how sweet it is.....

Life is sweet.  Sometimes I forget this. 

The voices (yes,sometimes there are more than one) in my head tell me to do "this"and be "that".  Go, do, clean, shop, wash, fold, wipe, sweep, pick-up, drop-off.....priorities, priorities, priorities.  Where am I on that list?  Why am I on the bottom or not on the list at all?  I let the things I want or like to do go by the wayside, thinking empty laundry baskets, shiny mirrors and clean produce drawers are more important.  Occasionally, not as often as I'd like, I realize that I am important too.  That it is ok to have fun and if I am not on my to do list, then life can be pretty sad. 

This week I did something I've told myself I would do over, and over and over again.  Actually for the last six years, ever since we moved into this house I said I would.  But I didn't.  Lots of excuses were found ..... the kitchen isn't done (this was valid), we need new carpet, I should paint, the house is dirty, the dog needs a bath, everyone is too busy, we need new landscaping.  Seriously, I needed to get over my Martha perfectionism.  It is a disease.....

So this year I did it.  And you know what?  I haven't had so much fun in a very, very long time (dates with the Mr. being excluded, b/c he is a fun date).

Gingerbread House Party 2009

What a fun time, lots of laughs and lots and lots, did I say lots? of SUGAR!  super sweet!

not so wordless Wednesday

Every year at Christmas I ask for a Suzys' Zoo calendar. It's tradition. I know Mike will remember to get it for me, but I still have to put it on my list! I just love them. The pictures are so sweet and always make me smile. The little stories about each character crack me up. Plus it's great paper (not glossy) to write & erase on since we are so busy.

This morning I turned the page and had to smile! Chuckie Ducken, Polly Quacker, Suzy, Emily, Jack & Ollie are having a great day doing something I love!!!

I instantly wanted to head to the beach, listen to the surf and feel the sand between my toes......

"Chuckie Ducken and his friend Polly Quacker are busy building a sand castle. Chuckie is the architect-builder, and Polly is the landscape designer. She's been finding some gorgeous shells to decorate the castles."

- Suzy

tradition

Every year on the last Saturday in June, since I can't remember when, we make a family day of attending the City of Murrieta Birthday party. This is an excellent day filled with fun. There are a million fun jumpy inflatable thingies for the kids to jump on. The majority of them have some sort of water since it is blazing hot. These days the kids are too cool to do any of that.....there must be little children to tempt them to be silly and make fools of themselves. This year was the first time we went kidless - weird. No sunscreen, piles of blankets, bags of snacks, umbrellas for shade, endless drinks. Just us. Two chairs. One blanket. Picinic basket. :)

the Mr.

the Mrs.

silly kids....

more silliness....

Early evening the fun starts.....some sort of band, couldn't tell you who, just that they weren't great. Then on to the main act. I seriously had issues with the name of their band. I could not remember it no matter what. Mike found this extremely funny. I still want to call them WINGS (but I know that is wrong) or FAITH (wrong again) but they were LIGHTS! Covered all Journey songs for almost two hours. FANTASTIC!

then the sparks flew......

BYU Womens Conference

So we're back.

I've been home long enough it almost feels like I never left. Except for those rare quiet moments when something I heard echoes in my head, or something I remember makes me smile.

Womens Conference was AMAZING!! It is definitely an experience to remember and repeat as often as possible! 20 hours in the car (10 there/10 back) seems to fly by when you are visiting with friends or napping! In-n-Out never tastes as good as when you are on a road trip!!!

We arrived in Provo late Tuesday evening, and before checking in @ Hotel Eggleston we had to eat HERE! Super,super yummy!!! Now I will have to find one near home!

The Egglestons' welcomed us with open arms and this is what we saw when we walked into their home.....

Wednesday morning everybody slept in so Mary and I took a little walk. I had thought about hiking to the "Y", but Debbie said it would take hours. So instead we followed a lower path that meanders along the base of the mountain. I think we wound up going 2-3 miles, beautiful! The street you can see is where we stayed at Debbies home.

Everyone tells me over and over you have to eat at CAFE RIO. So it was the only thing I said I HAD to do! Oh yeah, it was so worth it! I had this yummy salad. I am hungry just thinking about it and want to go back - NOW!

Thursday morning the conference started and this is what I saw from the living room.....

I was amazed at how many women were there. It was such a wonderful feeling to be gathered with so many women to learn and be lifted up in all that we do.

I had never been to the BYU campus before.....it is HUGE! I planned more carefully for the Friday classes so I wasn't heading back and forth from one end of the campus to the other all day! I am sure I must have walked five miles a day!

Thursday evening after all the class sessions were over there were many opportunities for service: tutus, crowns, wands, hand puppets, sewing dolls, school kits, tying quilts...the list goes on and on! We tied quilts for a while and received prefered seating tickets for the evening entertainment...

The music was fantastic! I had no idea what to expect, and was glad to have stayed for the fun!

Debbie has a scooter to get around without the parking hassles. She and Mary rode it home late after all the fun was over! Now I want one! It looks so fun!

ready for Friday!


girls night out at a yummy bbq.....

Bye BYU, see you next year!

Christmas Nativities

My internet friend Kimberly had the idea to post pictures of all her Nativities on her blog so I stole her great idea! Thanks Kimberly!

This Nativity was given to me by my mom. I

remember it as a child, and had asked for it for years.

There is a wind-up music box that plays silent night.

There is another set of figurines with very European features,

but these are my favorite.

I painted and assembled this Nativity

scene at an Enrichment activity last year.

This Nativity came from a craft show and is

all hand painted with beautiful details.

This Willow Tree Nativity has been an ongoing
gift from my Mom and Husband. I have received a new
piece of the set each year for my birthday in September
so I would have it to enjoy for Christmas. Only one
piece left to complete the set!


This sweet little baby Jesus was made by my
talented friend, Susan Bailey, as a Christmas lesson
handout for the Young Women.

A sweet little ornament I bought this year!

Another ornament from a couple years ago.

A handcrafted Nativity I purchased at a craft show.
I love it so much I copied it and delivered it
as a "twelve days of Christmas" doorbell ditch gift for
a dear friend.

Homemade Nativity, so sweet and simple.

Cute Nativity magnets!

An itty bitty Nativity I display on a shelf

infront of a mirror by the front door.

Another itty bitty Nativty that was delivered

to us as a "twelve days of Christmas" surprise!

Fall in Oak Glenn.....

The trees were loaded with yummy apples...

Katie explains to Matthew which

apple to pick next.....

are you sure that's the one I wanted??

Mom says to pick more.....

couldn't quite reach that last apple!

looks like we will be

snacking on apples for a while!

chestnut pods still on the tree...

hmm....which one should we check next?

under the chestnut tree...you
can see all the pods scattered on the ground!

look at what I found!.....

Katie prying open the chestnuts.....

Katie's technique for opening the pods

without getting stuck!

yummy chestnuts!

lots of good nuts to roast!

looks like it's time for dessert!!

One of our favorite fall traditions is to drive about an hour from our home to a little town called Oak Glenn. It is up in the mountains and is a little community of apple growers. There are lots of farms where you can pick your own apples, and there are lots of varieties we don't see in the supermarket. This year we took our picnic basket and ate a picnic lunch on the lawn at Los Rios Rancho. When we were full (and ready for a nap) we wandered into the grove and picked a huge bag of Winesap apples. They were super crunchy and a nice tart sweet, my new favorites!!! Once we gathered all the apples that would fit into our bag we wandered down the road to another part of their farm where you can pick chestnuts! This is even more fun than picking apples! The chestnuts fall off the tree in these prickly pods (which are really sharp) and you have to pry them open to gather the nuts. All that work got our appetite up so we bought a pie to bring home for dessert!