*The BROWN Pants

*Today I stayed in my pjs for a chunk of the day. (I tend to do that tues/friday's) Finally this afternoon I said: "Day come here & help me pick out some pants."-thinking this would stop him from whining about who-knows-what.- So we are in my closet & I say "OK- Dude which ones..?"-not thinking he's really listening or even cares.. He answers back.."Um...Bowwn." I said "Oh ..brown?" Day grinned with his squinty eyes & said "Yea." So I pulled my jeans out-not thinking he understood or was even paying attention. Then he yelled... "NO MOM- BOWWN!" *I grabbed my brown pants & said "these?" "Yeah..bowwn", he said again with his squinty eyed smile. So here I am in my Daylan-picked-out-pants. (Tim was a little scared by the story thinking his son might care a little too much about "wardrobe selection.")

*Desk Update

*Embarassing!*

Well another Friday morning has come around & here it is...starting to build up again! Aaahhhhh!! Not to make excuses..but it looks worse than it is. That box on the right is of home videos I got out yesterday to convert to DVD's & then that weird thing on the left with a face is "a witch" I just bought as a Halloween decoration. (Not that you really care..but look at my last Fri. morning post & see how the desk changed in just one week!)

*King upon his "throne"

*Dude is attempting to "potty-train", although my guess is it will still be a long while. He just happened to have that king hat on when he went "poo-poos". (You see, he goes in his diaper first & then wants to sit on the toilet.)

So here he is.. the king upon his "throne."

*The little "Mommy"

Count 'em . Yes it's 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10.

*Yesterday before church, Kaylea set up her 10 "kids" at the movie theatre. As you can see, they're all very attentive, good mannered children. I mean she is not just "playing dolls", they are a part of our family! The funny thing is I remember doing the exact same thing growing up. (Each of my dolls had to have their own beds, blankets etc.) Kaylea, you'll be such a good mommy someday!

*Hairspray-the musical

So we...(I) must be in a "Musical" mood lately. Saturday I begged Tim to go see "Hairspray." He didn't it like too much, but I thought it was cute/funny. The character Tracey was perfectly cast & Zac Efron is always so cute. It was a little weird at first believing John Travolta as a lady, but by the middle of the movie I bought into it. Fun songs to sing along to. :)

*My 1st Facial

Today I got my 1st official (professional) Facial! My Mom had a gift certificate to use up at the Dolce Salon & Spa & wanted me to go & accompany her. (Although her gift certificate WAS from last years' birthday. She has to be forced to spend time on herself!..so I decided to help her do that.) So we both got facials done. Now don't get me wrong, I'm glad I went & I think my face is better for it...but it flippin' hurt! I was expecting this relaxing experience, which it was at the end, but the lady put "paprika" on my face & it felt like it was on FIRE!!! Then she picked all my ZITS, of which there were plenty! Ok-I do have to say though, I loved the cold stones & licorice smell on my face! It was a fun time going as a pre-celebration of Mom's birthday. (thanks tim for watching the kids.)

*Desk Update

-Ok so I took a picture like I promised this morning since it's Friday. Not too much changed since last week. So really the only difference is that my pile of paper's is a little higher on the left & my video camera's on there. (The stack of cd's is still hiding behind the still-broken computer.) I really think this is helping, knowing that I have to document it every week. Boring for you; Helpful for me:)

*Zippin' the Lip

Had one of these days lately?...

~The Silent Treatment~

A man and his wife were having an argument and were giving each other the silent treatment. Suddenly, the man realized that the next day, he would need his wife to wake him at 5:00 AM for an early morning business flight. Not wanting to be the first to break the silence (and LOSE), he wrote on a piece of paper, "Please wake me at 5:00 AM." He left it where he knew she would find it. The next morning, the man woke up, only to discover it was 9:00 AM and he had missed his flight!! Furious, he was about to go and see why his wife hadn't wakened him, when he noticed a piece of paper by his side of the bed. The paper said, "It is 5:00 AM. Wake up." Men are just not equipped for these kinds of contests; yet we're too nice to ever really let this happen.

*"Smells like Chocolate"

**Not for the weak stomach:

Ok so this is just one of those moments I need to document. Just now Kaylea yells down the hall, in her most serious/excited voice (calling from the bathroom) "Mom, you can't believe it! My poop smells like chocolate!" -She of course loves chocolate & might have eaten too much of it yesterday.:)

*Headstand-mania

*Kaylea is fascinated with the fact the she can do head stands. Heck-I'm fascinated..She taught herself one day against the couch & now does them ALL the time, EVERYWHERE. Well, she hasn't done them at church yet, (that I know of anyways), so that's good. Anywhere K sees flat ground, she sees it as a good opportunity to do a headstand!

*KARATE GRADUATION*

Some pics of karate graduation Saturday. Kaylea received her "PURPLE-stripe" belt & Spencer earned his "GOLD" belt. Congratulations on your hard work kids!

*HS Musical 2

So we began our weekend watching the record-breaking
"High School Musical 2." We had a little party with the kids. *Spence & Kaylea were SO excited along with the other 17.7 million viewers that watched it that night. So isn't it nice that something clean & wholesome could make a record like that?!! Spencer's in a singing group that learned the song "What time is it?", so he sang along with the movie. Kaylea leaned over & whispered to me that she had a crush on "Troy" & "Jason." She's boy-crazy & I just can't figure out shere she got it from:) hehe

*Another musical we saw this weekend: Saturday Night Tim & I went to see the last performance of "Footloose" at the Gilbert Hale Theatre. It brought back some fun 80's memories with the music my friends & I used to dance to.

*Who's bun in the oven...?

So who's pregnant ultrasound picture is this you wonder ???....

not mine-it's Stephie's- my lil sis!!

She's officially announced her pregnancy at 12 weeks!! This will be her second child. Ethan just turned one last month, so these two will be like 20 months apart. We are SO excited for them! (I just wish they were living closer so our kids could grow up to be bestest friends.) Steph is due the beginning of March. My prediction is another BOY but we'll see! **Yay!!

*The Desk Dilemma

*Ok so you're wondering why the heck I have a picture of my kitchen desk on here...

-This is terrible, but this is probably the cleanest it's been since we've moved in. Notice there still is a pile of papers (on the left) that I don't know what to do with & there are a pile of cd's hiding behind the computer screen.(mac still broken.)The reason it's even this clean, is cuz I had people over last night for dinner. Pathetic I know! I wish I had a "before" picture so you all could recognize my issue. So I will take a pic every Friday morning no matter what to document my progress or failure.:/

*Happy 18th Bday Britters

*So today marks a special day for my little "Nini". (It seems like just yesterday was her 1st birthday.) She's officially 18 now and doing all kinds of adult stuff. She works for a law firm here in the valley & is learning about paychecks, college tuition, & other grown up stuff. Brittany was very good all through HS keeping her focus on the important things & not the silly dramatics that HS can bring. She will begin going to MCC in the next week & wants to go to BYU next summer w/ her BF Jacque.
*What most people don't know about Brittany, is that she is part deaf, which makes her talent even more amazing as she is an awesome violinist. Britt was the cutest thing you've ever seen in this year's AZ Junior Miss Pageant performing violin & showing her (cheerleader) athleticism! We DO give her a hard time, cuz of her "blonde moments", but she knows we adore her. (We're exactly 10 years apart, so when I forget how old I am, I just add 10 yrs to her age.) *HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRITTANY-We love You!*

*Happy Birthday Debbie*

Today is (Tim's Mom), Debbie's Birthday! She is 55 but doesn't look a day over 39. Hehe:) She is a Mother to 7 & Grandma to 18. Debbie is a very generous person; often quietly helping someone in need. She loves the Beach so much that she lives on it..literally;-although she likes being on the sand much more than the water!- She makes us all laugh with her bold opinions & her belief that she speaks many languages. Debbie is fun to be around and always keeps the conversation exciting!
*Have a Great Birthday Debbie*

*Watching the Stars*

*So last night about midnight, Tim & I were just getting ready to go to bed, when I remembered that there was supposed to be a meteor shower that night. So we brought out a quilt & layed it on the hammock to see if we could see anything. Within the first minute we saw the 2 brightest shooting stars right above our head. It was nice & peaceful & not even hot outside. As we looked at the stars, we just thought as so many people do, "How in this world, could anyone NOT believe in God after looking up at the night sky?"

*How to make a Wendy's-like "Frosty"

**Magic Milk Shakes**

1-1/2 to 2 cups ice water

1-1/2 cups nonfat dry milk powder

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (for chocolate milk shakes:)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 to 1-1/2 trays of ice cubes, as much as you can spare

2 tablespoons corn oil plus a 5-second squirt of non-stick spray for emulsification purposes

Place all of the ingredients into the blender, including the oil and the non-stick spray. Use less water for thicker milk shakes and more water for shakes that are easy on your blender motor. The blender should be about 3/4's full. Place the lid on. Process for a full 2 minutes. Pour into cups and serve. Makes 4 - 12oz servings. For preparation tips please see below.

I love this recipe because it makes very rich milk shakes without any ice cream. I don't always have ice cream in the house because the kids eat it so fast. With this recipe we can have delicious frosty milk shakes for a fraction of the cost of those using ice cream. And all the ingredients are on the pantry shelf.

Variations:

Add 1 very ripe banana for a chocolate banana shake

Add a big spoonful of peanut butter for a decadent Chocolate Peanut Butter Shake.

Add a few broken red and white candy mints for a refreshing Chocolate Mint shake.

To make Vanilla Milk Shakes, omit the cocoa powder, reduce the sugar to 1/2-cup and add 1 tablespoon (yes a full tablespoon) of vanilla flavoring. For a french vanilla milk shake crack in an egg too.

*K so I got this recipe off of an email. U guys make em & tell me if they're good. My blender broke so I can't make it for a while. I forgot to add that to my "broken list."

*President Faust goes "Home"

~The beloved President James E. Faust passed away early this morning at the age of 87 of "natural causes." He was surrounded by his family as he passed. Pres. Faust was 2nd Counselor to our Prophet, President Hinckley (10 yrs his senior) since March 1995. Before that he served for 35 years as a General Authority/Apostle. Some other accomplishments included him being a member of the Utah Legislature, Church Board of Education & Utah Bar Association. He was appointed by John F. Kennedy to the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights in 1962. Pres. Faust also served during WWII in the Air Force. ~He had a very complete life filled with many years of Christian service. *President James E. Faust is survived by his wife Ruth, their 5 children, 25 grandchildren & 28 great-grandchildren. Although he will be deeply missed by his family & throughout the World, HE HAS GONE "HOME."

*My Rocker Boy DAYLAN

K so doesn't he look like a cardboard cutout in this little pic?

It's cuz I put him in black and white and then anything with red in it is colored. I'm learning how

to use the color accent on my new birthday camera. It's SO fun. *So this is Dude in his True form. He is always cheesin it up for the camera. He's sportin his frohawk and MOM tattoo shirt. Don't U just want to pinch his cheeks? He has "Grandpa Ed" cheeks, especially noticeable when pouting! Day is so dramatic at this lovely stage of 2! I just don't know where he gets it from. (add sarcastic tone)

*Spencer survives his 1st day

Ok so here's a couple pics I took of my handsome lil' man before he left for school this morning. Him @the bus stop looking up at the big kids. (Thankfully they're good kids from church.) So I did totally follow the bus to and from school though, making sure he got to where he was supposed to be. He did fine on his first day of 2nd grade & has a new friend named Marc. He did say though that the recess teacher yelled at him for "going down the pole" & he gets 5 minutes Time Out tomorrow...Ok why are people mean again?..Um that's funny I thought fire pole on the playground was to play on...Oh goodness. My little boy's growin up-dealing with all the reality of the world! Maybe he'll realize how nice I really am! Haha:) He did still snuggle with me before bed tonight, so hopefully he's not growin' up too fast. Love ya Buddy!

*Happy Birthday Tim*

Today Tim turns 33! There I said it! Whew! Gettin on up that ther Hill Tim! Just wanted to wish My Hubby a Very Happy Birthday! (He's probably so embarrased his pics on posted but oh well.) Tim does so much for our family & I never thank him enough. So kudos to you honey! Have a great day!

*Back-to-School Jitters-(just me)

So I'm kinda nervous cuz Spence starts school tomorrow. 2nd grade...Isn't that the year that kids start being mean?..Anytime he talks about it, he's SO EXCITED he can't hardly stand it. So I have to pretend I am too:) I guess I'm excited because he is. He wants to ride the bus, so I will probably be that paranoid mom that follows the bus to school! (In fact I'm planning on it.) Tomorrow is also Tim's Birthday, so that will give me a distraction to focus on.

*Happy 4th Bday Ava*

A Busy, Busy Birthday Month!!....
Today the kiddos went to Chuck E Cheeses' for cousin Ava's 4th Birthday. The month of JULY was a busy birthday month!. My calendar was full of birthdays! Family b-days were Ava, Austin, Tracey, Marcus, Ethan & (mine). Friends were Tia, Sally, Becky L. Natalie, Aubrey, Megan & LaChae(right?) Am I missing anybody? Anyways, August shouldn't be as busy-Just 4 or 5:)

*Thingy Bobbers

OK Becky made me do this:)
**You know the drill. Copy, fill in your answers.

Four Jobs I've Had:
1. Uhaul Sales Girl
2. Piano Teacher
3. Preschool/Daycare Teacher
4. Nanny

Four Movies I Can Watch Over & Over:
1. home videos of my kids as babies
2. Grease
3. HS Musical (w/ my kids)
4. While You Were Sleeping -(most other chickflics too!)

Four Places I've Lived:
1. Flagstaff, AZ
2. Thatcher, AZ
3. Gilbert, AZ
4. Tempe, AZ

Four Guilty Pleasures:
1. Eating Goodies
2. Crafts, scrapbooking, etc
3. Internet searching
4. Relaxing: reading, watching TV, etc.

Four TV Shows I Watch:
1. Oprah
2. Decorating shows
3. 24
4.whatever reality show tim has on at the moment

Four Places I Have Been on Vacation:
1. Paris
2. Hawaii
3. Rome
4. DC

Four Favorite Foods:
1. BBQ
2. Italian
3. Chinese
4. Mexican

Four Websites I Visit:
1. Blogs
2. hotmail.com
3. deseretbook.com
4. Ebay

Four Places I'd Rather Be Right Now:
1. hawaii
2. movies with tim
3. sleeping
4. beach in Laguna

Four Books I Love:
1. Letters for Emily
2. How to be Miserable
3. Book of Mormon
4. Mary, Martha & Me

Four Things I Would Like To Know How To Do:
1. computer stuff
2. be more patient
3. Tell people NO
4. photography

Four Neglected Body Parts:
1. my pooch
2. RS arms
3. Hair
4. Teeth i guess -just went to dentist after not going for year & 1/2

Four Things That I Worry About:
1. Being a good Mom
2. my kids being under anestesia
3. getting cancer
4. my family being safe

Four Happy Moments:
1. Marrying Tim
2. birth of Spence
3. birth of Kaylea
4. birth of Daylan

Four Things I Want To Do This Year or In The Future:
1. eat better
2. have a sister for kaylea
3. take a break from homeschooling
4. play more with my kids

Four People I'm Tagging:
1. Tia
2. Ali
3. Kristal
4. Everyone else who reads this (come on just do it, you know you want to!)

*Officially Opened*

**We opened this last Friday & had a whoppin' good time! We are very excited for our Queen Creek Dippin Dots Store, being that there is such a need of some stinkin' good places to eat out that way. Come & visit us on Ellsworth & Ocotillo! (Carrie & Mason are runnin the Gilbert /Guadalupe store. Visit them too! BTW Happy Birthday Mason.)Come grab a Dots, or a Dots float, Dots milkshake, Dots Solar Freeze or Dots cookies or Dots Cakes! C ya there!-Aud