focus. Such is life.

Photography

Maggie is learning to take pictures. This one actually turned out pretty well. The others were close up pictures of the carpet, noses, and any other random thing she comes across.

One Word Tag

This one is kind of fun because you have to try and say it all in one word. I'm going to try really hard to be a rule follower... Here goes.

1. Where is your cell phone? washer

2. Significant other? Israel

3. Worst bad habit? procrastination

4. Hair? brown

5. Favorite food? Italian

6. Your Favorite thing? laughter

7. Your dream last night? dream?

8. Favorite drink? Water

9. Dream/Goal? healthy

10. Room you are in? Living

11. Your ex? none

12. Your fear? ingratitude

13. Where do you want to be in six years? here

14. Where were you last night? garden

15. What you're not? best

16. Muffins? poppyseed

17. Wish list item? flooring

18. Where did you grow up? Iowa

19. Last thing you do? sleep

20. What are you wearing? clothes

21. Your TV? black

22. Your pets? future

23. Your computer? communication

24. Your life? mediocre

25. Your mood? fair

26. Missing someone? me

27. Your car? old

28. Something you are not wearing? shoes

29. Favorite store? discount

30. Your summer? hot

31. Love someone? usually

32. Last time you laughed? now

33. Last time you cried? soon

So I tag all the ladies who read this and haven't done it already. It's kinda fun.

Beauty Sleep?

I woke this morning with a short person in my bed, enjoying some beauty rest. I was able to get this shot before she woke up. What a funny girl.