{100th Post}

I had no idea what would be in store for my 100th post - maybe some philosophical words or a fun dance video! But this morning, while I was getting ready to go over to my new girlfriend Melissa's house, I heard Little C calling my name from the dining room!

Look what was waiting for me...


... a bashful Little C, covered in, you guessed it, baby powder!


A close up of the counter top and if you look real close at the bottom left corner, you can see the floor covered in powder too!

Oh the adventures of a 2 year old!

So, happy 100th post, another post to show the nutty side of my days!

{What a Day}

We have had a fun day, sprinkled with the sassiness of a 6 year old and the high pitched screams of a 2 year old!

Our day started with this...

Our fort! Blankets, sheets, and pillows are our building materials of choice!

Silly faces!

Big D thought it was so funny to put rabbit ears on top of Little C's head! Hilarious!

Later in the evening, once it cooled off, we went out back to play kickball and enjoy being outside. I went inside to get some water after our game and came back to little Little C running through the sprinkler, naked!!! All day he has been pulling off his diaper (one time with a little package that was very ripe and smelly). He thought he was being so funny and I couldn't do anything but grab my camera! What's cuter than your little nudist sliding down the slide; or climbing the monkey bars - saying hi to the neighbors, over the fence, as they pass by; or enjoying a swing with the breeze reaching all areas of his body... Oh the excitement we had here!

He is so happy!

I'm gonna get cha' mom! (Note that it is about 7pm and he is still in his PJ's - oh I love summer time)!

Yummy Popsicle!

See, my tongue is red!

My tongue is red too!

Precious

So, I don't know about you, but we had a pretty good day! Hope yours was as exciting!

{Sorry to Disappoint}

Ashley requested pictures of me decked out in my country gear, but I don't have any! How sad is that? Major bummer!

I do, however, have this picture of one of my college roommates, Monica, and I taken right before we went to a George Strait concert. We were hot cowgirls, but you can't see the full picture, just waist up!



So sorry to disappoint, I know your heart was set on seeing me all countrified, but you will just have to paint a pretty picture in your heads!

{Tush Push}

I love to dance and country line dancing is one of my favorites. While I was in college my cheerleading/stunt partner and I would go out dancing and I loved it! I began line dancing while I was in high school but in college I learned a lot of dances and how to do couple dances too.

Well, last Tuesday night (July 15th), a friend called me up and asked if I would be willing to teach the Beehives (girls ages 12-14) in our ward to line dance. And, of course, I will not turn down a chance to dance, so I got really excited to dust off my boots (it has been way too long since I last wore them), wished I could still fit into my Wranglers or my Rockies (types of jeans), and donned my shiny belt buckle! It was great!!!! Yeee hawww!

I was excited to teach them one country line dance that is universal, meaning it can be danced to pretty much any type of music. "What dance is this?" you ask. Well that would be the Electric Slide. They learned it very quickly and after dancing to a great Faith Hill song, I turned on Gwen Stefani (Sweet Escape) and showed them that we could do the same dance to this song. They were impressed. They were doing a country line dance to a mainstream song!

I then got to teach them one of my favorite country line dances - the Tush Push!!! Oh yeah! Don't let the name scare you - it is a good dance. This is me we are talking about, no gross dancing here! It was great to see them try and a few of them, leaders included, got this dance!

So by the end of the night, we all almost looked like this (not as old as these women, but as good as them)....



I wanted them to realize that music and dancing can be fun and good, so long as we follow the counsel we have been given from our Prophet in the "For The Strength of the Youth" handbook (click on the "Music and Dance" link). Keep it clean and wholesome and you can have fun! So, if you want to learn some fun dances and listen to some great music - come on over!

{Youth Fireside}

Last night, I had the opportunity to speak at our Stake Youth Fireside. The theme was "Choose you this day" and I knew what I wanted to speak on the moment I was asked. I was asked to share my conversion story, which I did, but I also wanted to be more specific with youth regarding the theme of the night. I wanted them to think about the things that could happen, the temptations and trials that will come their way and how they would react to them. I wanted them to make choices now of what they would say or do if: someone handed them a glass filled with beer; a cute guy or girl wanted to get a little too close for comfort - if you know what I mean; what will they say when people are making fun of the not so popular kid as school; will they get a tattoo; what about body piercings; what about the types of clothes they buy and wear; etc... I was so grateful for the opportunity to share my thoughts and my testimony with the youth.

There were two other speakers too, and they were phenomenal! Lauren Foley, was recently baptized (she just turned 16), and she shared her testimony and ideas on how to stay strong. Then Ben Sandel, the Elder's Quorum President in our stakes Singles Ward, was great too! I love how bold he was with the youth. He shared 4 things the youth need to do to avoid potential pitfalls (1. make time for quiet; 2. obey the law of chastity; 3. Be where you should be; and 4. Be a good friend).

It was a great night, I just wish that we had more youth attend the fireside!!!! They all needed to hear the things that we talked about!

{Family Fun}

On Wednesday we drove down to Antioch to spend some time with my sister, Kara, who was in town with her husband and her son, Tre, (my niece went back to Colorado early for cheerleading camp). My younger sister Christine was there too, with her 2 boys.

We decided to go to the Prewett Family Water Park where they have waterslides and wading pools all geared for young children! I had never been there and it was a great park! I loved it and wish there was one like that here in Sacramento.

{Fabulous Weekend in San Francisco}

Ryan and I were able to get away this weekend to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary! Grandma and Grandpa watched the boys for us for the 2 nights and 3 days that we were away and they did great, all of them!

Friday we checked into our 4.5 star hotel, The Intercontinental, and then we spent the afternoon and the evening, riding the cable cars, enjoying Fisherman's Wharf, and the city with it's tourists, flamboyant people, and wonderful clam chowder!


Rice A Roni the San Francisco Treat!


Sweethearts on the cable car!




The baybridge between the buildings. Have I mentioned that I have a slight fear of heights!


Boy do I look tired!



The Golden Gate Bridge - the marine layer was on it's way back in!



This was our turn down service the first night! They put rose petals on the floor and ....



...on the bed! It was very nice and the hotel manager had even provided us a nice handwritten letter, a bottle of champagne (nice thought, but we don't drink which they thought was rather strange), and some chocolates!

We had a nice weekend shopping and relaxing!

{Boxes of Fun}

Last week, while we were couped up inside because of the heat and smoke, I decided to use the large box that our new bathtub came in, to create some fun! So once we got all the spiderwebs and packaging foam out of it, we brought it inside and we set it down. Once the boys got it inside they decided they wanted a fire truck. So I cut out a door and made a steering wheel out of a plastic plate and a plastic cup.



Since we couldn't go outside and paint it, we decided to wait until the weather was a little bit cooler and less smokey to do that. But in the meantime, the boys were very content to fill it with blankets and pillows - the perfect place to take a break and watch a show!

Tomorrow, we will be painting and rescuing stuffed animals in the firetruck.

{American Idol Concert Rocked}

Have a mentioned that I am the luckiest lady in the world!!! Not only do I have an amazing husband and family, but we have some pretty dynamite friends too! I just hope I haven't scared them away! You see last night Ryan and I were invited to go to the AI concert at Arco Arena with 3 amazing couples! I had to give them all the warning that I will sing loudly, spontaneously scream like a little girl, and probably act like a teenager from time to time. I know that I didn't disappoint, but like I said before, I may have scared them or at least they might think that I am always so silly :-)


Here are the pictures from the concert:


I love American Idol!


The Smith's, The Moser's, us, The Smith's



My hunky husband and me!



Randy, I mean President Smith and his phenomenal wife Carrie. Nothing like acting crazy with your stake president sitting 2 seats down!



Michael Johns was awesome!!!!



Brooke was great! I just love that she is real!



Jason Castro did a nice job. He had on some sweet red shoes!



Oh sweet David A. He was so cute and was applauded a lot! He sang great songs and I can't wait for his album to be released! It's gonna be good!



This is where I screamed like a little girl! I love David Cook!!!! I really love all types of music, rock to opera! I try to listen to music that is good, without bad language, or suggestive lyrics, but when he performed Billy Jean , I almost cried! His version of that not so great song was pretty great. After all the song is about an affair! Singing along, loudly, I realized not a great song to be singing to with my stake leader sitting right there.

But, it was fun and I had a great time!

So thank you President and Carrie for the great night. Janalee and Bishop Smith - thanks for sharing the back seat with me. President and Lisa - thanks for the great conversation over dinner!

If I didn't scare them too much, I hope there will be future date nights with these fun people!

p.s. I am excited to try Guitar Hero, I never have played it and just might pop over to the Smith's to give it a go! Should be fun!

{Happy 10th Anniversary}

Scroll your mouse over the pictures for a description!


So this past Monday, July 7th, marked the 10th year of marriage for my husband and I!!! We are going away this weekend to SF for an extended weekend away - just the 2 of us!!!

I am the luckiest woman in the world! I am married to my best friend who loves me unconditionally, faults and all! I love that he: makes me laugh, is a good father, worthy to hold the Priesthood, loves to cook, is budget minded, is resourceful, is a hard worker, is a great artist, knows so much about computers, loves to try new things, loves to travel, and loves to serve the Lord! I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture! I am married to a great guy who loves me and I absolutely love him!

Thanks for the past 10 years dear. We have had our ups and our downs, but mostly ups! Thank you for the trips to far away destinations, for our 2 little boys, your patience, and acceptance. You amaze me!

All I am is Yours!

{More pictures from the Fourth}

So many kids, and they all got along! It was great!


Dallin enjoying the fireworks with his buddy Erik (and Erik's little brother Brock and their daddy Lance)


Our funny family - seriously every other family picture (The Smith's, The Smith's, and The Christensen's) have these nice pictures and here we are all silly! Well it fits!

Happy 4th of July

Well we had a nice time yesterday at our 4th of July festivities. We attended our stake's pancake breakfast and bike parade for the children in the morning. We also spent the evening with some really good friends. Dallin swam with his big boy friends, Chris, Blair, and Spencer and even got to play baseball. Carson, well he couldn't leave this really cool truck for fear that another kid, aka Maya, would start driving it. Maya was very kind to not care if Carson hogged the truck. He was funny but very content. I don't have all the pictures from the evening but here's a jist of what we were up to!

Carson ready for the parade!


Dallin's cool scooter

Daddy helping Carson

Maya wanted to check out Carson's car!

Dallin had just jumped off the rocks that the 2 boys are standing next to. I'm sure he thought he was one of the big kids.

Dallin sliding into the pool!

Dallin taking a brake!

A serious game of ping pong!

A not so serious game of ping pong!

Carson's chillin'

The "go go" he very rarely got out of!

Carson and Momy at La Sierra waiting for the fireworks to start!

Ellen helping Carson - the fireworks were loud! Don't you love Jack's face in the background as he munches on popcorn!

Dallin and his buddy Erik watching the fireworks! Erik just kept laughing!

Our friends enjoying the firework show

Hope you had a great holiday! Happy Fourth of July to you!