Deliciously Yummy Desserts

Some of our friends own a bakery here in Utah valley and I just have to put in a little word for this amazing Bakery. Everything I have tried is AWESOME and if you check out their site, you'll see that everything looks AWESOME too. If you live in the Salt Lake or Utah valleys, and are ever in need of a great cake or delicious melt in your mouth cookies, call Ange and order something, you won't regret it (except maybe the few pounds you'll put on cause you won't be able to stop eating them). Check out The Chocolate.  She also has some really good baking tips too. If you enjoy baking or eating baked goods, definitely check it out.Valentine's Sugar Cookies (these are my favorite!!!)

Valentine Cake for 2.  I'm thinking I really need one of these (someone please tell my husband).

Random Stories

So I guess I have had other things keeping me busy lately. It's been a while since I've posted anything. I don't know if it's pure laziness, just a lack of activities now that Christmas is over or my new found love of Facebook. Well whatever the case, I thought I would write a few random things. 

First of all my little Preston. Growing up waaaay to fast. If it weren't for the fact that he wasn't potty trained yet I would call him a kid and I would no longer have a baby. sniff sniff. We were at Emma's school tht other day and I was signing him up for pre-school when one of the ladies in the office said to him. "Oh Preston you are so cute." He in reply said, "No, I'm just cool."

 He has also had a little obsession lately with coloring. At any given time he can be found with a crayon, marker and sometimes even a sharpie in hand. The only problem with this is, although he knows to only color on paper, he doesn't always stick to that. One day after 10 minute of silence I realized he was in the laundry room with the door closed this is what I found.

The Hulk...

Oh, by the way, it was all over the wall as well. Dry Erase Markers don't come off of skin  or walls as quickly as they do off of white boards.

Then the other day he was coloring with his new Christmas box of crayons and I happened upon this site.

What goes through kids' minds? I never would have thought that a three year old would take the time to arrange his crayons so beautifully before beginning to color. I swear besides the fact that this kid is a boy, he is ALL me!

Emma had a big first this week. I don't know how long I have been trying to teach this little one how to blow a bubble, but it's been a long time and she just couldn't get it. So the other day, she came up to me while I was on the phone trying to get my attention. I kind of waved her out of the way. She refused to move to leave me alone and then I saw it her first bubble. She was so excited I had to "Look" probably a hundred times that day.

And now for the whopper of my week. Justin and I were asked two weeks ago to speak in church today. Our topic was agency and as I always do, I put it off until the last minute. Justin and I were up late last night researching and writing our talks. Everytime he asked me to do something I would say OK, but that takes a minute off how long I have to speak. We joked back and forth but one thing I always knew was that he would go after me and have to fill up whatever time I didn't take so really I could make my talk as long or short as I wanted. Well I typed it all out and I think I was good for about 10 minutes. I was feeling good about it except for the fact that I always get so nervous right before I have to speak but I knew there was nothing I could do about that.

    Well we got up for our 9:00 church and we were ready to go. I folded my talk and put it in my scriptures (or so I thought) and then put my scriptures in my church bag (or so I thought). We then left for church. As we were getting to the end of the sacrament, I decided it was time to get my talk out as I was going first and would be getting up soon. I searched for my scriptures and they were no where to be found. I left all my kids alone on the bench and told Justin who was passing the sacrament that I left my talk at home. I rushed to the car rushed home and grabbed my scriptures and rushed back to church. I found Justin had already started his talk. There went all my hope for him taking up extra time. He did take a good share and I wasn't too worried until...the rest hymn was almost over and I decided it was time to get my talk out of my scriptures. It wasn't there. I was literally 30 seconds away from giving my talk and I didn't have it.

    I thought I would die. Justin rushed home to get it for me and I stalled.  I explained to everyone what had happened, I gave a long introduction and when he hadn't returned yet I knew I just had to wing it. Wow as if I wasn't already a nervous wreck. About 1/4 of the way into my talk, Justin came walking it I felt a little rush of peace until he came up to the pulpit and told me he couldn't find it. Well, fortunately he did find my notes and fortunately I was able to get enough from there to finish my talk. I really think with my circumstances I should have used my "agency" to just sit back down, but I pulled it together and gave about a 10 minute talk. Certainly an experience I will never forget. 

   And just a little piece of advice to all of you who will ever have to give a talk in church, make sure and double check that you have your talk with you when you leave. It's a very bad feeling to not know where it is. Of course I found it as soon as I walked in the door. I think I should be off the hook for a long while.

Our Christmas

I am not even gonna try to catch up. We had a crazy busy holiday season. Lots of fun, activities, school programs, recitals, parties, family, friends, snow and presents. It was great and things have settled down again, so here is a little recap of our month of December.

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Keepin up with the Jones'

Actually the Dillons, Olsens and Parkers. We have officially joined the "Stitches" club. This was our first experience with stitches and kids. So today Preston was giving Emma (who is 2 years older but only 2 lbs heavier) a horsey ride. Well he decided to take her from the living room to the kitchen having to cross the entry way which is tiled. Well something happened and before I knew it, crying, screaming and then I saw it... the BLOOD. Initially I thought he just bit his tongue but then upon further investigation, I saw the deep slice in his chin. Luckily Justin was home because I panicked like any mother does in situations like these. He figured we could just stick a band aid on it and call it good, but after we stopped the bleeding and I calmed down a little, I decided to call the pediatrician. They said to bring him in cause cuts on the chin have a tendency to keep splitting open. So we took him in and WOW what a sport. No crying at all. He just laid on the table while they cleaned, numbed and stitched that little cut up. What a trooper. I don't know that I necessarily liked watching them stitch, but I wasn't about to leave my baby's side. He got a candy cane and a sticker and we were on our way.

All is well now and on Christmas eve we will be back in to have the stitches taken out. It seems that we aren't the only ones lately to have this happen. I guess I should just be grateful that it was only 3 stitches and nothing worse. Of course I am documenting this for my kids to read years from now, so there are pictures. This is a warning if you have a weak stomach. Too late though you've probably already seen them.

Emma was so sweet through the whole thing, so concerned for her little brother. Later after all the trauma, I found them like this.

Join in the fun!

Join in the fun! Copy and paste the list. Bold the things you have done...
Found this on my friend Moira's blog. I love stuff like this.
1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain depends on what you consider a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo Karaoke in my family room with no one listening
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea Does watching it on the beach in Tahiti count?
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables No, but I can grow some mean basil
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight every night with Justin. Oh was that too much info (just kidding)
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill does ditching school to go shopping count?
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language Well kind of
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing Aspen Grove's Rock wall
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke Oh yeah baby
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa (hopefully soon)
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance Yes... It was so "ER"ish
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud Wheelin' in my Pathfinder
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper Front page of the USA Today
85. Read the entire Bible (I tried on my mission but not completely)
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous He wasn't famous when I knew him, but went on a date with Aaron Ekhart (two face from the new Batman movie)
92. Joined a book club (No thanks!)
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Made amends with someone who offended you
101. Flew in a small Cessna plane with just you and the pilot
102. Ran out of gas While I was doing my drivers training.
103. Eaten fried okra
104. Swam in the Caribbean Sea
105. Peed in a swimming pool
106. Rented a beach house
107. Hosted an exchange student
108. Been a Secret Santa to a family in need
109. Worked on a political campaign I was president of my elementary school in 6th grade
110. Coached a sports team
111. Baked bread from scratch I don't know that it was edible though
112. Driven from coast to coast
113. Paid off all of your debt
114. Roast marshmallows over a campfire Nightly in our backyard in the summertime
115. Cut up a credit card Yeah, but then I taped it back together
116. Drove a car through a flood
117. Been on t.v
118. Seen the twin towers.
119. Been to ground zero
120. Been on top of the Empire State Building
121. Lived outside of the United States

Now add something that's not on this list and keep it going, if you'd like.

Oh, Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree...

Wow! What a busy month. I really have not had time to do much blogging between yearbook yourself, elf yourself and photo booth I have been busy. I finally have a chance to post some serious stuff. I will just randomly try to cover the real stuff that I've been busy with. First off, because I want to enter a contest on Tip Junkie, here is a post about my Christmas tree.

Story behind the tree... I am a light fanatic! For the first 9 years of our marriage we bought a real tree and I spent hours wrapping every branch with 100's and 100's of lights. I begged every year to get a pre-lit tree and finally 3 years ago when we moved into a new house, my husband gave in (granted I had to promise we would still have a real tree in the other room). Well we have a tall vaulted ceiling in our living room and I though it was perfect for a 12' tree. Does anyone realize how tall and wide a 12' foot tree is? It's giant! It is a beautiful tree, but I don't know what's worse, wrapping a 8' tree with lights or fluffing and decorating every branch of a 12' tall, 6' wide tree. It is a love/hate relationship.

It is a beautiful tree though and as long as I can keep my kids away from decorating it, I love it once it's decorated.

We have a snowflake theme going on and I am very into the glitter this year. I have a hard time keeping the same theme every year so at the end of the season I buy new decorations on sale that go with some of my ornaments so that I can rotate and get a different look every year without having to buy all new ornaments.




The new additions this year include brown and blue stripe bows which I haven't had for years and my cute chandelier ornaments that I bought 75% off (thank you Tai Pan).


Oh, isn't it beautiful?

Of course I would feel bad if I didn't put a picture of our real tree on this post. This one is for the kids to decorate and is all theirs. The only way I participated in this was going to the store with them to buy it. The rest was them. They like it and take resposibility for it. They even remind us to water when we forget.

Another great combo

My brother posted like 10 of these on his blog. I had to try out some his styles. They just keep our family laughing.

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