Happy Birthday Brooklyn!

We all had so much fun on Brooklyn's b-day trip! I told Mike that we needed to say "Yes" to as many things as we could on our vacation with her. We wanted to make it so much fun and memorable and I really hope we achieved that and these memories will be with her forever.

We started out by leaving Monday for our hotel that was walking distance away from Disneyland. When we checked in we got dressed for Huntington Beach which was only a half hour away. It was kind of cold so we kept shirts/sweaters on.

However, Brooklyn fell in the water with her sweater on and got too cold. She mellowed out after a while and we built a sandcastle and played with bubbles before we left.

The next day was Brooklyn's birthday! We got up early to get into Disneyland as soon as we could. She got a pin at the ticket window that said "Happy Birthday" and they put her name on it so that any of the cast members we met would all say "Happy Birthday Brooklyn" and she would say "They know it's my birthday! They knew I was coming!"

She thought this was just for her.

Of course we met Tinker Bell. We got an autograph book for her so she could get all the characters' signatures.

She wanted to ride with Daddy for Autopia.

She got her face painted while Daddy waited in line for the Matterhorn and almost ended up going by himself on the ride.

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E! Brooklyn can even spell his name!

Minnie was next door so we couldn't miss her.

Goofy lives across the street. He really was goofy. I haven't met the characters since I was a kid so this was an awesome experience for me too. To be honest I almost cried when I met Tinker Bell. I guess I got a little star struck. (I wonder what would happen if I met a famous actor/actress. I'd probably fall apart. How embarrassing)

I'm not aloud to do this ride. I'm glad they had fun doing it!

I love this picture!

Brooklyn got to be on Daddy's shoulders during the parade. After a few minutes she asked to go back to the rides. She didn't want to stay and watch them dance in the street. The new parade isn't that amazing.

Anytime we got close to getting on a ride, this is what Brooklyn would do. She doesn't like loud noises, but she likes going fast!

This is in line for our last ride at 11:30 at night. I can't believe she lasted this long! Our last ride was the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. She said she didn't like it, but I really think she didn't like having to wake up to go on a fast ride. So then we left in time for the park to close at midnight. Amazingly she walked all the way back to the hotel.

I think I can safely say that 5 years old is the perfect age to bring a child to Disneyland! She was able to do all the rides and WANTED to. She never backed out once. She did cry after Splash Mountain, but not because of being all wet or because of the big scary drop, but because the vultures laughed at her and were mean. It was cues like this through out the day that made us decide against trying the Haunted Mansion. I'm so proud of her and how brave she was. She didn't give us any problems and was so much fun to watch and discover what a wonderful place Disneyland is. We had so much fun and have lots more pictures. These are just the highlights of our day. I'm so glad we took Brooklyn. Now it's going to be hard for just Mike and I to go by ourselves with Brooklyn knowing just what were up to. It truly is the happiest place on earth!

Kristy

I ran into a good friend the other day who I haven't seen for a long time. She's so awesome! Everyone should know her! So let me introduce to you (if you don't know her already) Kristy! We've been buds for a long time. I want to say Jr. High is when we actually met. We just kept hanging out with the same group of friends all the way through college where we had even more of a blast! Here's some memories I'd like to share from the college years . . .

We loved to get people in the middle of our hugs. We'd call them Kristy(i) sandwiches (when actually the sandwich should be called after the person in the middle in which case this would be a Michael sandwich.)

Here we are again with said Michael at a Homecoming parade! The theme was "No Badgers" from whatever movie that was on so a bunch of us thought it would be funny to put duct tape on our bottoms and spell out EAC No Badgers. Why that was funny I don't really remember, but we had a blast (Everyone told me I had a nice "A":) So we ran around during the parade all together thinking we were hilarious. I guess that's what a small town like Thatcher will do to you and I don't regret it one bit!

Kristy and Evelyn stayed at my house after a college temple trip. I loved having sleep-overs at my house with my college friends. Thanks mom for putting up with us!

Okay, here's a true Kristy(i) sandwich thanks to Jake (left) and Zach (right). Aww, those were the days.

On another weird note having to do with the name Kristy . . .

I was driving home today when I heard this song say "Kristy are you doing okay?" So I looked at my display (it tells me the artist and song title) The above line is the title and it's sung by Offspring. Crazy! Here's the lyrics . . .

There’s a moment in time
And it’s stuck in my mind
Way back, when we were just kids

Cause your eyes told the tale
Of an act of betrayal
I knew that somebody did

Oh, waves of time
Seem to wash away
The scenes of our crimes
But for you this never ends

Can you stay strong?
Can you go on?
Kristy are you doing okay?
A rose that won’t bloom
Winter’s kept you
Don’t waste your whole life trying
To get back what was taken away

Though the marks on your dress
Had been neatly repressed
I knew that something was wrong
And I should have spoke out
And I’m so sorry now
I didn’t know
Cause we were so young

Oh, clouds of time
Seem to rain on
Innocence left behind
And it never goes away

Can you stay strong?
Can you go on?
Kristy are you doing okay?
A rose that won’t bloom
Winter’s kept you
Don’t waste your whole life trying
To get back what was taken away

Oh, clouds of time
Seem to rain on
Innocence left behind
And it never goes away (It never goes away)
It never goes away

Can you stay strong?
Can you go on?
Kristy are you doing okay?
A rose that won’t bloom
Winter’s kept you
Don’t waste your whole life trying
To get back what was taken away

Ha! A song with my name in it! So what it's not spelled right. So now after all is said and done, I think I'll self proclaim this KRISTY(I) WEEK! I hope you all enjoy it :)

Help!

How do I add a picture to this oh so cute header I found? Anyone . . . anyone?

What 2 do . . .

Okay, so I've been kind of a slacker lately not posting real pics and letting you know what's going on.  So here's an update.

For the Mother's Day project in our Preschool we made these cute little flower pots with paper flowers and straws.  Brooklyn made on for her grandma and my example went to the other grandma.  It's just weird having your own kid make you a present.

For the second to the last Friday of the preschool, we went to the movies to see Monsters vs. Aliens in 3D!  We had so much fun!  Thanks Hunter's mom for coming with us.  It wouldn't have been the same without you.

For the last Friday, we went to the San Tan splash pad and had a water party.  Like the doofus I am, I forgot my camera.  But here's some pictures of Brooklyn playing there on another day.  Sometimes, we really need a break out of the house and I love having this splash pad near by.

Taylor likes it too. She's always happy outside.

Taylor's new adventure is eating rice cereal.  We just started this last week.  She's now 6 months old, but is really supposed to be 5 months next week.  Doctors have premies hold off starting cereal until they are gestationally old enough. 

I love her chubby cheeks! 

Oh, and that's right, I made her bib!  Cha-ching!

Next adventure, Disneyland for Brooklyn's 5th birthday!!!

Confessions

Confessions are good for the soul.  So here we go . . .

I'm not a night person, I'd much rather get up early in the morning

I watch Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune everyday

I do about 5-20 sudoku puzzles everyday

I wish I could play the drums or tap dance or figure skate

I hate doing the dishes

I love nature especially after it rains

When I look at the stars I'd much rather find a satellite than a shooting star

Loud airplanes and motorcycles make me grumpy

Baby giggles are the most musical things in the world

I love classical music as well as classic rock and most everything in between

I like Sci-Fi especially when there's a love story

I need comedy to loosen up

I'm OCD, but can live like a slob at the same time

I like to file things and clean other people's houses

I laugh at Sesame Street jokes

Any kind of art inspires me to try something new

I wish it was easy to lose weight (but who doesn't)

I love the feeling of finishing something . . . anything, especially hard stuff

I cry every time I watch Extreme Home Makeover

I believe in never backing down and taking on new opportunities

I'm finding I'm more like my mom than I thought

My grandpa is my hero

I like small towns where everyone waves and gives hugs no matter who you are

I love reading novels and always get sucked into a series

I used to sing a lot, but lost my voice in childbirth, now it hurts in more ways than one

I think buttons and polka dots are cute, but not lace so much

I wish I had a green thumb

Last but not least (for tonight anyways)

Cotton Candy is my favorite!

Mother's Day

I keep forgetting how much I like poetry.  I love this one.  Happy Mother's Day!

Before I was a Mom, 
I never tripped over toys 
or forgot words to a lullaby. 
I didn't worry whether or not 
my plants were poisonous. 
I never thought about immunizations. 

Before I was a Mom, 
I had never been puked on. 
Pooped on. 
Chewed on. 
Peed on. 
I had complete control of my mind 
and my thoughts. 
I slept all night. 

Before I was a Mom, 
I never held down a screaming child 
so doctors could do tests. 
Or give shots. 
I never looked into teary eyes and cried. 
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. 
I never sat up late hours at night 
watching a baby sleep. 

Before I was a Mom, 
I never held a sleeping baby just because 
I didn't want to put her down. 
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces 
when I couldn't stop the hurt. 
I never knew that something so small 
could affect my life so much. 
I never knew that I could love someone so much. 
I never knew I would love being a Mom. 

Before I was a Mom, 
I didn't know the feeling of 
having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel 
to feed a hungry baby. 
I didn't know that bond 
between a mother and her child. 
I didn't know that something so small 
could make me feel so important and happy. 

Before I was a Mom, 
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night 
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. 
I had never known the warmth, 
the joy, 
the love, 
the heartache, 
the wonderment 
or the satisfaction of being a Mom. 
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, 
before I was a Mom.

Who got gum in their hair?

Oh that's right . . . the 4 year old!

Brooklyn has really been into chewing gum lately.  I didn't think she would like it or understand not to swallow it at first, but since her first piece she's been in love with it.  So today, since she finished all of her lunch (a challenge lately) she got to enjoy yet another piece of gum.  We had movie time (aka mom-gets-to-lay-down time) at which time I issued the warning that the gum stay in her mouth.  Just like any 4 year old would, she obviously took her gum out regardless of the warning.  She came into my room and said, "Mom, my gum is stuck in my hair." To which I replied, "Really?" and started laughing.  I laugh only because I've been really looking for opportunities to help her learn about choices and consequences. Well, if you know Brooklyn, she gets embarrassed pretty easily when it comes to a new experience.  So as I start laughing she starts crying . . . and crying . . . and crying.  First she's crying because she's embarrassed, then she's crying because I'm pulling on her hair, then because I won't let her hold the ice on her hair, then because the ice isn't working, then because the vinegar is stinky, then because I'm pulling her hair again. Well, you get the picture.  I was also considering the famous peanut butter, or vegetable oil, or vaseline, but I was done listening to the crying, which also woke up Taylor.  So listening to two very unhappy children resulted to only one solution to have it done and over with.  

The scissors!  There were only a few strands left and I figured it wouldn't be too obvious if I just cut out the rest.  After I got her hair washed and Taylor fed, everybody was okay and we could have some peace and quiet around the house. You can't even tell I cut her hair unless you're looking for it.

During this whole experience, I was practicing my dad's most recent sound advice he gave me. "Help your children work through their consequences." You can't control every choice they make, but you can always be there for them when something goes wrong.  And don't dish out the "I told you so" phrase as much as you want to, it doesn't make anybody feel better, but a hug and a little empathy could go a long way. I hope she never forgets this experience. 

Swine flu explained

It was this kid! (Thanks dad for sending this to me.  I laughed a lot)

Our girlies!

Can't help but love 'em.

Easter, curtains, and garden!

Whose the cutest Easter Bunny you've ever seen?  Mine of course!  We got this costume for Brooklyn when she was almost a year and a half.  Taylor mostly fits into it and she's not even 6 months old!  We thought we'd use it again, I mean, what good is a costume if it only gets worn once.

Full view :)

Because of the rain, we did the Lindblom easter egg hunt inside the house.  It was kind of hard to hide about 70 eggs in only two rooms, but we did it!  
This is only about half of the grandkids.  Cathy took four out of her five kids to Disney on Ice that happened to be on the same day.  I'm so jealous.
Mike was the cutest husband.  I don't know if he really thought of this himself, but he wore his argyle sweatshirt to match the one I wore that day.  Yeah for being married.
I finally got Brooklyn's curtains done!  At first they were too short, but I just sewed on a panel at the bottom and you can't even tell.  I thought these would help her sleep in later, but just my luck, the summer sun still effects her and she's been getting up an hour earlier that before.  

We've got our soil down for our garden thanks to Mike and his dad's help.  Now we just need to put the seeds in and we'll be all set! My f-i-l said, "I'm surprised these wood planks aren't painted and stenciled!"  Little did he know I actually considered it, but I didn't need this project to cost anymore.  Oh, the sacrifices I make . . . 

Kate! You're the BOMB!

So we had a photo shoot today with Kate Lines another of my favorite photographers.  Mike is doing her website so she's giving us some free sessions which is so generous of her since her work is soooooooo professional.  Check her stuff out HERE.

Here's just a sample.

She took pictures of Taylor too.  They will be posted later.  Stay tuned . . .

Ta da!

I did it! I'm done!  I wanted to make a picture book of my parents and give it to them on their anniversary.  Their 39th anniversary is -4 days ago (March 27th) which means I was late, but hey.  I did it! I'm done!  It's ordered!  PS, aren't they so cute :)

This was then . . .

This is now! (When they were in Hawaii!)

And this is what has become (minus a couple grandkids and a couple more on the way).

Okay, so I've never really done the whole however-many-things-i-love-about . . . kind of list and now I think it's time.

My dad:

He's such a hard worker.  I can honestly say he's the first thing I think of when it comes to work.  He is exactly the opposite of lazy.  Even when it looks like he's not doing anything, he always seems to be contemplating something deep and meaningful.  Most of the work I witness first hand is his garden.  It's inspiring.  I hope someday I can be as good as him.  He's also incredibly spiritual.  I love talking to him about gospel subjects or asking him questions about the scriptures.  He's always got an answer for me or a fresh perspective.  My dad may fall asleep in the middle of family gatherings, but he is so caring and loving I can't help but love him.

My mom:

Get her out from behind the camera and you will find how service oriented she is.  You can even see the evidence in her freezer or on her kitchen counter.  She's always baking up a batch of Friendship Bread.  (If you don't know what that is, we need to talk.) She is always willing to listen and be sympathetic to any plight.  She loves to quilt!  Our family would be frozen without all the quilts she's made for us, especially our kids.  It's becoming a lost art, but not with my mom.  She's going to quilt until her hard working hands fail her.  And yes, her other passion is pictures.  She says her mom didn't take many so she's making up for it.  Well, that must skip generations because I have to constantly remind myself that somethings do require a camera to remember. She loves her grandkids and is always taking them on walks.  I love my mom.  She's one of my bestest friends.

Thanks Mom and Dad.  I'm glad you got married and had 6 kids. My life wouldn't be the same if you didn't. :)

Most recent project

Our kitchen table chairs are covered in stains so I thought I would finally do something about it.  I took my 40% off coupon down to Joann's and bought some fabric that I just fell in love with.

Here's before . . . 

and here's after.

Yeah for staple guns! Next project: Brooklyn's curtains

Next movie review

So we rented this the other night and Mike made me watch it with the lights off.  Mike had already seen it and assured me it was a good movie.  I have to wait until I'm over the last horror movie before I go see another so I finally got in the mood to see this one.  Between covering my face with a pillow when I knew something was going to jump out, squeezing Mike's hand in suspense and saying "yucky" every time it was, I actually enjoyed this movie.  It had a great plot that was pretty easy to follow.  I didn't even have nightmares.  My favorite part had to be the mannequins he set up around town so he wouldn't feel so lonely or going hunting for deer in a mustang was pretty cool too.  So if you're in the mood for a scary movie, this one will do.  ****

Give said the little stream . . .

Making handcrafted items is a dying art, but they are so fun to make & get! So, here's a little game to encourage the handcrafting to live & thrive!! The first 5 people to leave a comment on this post will receive, at some point during the year, a super-duper handmade gift from me.What it will be and when it will arrive is a total surprise!The catch is that you must participate as well-before you leave your comment here, write up (or copy & paste as I did!) a pay it forward post on your blog to keep the fun going. Then come back, let me know you're going to play, and sit back and anticipate the arrival of your gift! Remember that only the first FIVE comments will receive a gift from me, so be quick!

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!2. It will be done this year (hopefully sooner than later.)3. You will have no clue what it is going to be.

C'mon, you know you wanna play!

Movie Review!

(Spoiler Alert!)

So I rented this movie in need of a romantic story.  Richard Gere has a pretty good record at being in the center of  romantic movies (i.e. First Knight, Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride, etc.) So I felt pretty safe knowing this would turn out to be good.  I didn't know anything about the story only that the woman's "life would be changed forever."  Typical story, boy and girl meet at beach house, girl going through a divorce, boy widowed or divorced, I can't remember . . . they fall in love, only to separate back to their homes at the peak of romance. The whole "absence makes the heart grow fonder" theme takes place.  They write letters to each other and it is so mushy I love it.  Finally, boy plans to come back to girl forever, but never makes it.  He dies in a mudslide!  What the heck.  I didn't want a sad love story.  I wanted a happily ever after love story.  I mean, it ends well, closure and all with ponies running on the beach, but man,  I wasn't looking to cry that night.  So if you want a good tear jerker, mushy and gushy with romance, rent this one, just plan on being sad. **** (4/5)

Prayer works!

On Sunday nights we like to go visit one of our parents.  Last night we went to my parents.  Mike's parents were out of town.  We had fun hanging out with my parents and my sister and her family.  When it was time to go home our car wouldn't work.  It seemed the battery had died.  We're not sure why.  No lights were left on which has been the case before.  So my dad brought his truck around and we tried to jump it.  To our surprise that didn't work.  They thought the connection wasn't very good so my dad went to get the Impala. Brooklyn was getting a little worried, especially because she thought we'd have to walk home (it's a 20 minute drive as it is). So I said, "Brooklyn do you want to try something?" She said sure so I said, "Do you think Heavenly Father could help us fix our car so we can get home?" Her face lit up and she said, "Yeah, he can help us." So we went in the house and knelt in a circle.  Brooklyn wanted to say the prayer.  She just said, "Heavenly Father, we're grateful for this day.  Help us to get our car feeling better" and then she closed the prayer.  Not five minutes later we were in the car on our way home.  It was a little scary because the headlights were flickering a little and the car kept dinging all the way home and the last thing I wanted was to be stranded on the freeway with our little girls.  We kept the radio off, turned off the air, and even dimmed the interior lights just hoping we would make it home.  Well, we pulled into our driveway all in one piece.  After Mike turned the car off he turned the key again to see if it would come on.  It didn't start again.  What's even cooler is that our battery was under warranty so we got a new one this morning for free!  I'm glad we had this opportunity to teach Brooklyn about the importance of prayer.

IKEA . . . you complete me

If your finger had a tool in it like Inspector Gadget, what would that tool be?  My husband told me that if I had and IG finger I would have a measuring tape inside.  I'm always walking around the house measuring things to see if my remodeling/rearranging ideas work.  My recent fruits of my labor are these awesome Malm dressers we got from IKEA's Seize the Day sale they had on Monday.  

They are doubling as night stands and dressers.  Our bed is really tall so it's been hard for us to find night stands big enough for it. And now I have my own dresser and so does Mike.  It has brought equality to our bedroom and now I can sleep better at night.  Thank you awesome Sweedish superstore!

Tummy Time!

It's been a while since I've posted! So sorry.  I hope everybody had a great Valentine's Day like I did.  I was pampered with a manicure and pedicure.  I got my first perifin wax ever.  (I'm not even sure I spelled it right) In case you don't know what that is, it's when you get your feet dipped in hot wax until it cools.  Ooooooh, it felt so good!  Thanks honey for watching the girls while I got all girly.  

Brooklyn is really enjoying Taylor. She always wants her to do tummy time and play with her so I took pictures of them one day.

Then of course, Brooklyn had to take a picture of me and since there hasn't been a picture of me on here for a while, here you go!

Plan ahead

I don't think I'd make it two days without having certain things planned ahead such as the ever looming question "What's for dinner?" Thanks to Excel I've mastered the menu! I put it on the fridge every week.  Along with sistersavings.net it saves a lot of headaches and helps with the grocery shopping.  My favorite part is telling Brooklyn what we're having. Instead of giving her choices, we just refer to the menu. Another great part is, after 4 or 5 weeks, instead of coming up with a new menu, I just refer to one I've already made.  I like to save the weekends for surprises like eating out, Sunday dinner, or a special breakfast.