I got some serious Spoil'in!

Mother's Day started with these sweet smiling faces and the best low carb breakfast ever. (prepared by Ryan at 6:30 A.M.) Thanks honey!


After church the kids and Ry gave me some fun gifts!





I decided that for me, Mother's Day isn't so much about saying what a fabulous mom I am, but to remind me of the great blessing it is to raise these sweet children. Don't get me wrong there are plenty of days that I feel like I am headed straight to the psych ward, but as I reflect on the last 10 years I know that my life has been transformed because of my babies! So this was a day where my heart was full of gratitude and a resolve to try a little harder to give Ellie, Maya, Lex and Liam the mom they deserve. I love you guys!



After a wonderful dinner (pork chops, spaghetti squash, salad and shrimp cocktail) we headed to my parents to spend time with my mom.

Uncle Heath heaven!

Heath, Ryan's brother, used to come visit quite often. His life has gotten much busier and he also got married a year and a half ago so we don't see him as much as we used to. However, for the last two weekends we had him staying with us. The kids were in Uncle Heath heaven. He is so great with them from playing with Liam and Lex to having one on one conversations with Ellie and Maya. In the picture above he is creating a story with kids by having them fill in all the details, they were mesmerized.

I just love this girl!

Maya gave a talk in primary today on her favorite scripture story, she chose Noah and the Ark. Last night she colored pictures and practiced her talk while the others watched a movie. She did a great job, I was so proud of her!




Then when we came home from church Li-Monkey wanted to take a bath so Maya bathed him,got him out and then dressed him. Li loves her so much, in fact when she is at school he cries for her constantly and as soon as she comes home they are outside playing together. What a sweet daughter and sister!

Sew What?

Miracles never cease, I finished this skirt I started months ago. If any of you know me, sewing isn't something I do often, but I enjoy it (sort of) when I do. I found this semi-easy tutorial on line @ http://houseonhillroad.typepad.com/photos/twirly_skirt/ on how to make a twirl skirt. Ellie, (yes, my 10 year old) helped me out when I got stuck. The fabric is from an adorable shop in Highland, UT owned by my friend, Alice Childs called "Just Sew." I have material to make a skirt for Maya, hopefully it will get finished a little quicker!

Mommy and Daughters Activity Day Slumber Party!!!

Maya loving her pizza and desserts (skipped out on the salad)




Ellie is also enjoying her fourth piece of pizza!



Maya making bath salts after learning about the importance of keeping her "temple" clean and pure.



Nothing makes my girls' happier than being pampered with a manicure!



Maya and Ellie absolutely loving their facials! Yes they did eat their cucumbers when it finished.



What a fun night the girls and I had Friday at their mother/daughter activity day slumber party. We were pampered with a wonderful dinner and mini-classes on how to care for our spiritual and physical bodies. They have such incredible leaders that plan fun and educational activities. I really enjoyed being able to spend an evening just hanging out with them doing what they love best......being pampered. If the truth be known, Ellie and Maya would opt for facials, manicures, pedicures and hanging out in their pj's any day over say.....going to Disneyland!

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!