Love this boy!

I am absolutely CRAZY about this sweet little boy of mine! After two girls in a row (I LOVE having 2 girly girls) I didn't have any idea how much fun a boy would be. Honestly when I was pregnant with little man I was so excited that we were having a boy but I was nervous that I wouldn't feel the same connection with him that I did with the girls. BOY was I wrong, he has had me wrapped around ALL of his little fingers from day one! As a baby he was very mellow, always happy, and fun to be around. Now that he has hit the toddler years he does have some 2 year old drama from time to time, but most of the time he is just so darn cute and fun. I absolutely LOVE that he is all boy!!! He loves trucks, cars, dinosaurs, super hero's, swards, etc... I feel very blessed to have this sweet, darling boy as my son, he makes me smile and laugh all day long, what a JOY it is to be his mommy!


(my husband snaped these pictures one day while little man and I were playing, I have no make-up on but OH WELL!!!)

The Temple Is My Quiet Place...

{Denver, Colorado Temple}

This morning I dropped the girls off at school and Court took little man with him to the gym. I had some extra time before I had to head back to the school to help in my Kindergartners class. I decided to drive to the Temple. When I was in high school (and in college before getting married:) I would drive to the (Denver) Temple often to pray, read my scriptures, and feel closer to our Heavenly Father. The Temple has always been a place of peace for me even before I first took place in the sacred ordinances inside the Temple.

This morning I had a lot on my mind and my emotions were running high. As soon as I drove up to the Temple I instantly felt more peaceful. I parked my car and just sat in front of the Temple for a little while. Then I grabbed my jacket and decided to walk around the Temple grounds. The air was crisp but the Autumn chill felt good. As I walked around the Temple I stared up at the beautiful Mountains covered in fall colors. Tears began to fall down my face as I could feel the amazing Spirit that fills the Temple grounds, as I was circling the Temple words of encouragement and peace filled my mind. It felt as if my Father in Heaven was right there with me. I found a private spot, sat down on bench and prayed. It was a very spiritual experience for me and reminded me of how blessed I am to have the knowledge of the Gospel and of our Father in Heavens plan for his children.

I am so grateful that I took time out of my day to spend just a little time at the Temple. Even though I didn't have time to go inside, I still feel so much more peaceful from my experience today. I know that our Father in Heaven loves each of us and I am so grateful that I can have a personal relationship with him. I know he loves me, he is mindful of me, and he is there to comfort me. I am so glad I did this today, it took me back in time and reminded me of the wonderful experiences I had growing up simply just walking around the Temple and feeling the Spirit that is there.

I am also grateful for the challenges and trials of life. I know that Heavenly Father does not give us any trial that we can not handle. I am grateful that trials remind me of who I am and what I stand for. I know that Heavenly Father knows each of us, he loves us, and he wants to have a personal relationship with us.

To learn more about my faith please visit www.mormon.org

Trash Bag Super Hero's!

I love when my kiddos play together, especially when they play nicely! These pictures were taken over the summer. The kids decided that they wanted to play superheros so they got plastic shopping bags for their costumes and then put their cooking aprons around their necks as capes. They named themselves the "Trash bag Super Hero's". I thought it was pretty creative and cute!

Halloween Costumes (On a budget!)

Last year around this time money was much tighter then normal for our family! When it came time for the kiddos to decide what they wanted to be for Halloween I knew I was going to need to be very creative. Between all 3 kids I think I spent less than $35.

My oldest daughter was Rapunzel. She wore a princess dress up that she already had, and then we made her princess hat/crown and the 'Rapunzel' braid together. We made the braid out of brown yarn. It was a little time consuming and took about 150 peices to get the thickness we wanted, but in the end it turned out great AND only cost a few dollars! The hat/crown is just a big birthday hat from the dollar store. I painted it pink with paint from the craft store, hot glued on some flowers, jewels, and ribbon AND VOLA a very cute costume if you ask me!!!
(we attached the braid to her real hair by putting her hair in a big messy bun and then putting the braid underneath the bun and wrapping 2 big rubber bands around it)

My younger daughter was a witch. She wore a Halloween shirt that was passed down to her from her big sis, a witch hat, black and orange tights, and a tutu. I bought her hat and tights at walmart for a few dollars each. I added a flower and a feather to the hat with hot glue to give it a little pizazz! Then I made her a tutu out of ribbon and toole, it was a no-sew tutu and maybe took me 30 minutes to make, SUPER EASY, learn how to make one here... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTXo6uv9HxA

Then last but not least my little man was buzz lightyear! I found his costume on ebay for $15 used. It was an actual disney store costume, so it is great quality, looked brand new, and he still dresses up in it at least once a week!
Any guesses on what my husbands costume was??? It was silly and a little cheesy, but I sure love it that he knows how to have FuN!

Our family is getting super excited for Halloween in a few weeks! Check back to see what we are being... the whole family is dressing up :)

Taylor Andrews Hair Academy 2010 Hair Show...

This past May I had the privilege of being apart of the Taylor Andrews Annual Hair & Fashion Show. This was such a fun experience. I never realized before doing this how much work goes into a show like this. My group was responsible for putting together one of many segments for the show. Our theme for our segment was Jungle Book. This was such a fun theme to have and gave us so many options to get our creative juices flowing! Putting together a hair piece was quiet tricky since this was something most of us had never done before. After ENDLESS hours of work and LOTS of trial and error things really came together! I was able to work one on one with the amazing dancers from Center Stage Dance Studio in Orem, Utah. These girls were so enthusiastic and FUN to work with. The dance number that they put together for our segment was AMAZING! The very best part of this whole show was that all proceeds from the ticket sales went to the local Battered Women's Shelter, I love doing things for an amazing cause!








{My models for the show, they represented the elephant from Jungle Book}

101 Things Every Kid Should Do Growing Up

Yesterday my girls were out of school, random to just be out on a Tuesday, but I didn't mind a bit, I LOVED having them home for the day! My husband was able to take most of the day off of work and it was so fun to have a family day. We took the kids to Cracker Barrel for breakfast (a family breakfast favorite), the kids LOVE playing with all of the fun toys in the Cracker Barrel store. After breakfast we had some time to kill before heading to the dollar movie to see Nanny McPhee Returns (such a cute show). We went to the dollar store for some treats for the movie and then walked around Seagull bookstore for a little while. While we were at Seagull Book I spotted this book, 101 Things Every Kid Should Do Growing Up on sale for $1.99, as I was flipping through it I realized what a cute book it was, filled with so many fun ideas for things to do with children, I just had to buy it, especially for the price!!

I really wish my kids would STOP growing up so fast. Honestly it is making me so sad! I love being a mom and I love having my kids be little! There are days that things are so hectic and crazy that having little children can seem more like a burden but at the end of the day when they are tucked cozy in their beds and I look at their sweet sleeping faces I KNOW THAT IT IS ALL WORTH IT! I am really trying to slow down and enjoy this precious time with my children. Slowing down and enjoying life isn't easy in our fast paced world, but I really don't want to look back 20 years from now and be full of regret for the time I didn't spend enjoying and loving my children. 20 years from now I want to look back on a life full of beautiful memories of raising my children, I want to play and have fun with my children, and I want to build a relationship with them that will allow us to be close and friends throughout all of their lives!

This might sound silly, but I think this little book I found really is going to help me grow closer and have more fun with my children. I get distracted by all that I have to do, housework, bills, school, etc... and sadly there are many days that I leave little time for playing with my kids. I want to change this, right now! I love that this book is filled with so many fun ideas to make childhood more memorable. Being a child is a priceless gift, one that you only get to experience ONCE! I want my children to have the best childhood possible and I want to be right there next to them enjoying it with them each step of the way! I have realized that giving your children the best you can is not necessarily about material possessions, it is more about giving them the best of YOU and giving them your time and attention.

Stay tuned to see what fun things we do from this book! Each week I will post one of our adventures!!

{Great Quotes}

"Your children need your presence more than your presents."

-Jesse Jackson

"Don't worry that your children never listen to you; worry that they are ALWAYS watching you."

-Robert Fulghum