I love.......

My children, Mitty, Casey, Emily & Ellie
My husband, Todd
Bvlgari perfumes
My warm,perfect Red, North Face pullover
Little league baseball season
To run and run and run :)
Freshly changed sheets
The smell of the clean laundry drying
When Casey massages my feet
To eat popcorn at night with Todd while we watch TV
To wake up early and get lots of chores done by 9:00am
The windows open on a sunny day
To chew gum....it's a must. Extra, Mentos Pure
To see chores getting done
To BAKE
To hang out with my siblings & parents....we can have fun anywhere:)
To be in control of my eating
To lay out at the beach in the warm sun
HAWAII
To watch Emily play softball
To watch Ellie play Wii Just Dance
Walking into a clean house that isn't screaming for me to clean it
My good friends
My brothers & sisters
Serving the children in primary
Peanut butter & chocolate
Getting my hair done
Job stability
Going to the temple
Living on the central coast
Taking walks/hikes
When my kids get along
Sweet baby Mae & all other nieces & nephews
A cool crisp apple
To feel the Spirit ( there isn't a more peaceful feeling
A new car & the smell that goes with it
French country decor
When my children & Todd are happy
Thinking back on fun times/ memories of the river & Havasu
Summer
Good running shoes
A long back scratching session
When my mom comes to visit

Home

A home is much more than a house built of lumber, brick, or stone. A home is made of love, sacrifice, and respect. We are responsible for the homes we build. We must build wisely, for eternity is not a short voyage. There will be calm and wind, sunlight and shadow, joy and sorrow. But if we really try, our home can be a bit of heaven here on earth. The thoughts we think, the deeds we do, the lives we live not only influence the success of our earthly journey, they also mark the way to our eternal goals. --Thomas S. Monson

I came across this quote from our prophet and absolutely loved it. I don't want to forget it.

Cute things kids say....

Ellie:

I was shopping for some shoes yesterday and trying on so many pairs. Ellie was right along side of me trying on shoes as well. She loves shoes! Anyway, she kept asking me, "well, how do you like this pair?" They were my size shoes :). I would tell her and then she would grab another pair. Pretty soon she came to me and put her head in my lap and said, "When are my feet going to get big?" I had to laugh. Of course, a little girl wants to be able to fit into her mom's size shoe.

Mitch:

Mitch put on his cup last Saturday for his first game and was having such a fit about how it was fitting. It is the same cup from last year and we never heard a complaint out of him. Anyway, he said, "Mom, look how huge it looks in my pants." I was trying not to laugh too hard because he was frustrated but pretty much couldn't help it. Todd and I both said that it would be fine...every boy on the team is having to wear one and they understand....it's no big deal. He came back with, "Everyone will just keep their thoughts to themselves but they will all be thinking how fat it looks." I cracked up! I can't imagine having to wear a hard cup in my underwear. He made it through the game without another complaint.

Way to go Mitch, Casey & Emily

I was so happy to go to an awards assembly yesterday to watch Mitch and Casey receive awards for their hard work. Mitch was recognized for making honor roll and Casey received an award for his math skills. All 3 of the kids stepped it up and really improved in all areas this last trimester. I can't even express how happy it makes me to read such great comments from their teachers.
It makes all of the stress of getting the kids to do homework all worth it! It makes me happy to know that all of their teachers enjoy having them in class.

Oh the joy that comes from being a mother!

Home Alone

A friend has picked up Ellie for a bit. Ellie loves to go to Costco so she is having fun on her outing. The house is quiet and there are so many things that I should be doing so why do I stall?

I was reading in a weight watcher magazine about changing habits. The example was to not eat meat for 3 days and load up on veggies instead. I thought about it and said to myself anyone can do anything for 3 days whether it is not eat sugar, eat less carbs, cut out the desserts or whatever it is that haunts each one of us in our diets. I took it a step further and thought spiritually I need to make better habits. So along with making a change in the kitchen/food, I will also make a change and read more scriptures each day for 3 days and then do it again for another 3 days and so on. The magazine article was talking about how we are more successful when we make mini challenges instead of huge ones that we almost set ourselves up for failure the minute we start. 3 day challenge is attainable!!

While the house is quiet, I have one more bed to change, walk on the treadmill, shower and get some laundry done. This afternoon is practice for one and a game for another. I guess I better think about dinner also. The busy-ness never goes away.

Side note...last night Casey gave a great FHE lesson on being kind. He printed off President Hinckley's talk "The Need for Greater Kindness" and read it to all of us. I have been asking the kids what they feel they need to work on and then let them find an article that fits. The girls sat on stools and put on their glasses and led the music. Too cute!!

Casey told me something really sweet the other day while I was playing the piano. The new song in Primary this year is "I Know My Savior Loves Me" Casey loves for me to play that song. He will sing along too. I love it. He told me that when I start to play the beginning, it makes him feel like crying. I was so happy for the opportunity to explain to him that he is feeling the spirit. I am so thankful that my children can feel the spirit and are recognizing what it feels like. Those comments make my heart swell! I am thankful for wonderful music that can bring that feeling into my home. The music "Hymns for a Peaceful Sabbath" is just wonderful. I love playing that while we are home on Sunday. I play it during the day with Ellie...(I'm not a TV watcher). It is peaceful and that is all I look for these days.

Life Just Doesn't Slow Down

Life is just crazy busy. There is something major happening all of the time with 4 kids, 3 in sports and 2 in scouts. I wouldn't trade them for anything but wouldn't mind a little slowing down once in a while. I love to watch the kids play baseball...I really do. It's exciting!!

Miss Emily just started her first year of softball with the girls. The girls named their team The Pink Panthers. She is a slugger!! She loves it! Her pink/purple glove with her brand new purple bat and bright pink socks with paw prints all over them and she is set. :) I love that she knows what to do after she hits the ball. She knows to get the ball after it has been hit and throw it to 1st base. She is on the ball and has a great arm. Way to go miss Em Em!!

The boys are still busy with practices. They don't officially start games until Mar. 27th. I only have a couple of weeks before it will be 7-8 games a week until June. Oh boy! Mitch is on the Giants and Casey is on the Padres. Great uniforms and great colors. That's important around here. :)

Last week I painted the house. I have been living with white walls for almost 12 years. Some color was definitely overdue. My living room and parts of my family room are cranberry. The other color I used on some other walls is called Maple Sugar. It has made it so cozy. The neighborhood kids come in and look around and say, "We just love how your house looks." I have never heard that before. The nasty flat white paint that I have stared at for so many years is finally in the past. :) Thank goodness that a week of going to bed at 2:30 and 3:00 are over. I can't work on painting when the kids are around.

Last Saturday I held a primary teacher/leader breakfast at my house. It was a success. Very fun to have just the leaders come and chat with one another. We had sticky buns, french toast souffle, yogurt, granola & fruit, omellete bar, sausage, lemon scones with apricots and cranberries and juice. It was a spread and it was delicious. I love putting on a party. I can't wait for the next one.

Grandma Carol is coming to visit tomorrow. I haven't seen her for awhile and so this will be fun. The kids are excited! Hopefully the weather stays sunny and nice. The rain that I hear right now may be an indication of no sunny weather. Hopefully, I am surprised. I'm off to enjoy the beautiful fire that Todd has going in our nice, cozy house. I know I need to post pics of so many things. I barely have time to put the pics on the computer let alone pick through them and put them into my posts. It's crazy life right now. I really can't imagine not doing all that I do. What would life be like? Children teach adults so much!!! I am ever so thankful for the opportunity to have children and to learn so much about life through my children.... PATIENCE and even then I still have a long way to go on being patient. Goodnight.

Happy Valentine's Day Weekend

I love Valentine's Day....hearts, red, pink, candy, chocolate, date (if we are lucky :)). What isn't there to love about it. I spent the entire day at school yesterday attending each child's Valentine party. So far it has been the only party day in our schooling career with children that they were at different times and I was able to go to each one. We served donuts, hot chocolate, fruit, gummy hearts, & fudge. Anyway, the whole room parent/parents/party topic is too much for me. It is so out of control here at our school. Don't even get me started. Oh well, the kids had fun. Ellie especially had a great day. She attended 3 parties and had so many goodies from each class.

I made big heart sugar cookies for my kids to frost and decorate with sprinkles. I ended up frosting them tonight and the girls shook all of the different kinds of sprinkles on the cookies. The sprinkles are so cute!! I love a cute frosted sugar cookie. I know I'm not alone on that one. :) The kids then walked the plates of yummy cookies around to their friends that live on our street. The funny thing was that I wasn't planning to give the cookies away to our neighbor friends and so wasn't prepared with a cute valentine plate. Instead, the neighbors got cute, pink/red sugar cookies on a CARS paper plate. Does it really matter? No, the boys probably loved getting a CARS plate. It just made me laugh because I normally would want a cute decorative plate to hand out. It just didn't matter at all! I could bake every day and deliver goodies to friends/neighbors. I absolutely love doing it. I make up excuses to bake. :)

I'm looking forward to 3 more days off. I love the carefree feeling of holidays/days off! Enjoy the weekend!!

For Posterity's Sake

I have another blog that I started for all of my recipes. (buffysbakery.blogspot.com) I only have about 6 in there right now and of course they are all cookies except for a couple of bread recipes. :) I thought this would be an easy way for me to keep them all together. It donned on me that this would be perfect for me to make into a book at some point and have for my girls to take with them when they start their own homes. Slowly, but surely I will add all of the favorites. I would love to have had a book of mom's favorite recipes. You know some of those good 'ol recipes from home. :)

I'm up late tonight because I fell asleep on the couch from 7:30-12:45 and couldn't go back to sleep. I feel like I got a normal nights sleep. I better go add a few more hours to my night. I'm kind of excited that there isn't anything on the agenda for tomorrow. Another free Saturday to hang out with the family. It's looking like more rain tomorrow so even better...forced to stay in and I'm sure play many more games of UNO. Baseball tryouts were cancelled...bummer. The boys have been geared up for that.

Enjoy your weekend!
G'night

Grateful for the Gospel

I hate coming up with a title. Why does it seem so hard? It almost makes me not want to post. I know it sounds silly but it's true.

I love my way of scripture reading lately. Throw on the headphones, get on the treadmill and read along in the big Book of Mormon for LDS Families. I love that I end up reading/listening to about 8 chapters. So much of what I'm reading(currently in Mosiah) is so much of what I see all around me in the world today. Wickedness in so many disguises. I wish that I could shake a few and convince them to wake up. I know everyone has their own timeline with the Lord. This is where I can start to feel impatient. I want others to feel the happiness that I feel by living the gospel. I was once one of those that I'm sure my mom and/or other family members wanted to shake and say wake up and come on back to what will make you the happiest. I honestly cannot imagine my life with children without the gospel that grounds us, teaches us, & is essential for our journey here on earth. I was recently reading about the resurrection in Mormon Doctrine and it is just fascinating to me. As I think about all of the different worlds with people, the question comes to mind...."Why was I chosen to live on Earth, why was I picked to live in a wonderful part of the world where I am free to choose, where everything is at our fingertips, where we having running water, food? And the list goes on. There are so many who suffer on a regular basis because of where they live and their circumstances. When I feel like I am having a hard time, I can quickly turn my mind to those women who are literally enduring through such hard situations and are doing it for their families. What an example they can be to us. What a role a woman has in this world! I totally believe we as women all over the world share some of the same feelings/frustrations no matter what our circumstances...home or no home, plenty of food and just enough to get by, etc. I sure hope & pray that those who are going through such hard times all over the world can know that they have a Heavenly Father who loves them and is watching over them. What peace that gives our soul in troubled times. My heart feels for those who struggle daily. We have it so easy in comparison. I am going to try and show more gratitude for what I do have and the ease of living life here in America. I am so thankful to have a living prophet here on earth that guides us. I hope that we are all listening intently to his messages and following his counsel. I hope that I am passing the love that I have for the gospel and all that it does for me into my children's hearts! I am so thankful for a strong priesthood leader in my home. Todd is a great example to me and our children. He puts a lot of time into our family. I love that he gets the big picture, his purpose and responsibility. I have enjoyed watching him grow in many ways over the last few years as he has served in the bishopric. What a blessing our callings have been to our family and continue to be. I love serving in Primary! These children are our future generations...mothers & fathers. :)

I had no intentions of writing all of that when I sat down. I guess I needed to write it out for some purpose unknown to me right now. My fingers were just typing and my feelings were just flowing.

I am thankful for all of you old friends & new (through blogging). I learn so much from all of you.

Simple Whole Wheat Bread Recipe....mmmmm good!

Here is the whole wheat bread recipe that I use and it turns out beautiful every time. I have tried it with the hard red wheat and the white wheat flour. Both are fantastic! I bake the loaves for 30 minutes but I do have a really old oven which may make a difference. For those newer ovens that work really well :), check at 25 minutes. I wish I had a picture to post with this. Oh well, next time.

Simple Whole Wheat Bread

• 3 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
• 1/3 cup honey
• 5 cups bread flour
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

1. In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast, and 1/3 cup honey. Add 5 cups white bread flour, and stir to combine. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly.
2. Mix in 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/3 cup honey, and salt. Stir in 2 cups whole wheat flour. Flour a flat surface and knead with whole wheat flour until not real sticky - just pulling away from the counter, but still sticky to touch. This may take an additional 2 to 4 cups of whole wheat flour. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled.
3. Punch down, and divide into 3 loaves. Place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans, and allow to rise until dough has topped the pans by one inch.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes; do not overbake. Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine when done to prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely

Just another Monday....not a "Manic Monday"

My Monday's are always calm and pretty quiet. I never schedule anything for Monday morning. Are you kidding? After the weekend & a Sunday, I need to just hang out around the house with no appointments. Ellie and I hung around the house and did finally venture out to get a new pack of UNO cards. I wish I would have taken a picture of the old cards. I have never seen such worn out cards. You couldn't shuffle them.

We went and picked up some fruit & veggies also. I am on day 4 of really trying to eat less carbs (only a couple of servings a day) and am down 3 lbs. I love when my efforts pay off. :) I learn more and more about this body of mine as I get older. I can't eat bread like I used to or goodies....I can really pack it on if I'm not careful. It's called genetics!! Oh well, I am thankful for some healthy genes. Something I did read that made me feel good was that those who have larger thighs tend to have a healthier heart. Amen!! :)hahahaha


I made 3 loaves of wheat bread that my family just loves and devours. It taste so much better than store bought bread. My kids were so happy and the girls even helped pour in the flour. I have found a recipe that is so dang easy that I don't even need to look at it anymore. I love that it's been a "no fail" recipe for me. I have made 3 different batches and they all come out delicious. I would love to have a bakery without the pressure. :) Is there such a thing?

Family night was spent singing the new primary song this month and playing UNO...of course. We all have a good time. Casey served up the best brownies from scratch for dessert. He made the best brownies last night after church. He looked up the recipe on allrecipes by himself, copied it word for word on paper (I guess the word printer never occurred to him) and then busted out his masterpiece with dad overseeing the event. I don't know if they are the best because of the recipe or because we used all SEE'S chocolate to make them. Great job Casey!! I can't wait for your next batch of goodness.

I have to write this in public so that I have a little accountability....I making a huge effort to go to bed early....starting I guess tonight. :) I love to do things around the house at night when nobody is around to bother me or make more messes as I go. Did I mention that I love the little bit of quiet before bed? :) My kids are really pretty good and I'm not complaining. I do just love a little time in the house to think my own thoughts. More laundry to fold before I hit the sack.

Quote from Laurie's Blog.....Great quote!

''May today there be peace within. May you trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be. May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith in yourself and others...May you use the gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you. May you be content with yourself just the way you are. Let this knowledge settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love. It is there for each and every one of us.''

Recent Happenings

The picture above was the kids eating some dinner/snacks when our power went out last Monday for about 10 hours. They were in heaven to be without power. To them, we were on a campout in our house. They loved carrying around lanterns to see. It was pretty dark in here. Not to mention how dark the street became without street lights. You can't see anything. I am happy to report we were prepared and did just fine without power. It helps that our stove is gas & that the water still worked. :) Once Todd got home, he started the fire going and we were happy campers. That really gave off a ton of light. The kids loved having family night in a camp type setting. I was really happy to see how well they did. I did wash the girls hair that night thinking the whole time that I would dry their hair. Duh...I totally forgot but was able to sit them up by the fire and their hair was dry in no time. I am so thankful for a prophet that guides us and counsels us to be prepared. I guess I am also thankful that I have followed his words and am constantly working on being more prepared. It was fun but was nice to see the power come back on later that night.
Miss Sweet Elle Belle. She is so cute. She did have to go potty at that moment. This was taken earlier this month at the beach. A friend and I took our kids and walked the trail at Oso Flaco Lake that ends at the beach. The weather was just beautiful!!! I love it here. I am so thankful to be able to see this scenery daily. I just love it when the colors are so crisp. The kids played all over those dunes....up and down and up down.



Today was sunny and warmer than recent days. I love the rain but it's nice to have a day to thaw out a bit. Ellie was my little partner around the house today. Uno was a favorite today....any day with Ellie. She is so good. She greeted Todd at the door tonight with the UNO cards telling him to play UNO. They plopped down and busted out a quick game. She loves it. I love playing with her. I know these fun times when she is 3 aren't going to last forever. I'm trying to stop and enjoy the cute moments more.

I am off to watch American Idol!

Here is a birthday shout out to my brother Mike!! Happy Birthday Mike!! I can't believe you are 32 today. We are all heading to 40. :)haha I will have to write a separate post about Mike. I am so lucky to have some really great brothers!!

I think I'm back......

I have been thinking lately how much I need to be documenting our every day life around my house. Facebook doesn't accomplish that in any way. I am going to put forth the effort to write down the cute things that are said, the reality of life with 4 children and our day to day challenges here in the Smith household. This is something that I want to leave for my family.

Life is very busy as is everyone's. Mitch just completed his California Mission report a week ago and both Casey and Mitty made pinewood derby cars and raced this last Saturday. I love the pinewood derby. It is really fun for the boys! A few days ago I signed the boys up for baseball and Emily wanted "girls baseball". She is signed up for girls softball t-ball. She is so excited! It will be a fun season. Busy and probably crazy at times but well worth the fun and experience we will have. I have learned a life's lesson.....life is about work. Especially with children. Did I really think it wasn't going to be? Work is good! This is what I am telling my children all of the time. It helps you appreciate those days that there isn't too much going on.

New bit of advice/tip for parents....get your 3 year old a pack of UNO cards and she/he will know their colors and numbers in no time flat. I have never seen a set of UNO cards so worn out than ours. That is Ellie's favorite thing to do. She gets everyone in the house and/or visitors to play a game of UNO with her. She's good and doesn't need any help! She wins also. It is so fun to watch her. She is such a fun little partner to have around the house each day while the others are at school. She is so funny about what she likes...she will not watch any tv or videos other than the Baby Einstein collection. Fine by me. I hate kid tv/cartoons all day. I would go nuts at the sound of it. :) She loves her brothers & sister. She and Emily love to play real life baby. Emily carries her around like her own child. Too cute.

The boys are actively involved in Scouts. That keeps any family busy....to the max!! I can't imagine how Linda (for those of you who know her) does it with all of those boys. Way to go!!

It's late and my new goal is to go to bed earlier. Oh boy, why is it such a task?

Nuriche rocks!!

www.choosenuriche.com

Check out my website and order your free 3 day sample of Live and ReVive. It has changed how I feel and has given me the energy that I need to get through the day with 4 kids and a million responsibilities. See for yourself!!!

Grattitude

Five things that I am grateful for at this moment in my life:

* the ability to serve my Heavenly Father

* support from a wonderful husband

* a healthy family

* the desire to do right

* fun friends

Today was a good day. I started off the day again on the beach with friends. Ellie and I walked and then enjoyed a park day with friends from church. I am so thankful for the gospel. I am truly blessed! Goodnight

Back to School

Summer is gone and school is back in....routines, lunches, homework, schedules, and deadlines are back in full swing. There are some things I miss about summer..a little more freedom to come and go.

Some cuteness that has been going on around here is Miss Elle Belle. The older kids set out their clothes the night before the first day of school with excitement. Ellie didn't want to be left out so in the morning she came into my room to wake me and ask me, "Mom, what matches with this so I can go to preschool?" She was holding a cute shirt. Ahhh, that was the cutest! I felt so bad for a moment to have to break the news that she wasn't going to be attending preschool but that we could do our own preschool at home. We went out first thing and picked out a small backpack and she also found some mini scented markers, pencils and a pencil pouch to hold it all for her to play school. It is the cutest thing to watch her go through her items and color on a jr. pad of paper that fits into her backpack. Once the older ones got home and the backpack pile was back in full swing Ellie had to find hers and put it right on top of the pile. She isn't a baby anymore....she is a big girl!! It is so fun to watch her develop and grow up. It is so nice because she loves to put her items all back into the backpack and put it away when she is done. She is not known to leave things out around here. Everything has a place and it should be put back is pretty much what she lives by.

She also loves to go through her flash cards and tell me the colors and count the items. She has a great attention span and sit and do it for awhile...(30 + minutes).

Mitch, Casey and Emily are enjoying school so far (yesterday was their 3rd day). Emily is now at school with the others all day. It is pretty nice to not have the kindergarten schedule. Those 3 hours were gobbled up so fast. I have 2 more years until we are doing that again. Mitch is in a 4th/5th combo, Casey is in 3rd grade and Emily is now in 1st. Thankfully they are having fun with each other. Casey and Emily play together at recess which I think is cute. I am so glad that they all look after each other. The first day of school Casey carried Emily's backpack and jacket down to the car for her. I just love to see my boys doing that for their sister. Mitch said today that he starts to worry a bit if he doesn't see anyone in Emily's classroom after school when he goes to pick her up. I like to hear that. He cares about her and I know that makes her feel good. :)

I have started walking/jogging with some friends at the beach in the morning after I drop off the kids at school. It is a beautiful thing. The beach is about 3.8 miles from my house and is so convenient to take the stroller and walk on the hard pack sand. The walk is 4 miles or so and then I like to do a 2 mile jog as well. I love to get out and run in the fresh air. Nothing like walking along the shore in the morning. Today we saw a family of dolphins swimming along as we walked pretty close to the shore. Very cute!!

it's late and way passed my bedtime. Ugh!!

Summer is Definitely Here.....Beach Days, Swim Lessons, Scout Camp

Summer is here and how nice it is to not have to get the kids up and ready for school every day. The best part is that I don't have to make lunches every morning. Even better than that is that Ellie is potty trained and has been for a couple of months. We are a diaper free zone!!! First time in 9 years that we aren't having to buy diapers. She is the best potty trained child ever. It took 2 days and she was doing it all by herself. And she doesn't wet the bed. Ahhhhhhh!! Potty training with Ellie has been the best and easiest experience I have ever had. She is so dang cute in her big girl underwear. She loves it!! She feels like a big girl now & is just like her sissy.

So far summer has been full of activities. Mitch and Casey were able to go to Cub Scout Day Camp for a week. They had lots of fun and especially loved the archery and BB gun shooting. I heard for about a week how they want a bb gun for Christmas. That just reassures me how boy they really are. :) Gotta love it. I found out that they are dead aim at shooting. It seems they take after their mom. :) It was a fun experience for them and Casey mentioned that he wished it went for a whole month. I'm glad Casey is so excited about Scouts.

This past week we have been over at the High School for swim lessons every day. The kids are loving it and we have one more week left. Elle Belle loves the water and seems to be showing no fear of the water. She is the one I didn't sign up for lessons this year. Next year for sure.

We have been able to share many days with our friends at the beach this summer. I love it. I have found that with 4 kids at home during the summer, the beach is our best friend. They have plenty of room to run, get dirty, throw sand balls, get wet, roll in the sand and not hurt a thing. We were able to spend last Monday night at the beach with a few other families for a bonfire. It was so great and the kids had a blast. I can't wait for the next one. It was much easier than I thought. With the kids being older, they help more with carrying all that is required. The sunny days have just been so wonderful. I can't express how thankful I am to live where I live. I don't think the weather is better anywhere else. The water could definitely get warmer up here on the central coast. Uhhhh 55 degrees just doesn't cut it. Of course, the kids still get in. i don't know how they do it. The one thing that is driving me crazy about our beach days is that the truck is just full of sand. Boogie Boards, chairs, buckets, bags and 5 people that have sand in every crevice pretty much unload it all inside the truck. Every where I touch seems to have sand. Ahhhhh!!! If it means the kids fight less, bicker less, enjoy each other more than I will deal with the sand. It has been fun to see the boys really getting out into the water this year. Casey is loving his boogie board and really getting out there to ride the waves. It's great!! Another sign that the kids are growing up.

We have plans to join with some other families tomorrow and enjoy the 4th of July.

The countdown is on....8 days until we are on a plane heading to Aloha land. The kids are excited and I am ready for a vacation. This next week will be busy around here. We have swim lessons every day, laundry to get done and packed, primary activity that I'm involved with, Sharing Time that I'm handling, and hopefully the kids will be extra helpful. I've got to get some pics on here soon. I have 800 pics on my camera. i'm so bad about loading and printing my pics. It's just another project that needs to be done when I have a free minute.

HAPPY 4TH!!!!

Feeling A Bit Sluggish Today

Just a short post to note my feelings today. I feel very sluggish and tired today. I am going to try and take a walk with Ellie to spark any energy that may be in me. Todd and I did our workout last night and maybe I'm feeling the effects from that. I am enjoying working out together. It has been fun! I am having a hard time sticking to the way of eating the program suggests. I'm trying again today. I have to look at each new day as a chance to start again and do my very best. I'm now really trying hard to cut out the sugars.....I know again. I do better with less sugar. Especially at night while I'm sleeping. I hate to sweat so badly in the night and be miserable in wet sheets. I know it is because of the way that I eat. Why is it so hard?!!!!

Ellie just ran up to me and hugged me around the legs and kissed my leg. Does it get any better than that? I love that about her!!! She is so dang sweet and loves to be held still.

I'm hoping to get all of loads of laundry folded and put away today. It was foreign to my ears to hear Todd's mom tell me that she does 1-2 loads of laundry a week. Wow!!! I can't even imagine. I'm sure when it is like that for Todd and I that I will be wishing there were kids clothes for me to wash. I guess that is what Grandma is for. :) I better get back to work. I have one hour before Emily gets home. On your mark, get set, GO!! Let's see if I can finish it all up.

300th Post/It's Been A Good Kind of Busy Week

Last Tuesday my mom came to visit. Yeah!! It was fun having her up here. She hadn't been up since Thanksgiving so it was nice. We shopped a little, ate way too many goodies, watched boys baseball games, and she helped me with singing time in Primary. She made a valance for the girls room with pillows for their beds. She played with the kids and had Emily laughing most of the day yesterday. Emily constantly had hiccups from laughing. I love to hear her laugh. We had a surprise visit from Todd's mom and aunt on Thursday night. They came down to visit for a few days. It was nice to have so many helping hands. :) We all went to church yesterday and my mom helped me with singing time. Just another Sunday that I was wearing multiple hats!! :)

Friday, we went to Avila Barn and let the girls feed the animals and then shopped in the market and found so many good items....green grapes, blueberries, breads, fruit spreads, salsa's, strawberries, dish towels, fudge, watermelon, fresh basil, etc. It is so fun in there. Lots of cookbooks, baked items and cutsie decorations too.

Saturday we watched the boys play baseball and have fun on the field. That night my mom and I worked on singing time for Primary the next morning. We all went to church together and it was really nice. I loved that there was someone to watch the kids while I went to my meeting. It is really great to have family around. Grandma Carol and Nancy left last night after Todd made a great batch of Chicken Chili for dinner. He did a great job and we loved every bite. :)

This morning, I changed sheets and took the girls comforters to the laundromat. My mom and I headed to Wal-Mart for a few items and then came back to hang the valance. Cute Mom!!!! She did a great job and it looks so cute in there. The girls love it! I took Emily to the dentist for a cleaning today and all checked out just great. That was music to my hears. Ellie just loved the dentist and can't wait until it is her turn. She wants her teeth cleaned too.

This post is so jumbled but that is about how I feel today. I need to finish up the clothes and vacumming. I'm pretty much falling asleep right now on the computer. I better get my buns off of the chair and get them moving before I face plant onto the keyboard. I'm slepy today! Time to make dinner and finish u