Girls Night Out!

Girls night out is seriously the best remedy for a stressed out tired mom. It was especially wonderful because I got to combine a few of my very best friends into one night! I met Trish (far left) twelve years ago at a mission reunion. She was engaged to Gordon Atkinson, who was my previous district leader when I was serving a mission in the Philippines. Gordon was also Ryan's companion. (this was also the night Ryan and I began our very short courtship.) Trish and I instantly hit it off, we had so much to chat about and I absolutely loved her. We ended up getting married a week a part from each other, we have kids close to the same ages and have stayed close all of these years. I just love her to death and she is so talented at many things but most specifically interior designing. Check out her blog @ http://tdadecoratinganddesign.blogspot.com

Years ago when I worked MyFamily.com Missy Bezzant was the executive secretary. I thought she was a big wig (which she laughs about now.) Ryan worked with her as well and one day they were talking about where we were building our home, which happened to two houses down from where her best friend Aimee was building her house. Small world, huh? We really got to know Missy and her husband Russ, when they came with Aimee and her husband Brad, to stay with us in London. They would come back to our place after a long day of site-seeing and we would talk and laugh and Russ would play around with the kids. It was the beginning of a long friendship. Since we have been home, I have had some of the best girls nights out with Missy. We talk, laugh, and eat for hours. There are some pretty funny stories, but I think I'll keep those ones to myself. :)

Aimee(far right) is one of those people that you only meet once in a lifetime. We were neighbors before we went to London, but after we came home is when we became really close friends. I honestly don't know what I would do with out her. She has been there for me in hundreds of moments of crisis, she watches the boys when I go to school (she is like my kid's second mom), she listens to me complain and stress about every aspect of my life, we have been on trips together, I mean really the list goes on and on. I know she has been put in my life because the Lord knew I needed someone like her. We also have been trading dinners once a week for five years, which has been such a great thing to have a night off of cooking.(I highly suggest it.)

Movie Review:
We saw Water For Elephants, starring Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson. I heard mixed reviews about the movie, but I LOVED it! It started out kind of slow and I kept expecting the romance thing to kick in, but when it did, wow! It also had lots of action and suspense, so this is one "chick flick" the guys will like too!

It's Chop Chop time!

My poor girls inherited my horrible hair, it doesn't grow and when it does it is long, messy and stringy. Ellie tried for several years to grow her hair, at times it looked pretty, but mostly not. So she decided to chop it off and she loves it! Again my pics are in the wrong order, I will work on that, but I don't have time to switch them, for fear of a little two year old destroying the house!!!! If any one knows of an easier way to switch pics around or put them in a collage, please let me know, I'm still working on the ins and outs of this blogging thing! Have a great day!

Easter

I love Easter, it is all the fun of a holiday without so much work! I especially love it because we get to really focus on our Savior Jesus Christ and the the great gift of his atonement and his resurrection. I am so grateful for him in my life, he has made it possible for me to get through so many different trials and challenges as well as be able to move past things I have done in my life that I am not particularly proud of.
We had a mellow Easter this year with minimal preparation. The Easter Bunny came when we were at church and the kids were thrilled with what was in their baskets and began chowing on the candy instantly. My parents and brother Tim came for dinner. We had ham, rolls, funeral potatoes, pineapple, deviled eggs, a cheese ball, jello, garden salad and cake! Ryan and I are preparing to get "bikini ready" for our upcoming vacation to Cancun so we enjoyed a few of the items! Happy Easter!

Ellie's 10th Birthday

I'm Still trying to figure out how this blogging thing, so my pictures are completely out of order, so any experts out there, give me some tips on how to re-arrange my photos. So the last pictures were actually on Ellie's birthday and the first were of her party two days later.
We celebrated Ellie's birthday with her dinner of choice (ravioli casserole and chocolate molten cake) She opened gifts from all of us, but I have to say the sweetest was from Maya. She gave her a beanbag chair that she used her allowance to purchase. Ryan and I gave her Felicity which is an "American Girl Doll" and we are taking her to see Les Miserables in June. So end of birthday celebration right? Wrong. Ha Ha Ha (with my evil laugh) Friday Ellie went to her friend Kaitlyn Belliston's house to hang out while we got everything ready. Her friends didn't even know about the party until earlier that day. I just told their mother's, but I knew that if the girls knew, the surprise would be hijacked! So of course when she walked in we all jumped up from behind the couch and yelled "surprise! Happy Birthday! All of us each put a lei on her, since it was a Hawaiian Luau party. Then they ate bbq pork sandwiches, fruit kabobs, chips and tropical smoothies. After dinner, the girls decorated flip flops with fun little jewels and then played a "hula" hoop game and limbo. Then after gifts and cake and ice cream they disappeared downstairs until we took them home around 10 P.M. WOW what a wonderful celebration! I love surprises and parties. Every year I say I am going to tone things down, but I just keep thinking the kids are only going to be young once.
I do have to say a few words about my sweet little birthday girl. Ellie. Being the oldest, she has inherited so many responsibilities. I really don't know what I would do without her. She has always been so thoughtful and willing to help in any way she can. My life changed the day she was born, but really before that. I felt her give me strength to overcome trials even before she was thought of. When Ryan blessed her when she was newborn baby, he said that Heavenly Father had a very hard time letting her go because she was such a special little spirit. I see that special spirit in her everyday. I love you so much my little ray of sunshine! Happy 10th Birthday!

Spring Break

So this last year I have traveled quite a bit with kids flying solo. I took them to Disneyland a few times, spent 3 1/2 weeks in Seattle and drove home by myself among other local excursions we took on. One thing I have discovered about myself is that I am a much nicer mommy when I keep things simple and don't give in to some of my crazy ideas. So lesson LEARNED! I really wanted to take the kids to San Diego or St. George this year for spring break, but I knew it would be insane to do it by myself, instead I opted to explore all the fun and educational attractions we have around here. I have to say we had an amazing time, even Liam was great. The most difficult task was keeping track of Maya, my eight year old! :)

Monday: We went to the Children's Museum at the Gateway in Salt Lake City with my parents and had lunch at the food court.

Tuesday: We ate at Pizza Pie Cafe for lunch,the kids' favorite restaurant. They had all the pizza, pasta, and desserts they could fit in their little tummies. We went to the movies that night and saw Rango with daddy. It was not a great movie and Liam was crazy, but it was still fun.

Wednesday: We went swimming at the Lehi Legacy Center. What a surprise that turned out to be. Liam has always been a little shy about getting in the water. Oh no not this time as soon as he saw the pool he made a run for it and went right in. We swam for three hours! Then we came home packed a lunch and went to the park. Later that night daddy took the girls to a Real Soccer game in a snow storm,it sure was a good thing they won!!!!!

Thursday: We hung out at Trafalga in Lehi. The kids golfed, rode rides, rock climbed and played laser tag. The rest of the day we cleaned the house because Grandma Ewer was arriving that night. (a surprise for the kids.)

Friday: We visited The Hogle Zoo, which was another fun experience with Liam.(I love this age when everything is so new and exciting.) He was so thrilled about all the animals, especially the monkeys.

Saturday:We took another trip to Salt Lake City. We went the Church History Museum, which has an amazing children's exhibit on the Book of Mormon. We also walked through Temple Square and enjoyed the beautiful flowers and went on the roof of the Conference Center. What an amazing day!!!!!! The weather was perfect and we actually got a little sun!

Ellie's school play

Ellie has had a very busy year so far. Ryan and I had the realization that she has been over scheduled lately. In addition to school play practices she is in a musical theater class, takes piano sewing and ski lessons. Not to mention keeping up on her homework, attending activity days and helping out around the house which includes babysitting. She is an amazing little girl but I think it is time we scale back. We have always wanted to give our children opportunities rather than things. But I think there comes a time when doing too much can actually be counter productive.