The Birthday Party

Make a wish! Libby loved her cupcake and didn't waste any time polishing it off! Elle on the other hand wasn't crazy about it, or maybe she didn't like that we were all watching her!

Opening presents! These two girls got all kinds of good loot! Thanks guys!

The cousins eating their mini hamburgers and chips.

Since Elle and Libby's Birthday's are only two weeks apart we thought it would be fun to have a big double party! So lucky me, my Mom and both my sisters came out for the weekend to celebrate. The party was so much fun, even Shawn's parents were able to be there for the party.

A little birdie party

For Elle (my neice) and Libby's first Birthday party I wanted to do something really soft and lovely. After all a first birthday is really more for the family, right?...although Libby did LOVE her birthday cake! So I choose a bird theme and decorated with lots of paper garlands and doilies. My favorite decoration was the photo garland of the first year of the two birthday girls, its amazing how much they change over a year.

Valentine's Day Tradition

A valentine treat.
Valentines all packed.

I love you!

Valentine's Day dinner was extra special! We had pink mashed potatoes, which Shawn admitted he thought they tasted yummy but couldn't really handle that they were pink. Heart shaped turkey meatloaf, and red 7up! And of course we ate by candle light! I love our Valentine's dinner! I know I am cheesy, but its fun.

I put together this Valentine for Payson's Mommy. Isn't he just the cutest. I love how when he smiles he crinkles his eyes! We took several pictures where I tried to get him to keep his eyes open, but his smile was just so big! So I love it, it is so him!

Great to be Eight

Our ward had our great to be eight night, which is a preview for all the kids who are turning 8 this year. In our church when you turn 8 you get to be baptized, as well as start attending scouts for boys, and activity days for the girls. So its kind of a big exciting year for these little ones. In our ward we have 23 kids turning 8, which is a ton of kids, but its so fun to have a big group. They were all excited together. I put together these invitations, bows for the girls, and "extra" favors/handouts. Its such a fun night to be a part of. We played a "Getting to know 8" game, where all the kids got to answer questions about turning 8. The bishop ric counselor talked about baptism and showed the kids the font. We had the 2 CTR 7 classes sing a special song for their families. And we ended the night with cake and punch. So special!

Red and White, Hugs and Kisses

Red and white, hugs and kisses, hearts and lace, love letters and last but not least chocolate. These are the reasons I love Valentines Day. These things are my equation of true happiness. Any one of these things can put a smile on my face, at any time.

Happy February!

Scouting

Lets get the show on the road guys!

My Ethan is almost eleven (tear tear, sniffle sniffle) which means he will be a boy scout, which means he (WE) have to finish his arrow of light to move on. Cub scouts is a lot of work, I am not gonna lie, its kind of a pain, and a huge thorn in my side, BUT it is worth it. Not only does Ethan have a lot fun in scouts they absolutely do learn lots of useful information. I really do feel like being a scout is a worthwhile activity. So anyway Ethan and I have been working really hard on earning badges and at our last pack meeting, which was also our pinewood derby, Ethan earned his Webelos badge as well his religious square knot, which is the only badge he can continue to wear as a scout. I was really proud of him (and me!) for accomplishing this. When boys earn a ranking badge they get to pin a pin on the Moms. I am so glad the BSA recognizes the Moms, because honestly we earned it too! And after the boys give the Moms a pin all the boys chant kiss, kiss, and the cub then has to kiss the Mom. Its really sweet, and yes it was my favorite part. Ethan didn't wait for them to chant he just jumped right in and kissed me! We still have a few more badges (boo hoo!) to earn before he can get his arrow of light award, but he is almost there.

The pinewood derby was fun. Usually its later in the year so Shawn was really disappointed when they moved it up, because that meant Ethan would still be able to participate. This is Shawn's least favorite part of scouts, but really its the boys favorite. Luckily for Shawn his friend, Patrick, came to the rescue and helped Ethan build his car. It turned out awesome, and Ethan even won second place in the webelos! So Ethan was super happy. They made super cute Twinkies cars for refreshments!

Recycling

One tired baby. Its way past your bedtime!

We have been really excited about recycling lately. I have been saving up our cans for the past 6ish months, needless to say, we had quite a few bags (what? I like my soda!). I found this cash for cans drop center that is 24 hours, so we piled all the bags into the car, which left little room for any little bodies!, and after pizza we headed over. But it was a huge disappointment. I thought for sure we would make around 20 dollars. But apparently not so in Arizona. They only paid like 30 cents a pound! What a rip off, right? I felt so jilted! So wronged! If I had known this I would have saved our cans for a trip to Cali, and smuggled them across the border, where they pay 5 cents a can, if I am not mistaken? Oh well the kids thought it was fun, the highlight of the evening! We took our 5 bucks and bought fudge sundaes at McDonald's. I ate my tears away, and fudge sundaes does have a way with making everything better (if you did not know)!

The moral of the story: recycle (in Califirnia) and eat fudge sundaes!