THE BIG 12

Dallin turned 12 earlier this month. He as very excited for his birthday and nervous at the same time. He knew that turning 12 was a big deal because now he could receive the Aaronic Priesthood and that it brings about some very important responsibilities. Well he was ordained to the priesthood in the class of Deacon on Sunday, September 13th by Randy. It was a very special day and I asked him how he felt afterwards and he said that he felt as though some weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. I think that it is wonderful that was the feeling that he had, that he felt his Heavenly Father helping him. It is an awesome feeling to be in our home now and having 2 priesthood holders. I sure love my little man and I am so happy for him and sad that he won't be my little man forever.

The kids are doing great in school. They are enjoying it a lot even though the bus ride is long for them. This week is spirit week for homecoming, and they are having a lot of fun participating in all of the activities. Kylie is loving HS. She likes going to the football games, STOMP, and all of her classes. She most of her teachers are weird, but I just have to remind her that she says that about all adults who have rules or have to ask her not to be so chatty!!!! I can hardly believe how big my kids are getting. I am very blessed to have such GREAT kids! (Okay, I don't always feel that way, but most of the time I do.)

Randy is still in job search mode. He is at an interview now (that's why I get to blog!) and he has been looking forward to this interview for 2 weeks now. That's how long ago they called to schedule it. Plus while he has been gone I got a phone call from another company that would like to schedule an interview also. It has been a long 5 1/2 months with him home. We have been incredibly blessed during this time. Maybe that is why my blog has been soooo neglected.

Our little Ciara is growing like crazy. I don't think she is so short anymore, and she definitely isn't short of words or personality. She has my sass, Randy's dance moves, Ky's defiance, and Dal's tender heart.

I have been working at DIVAS salon 2-3 days a week. It has been fun being out working again and I love what I do. Now if business would just pick up, I don't like just sitting there. Thanks to some friends however, we have had some fun toe parties! Now some friends in town and I have just started a dinner group, we each take turns making meals for the group every week ... so now I am looking for fun, new recipes to try!

MY WISH LIST

I have been thinking a little today about what I would wish for if I could get some wishes granted ...

Cleaning Fairy

Cooking Fairy

Laundry Fairy

Calgon Take Me Away

$$ Tree . . . That probably means I need a Genie!!!

I could probably go on but if I actually had all of these would I have any friends left? You'd all be so jealous ...

As I thought of all of this stuff it made me think that I wasn't being very grateful for what I have. The past couple days have been pretty hard for me to be grateful. Well my attitude has made it hard anyway. But now as I sit here and think more I do have so much to be grateful for.

The past 3 1/2 months have been trying but in a strange way I am glad that Randy and I have had so much extra time together. And it has worked out well that he was here to take care of Ciara during girls camp and next week while I am gone to youth conference.

Girls camp was a lot of fun. I enjoyed being around the girls and when it was time to come home I couldn't believe how emotional that time was for me. I wanted to gather them all up and bring them home with me ... I'm sure I probably wouldn't have felt that way for long, but we have a great bunch of girls here.

I'm posting some pics of our water kickball game we played while we were there. If you have never played it, it is a BLAST!

This was how the game ended ...

It was all good fun though.

And here is Ky learning how to use a compass.

WOW .... ITS BEEN A MONTH

I have been the biggest blog slacker! But to my defense my hubby is still unemployed and at home! It's hard to blog when he is home. But I take pictures with the intention of blogging, but never get around to blogging. So here we go ... a quick run down of our past month or just pics I have taken for fun!!!

Ciara imitating Dad!

This was actually funny ... dad was tilling the garden area and Ciara is terrified of the tiller. So as far away from the tiller as she could get she pretended her wheelbarrow was a tiller and would "follow" dad's direction. She was a lot faster than he was!

2 Otter Pop Buddies!!!

Ciara copying big brother!

Lots of Loves for Dallin!!!

Ciara hangin' with the big girls!

Mom's big helper!

That ugly floor is now gone and now looks like this

Mom's other big helper!

After loads of welcome rain we found a frog at the bottom of the outdoor stairs to the basement, it was pretty cool looking and it's eyes would change colors with it's skin.

And the best part of our month was going to Colorado for a very special sealing of Malia to her parents at the Denver, CO Temple. We got to spend lots of time with family and I even got to do a bunch of toes while I was there. It was a great week!!!

School is also out now and some people got their yearbooks signed, but Ky had to get more than that signed ...

I'm really glad that the rest of the signing happened in the yearbook!

Well, I think I've redeemed myself a little bit. This looks like a long post but hey, at least it's mostly pics!!!

Tell me your opinion ...,. Only if it's politically Correct

I am talking about the Miss USA Pageant. I personally did not watch it but have read about the Miss California / Perez Hilton question in the news and I am very irked! Here is the question and answer.

Perez Hilton: "Vermont recently became the 4th state to legalize same-sex marriage, do you think every state should follow suit, why or why not?"

Carrie Prejean, Miss CA: "I think it's great Americans are able to choose one or the other," she said. "We live in a land that you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. And you know what in my country, in my family I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. No offense to anybody there, but that's how I was raised and that's how I think it should be, between a man and a woman."

Here is PH's comments after the show.

I was floored," Hilton told ABCNews.com Monday. "I haven't said this before, but to her credit, I applaud her for her honesty. However, she is not a politician, she's a hopeful Miss USA. Miss USA should represent everyone. Her answer alienated millions of gay and lesbian Americans, their families and their supporters."

This is after he called her a "b ----" on his blog. Then he continued on his rant and ended it with this: "I would have gone up on stage, I s--- you not, and snatched that tiara off her head and run out the door," he said in his video blog. "I would probably have been arrested. But so be it."

I love closed minded people! You are entitled to your opinion but only if it makes me happy! He must have forgot that his question said "do you think". I don't care what the question or answer was, if you are going to ask "what do you think" it is an opinion question and you should allow the other person to answer it honestly without chiding them for their opinion.

Phewwww .... so glad I got that off my chest!!!!

IN LIKE A LION ... OUT LIKE A LION

I haven't been much for blogging lately I've noticed. I got busy with school and I have felt like I am out of the loop. The last few months I felt like I was watching everything happen from outside and that I wasn't part of it. It's all catching up to me now.

March was a hectic month. It started off crazy and ended just the same and everyday in between was crazy too. Poor Dal ended up suspended from school, which turned into the rest of the year suspension. (Kids don't take a pocket knife to school. It is VERY bad!) He felt like he needed it to protect his classmates in case of a lock down. Ciara was sick the first half of the month. Every time I thought she was getting better, it would come back. Finally we figured out she had an ear infection when one of her drums popped. Poor little bug never even complained about her ears hurting. Ky also ended up with 2 days of in-school suspension, because her teacher let her and her friend out of class early to get on the bus and then told his wife (a school administrator) and turns out it was sluffing. The kids and I went out to Colorado at the end of the month and after 10 hours of driving we were stuck in Rawlins, WY. We had to spend the night there and while Randy was at work he learned that it was his last week working as layoffs came around. We had fun for the very short time we were in Colorado with Kris and the kids. Kris and I even made a bunch of flower clips that are so stinkin' cute!

April has been a bit better, and it's been that time to really reflect on our blessings. Randy is looking for work and I finished school 2 weeks ago and passed my state boards last week. I am now officially waiting for my license. (comes in the mail?!) I am very glad to be done and excited to do something with it. I still feel like I need some more practice as it was hard to get nail clients at school with the hair girls doing the scheduling. Needless to say I got a lot of practice doing pedicures!!! LOL But since I am done and love doing glitter toes I am doing those and doing glitter toe parties if anybody is interested.

Here is how a party works ...

Hostess gets a free set when she has 5 people come and get toes done!!! Simple, and they are just $20/set!!! The glitter toes are basically gel toes with glitter and they last anywhere from 3-8 weeks. 3-4 weeks is about the time you like to have them off since you can see where the nail is growing out. But I have had some people who kept theirs on for 8 weeks.

We have really enjoyed the sunshine this week and have loved the moisture as it has made our grass the most beautiful green!!!! LOVE IT! Of course this weekend isn't looking so sunny, but it's about time for some more rain ... I can put off watering my lawn a little longer!

JEFF MITCHELL

In Loving Memory

August 30, 1968 - April 4, 2009

Jeffrey James Mitchell

Yesterday morning I received a call from my mom telling me that Jeff had died. Unfortunately the home he was living in had burned down while he slept. As my heart breaks for my youngest brother and the rest of Jeff's family I have reflected about the past and about Jeff and the role he has had in my life. My mom and Jeff married when I was 12. And this man took upon himself the responsibility of husband and father of 4 children. He did this at the mere age of just 20 years old. I can only now imagine the burden he carried. I am sure that I didn't make it any easier for him either as I was not happy about the marriage.

I now would like to share some of the great things about Jeff.

Jeff worked hard!

He always worked hard even when it was very physically challenging for him, to provide for his family.

Jeff loved the outdoors!

He took us hunting, camping, 4-wheeling, shooting, and helped us to learn to love the outdoors. Even the very far away outdoors! Who knew that Deep Creek could be so much fun!

Jeff was an awesome cook!

I had never liked fish or wild game until Jeff cooked it. He had lost most of his taste buds because of medications to treat his allergies and so everything he cooked was very seasoned. Deer, goose, duck, catfish, and so much more always tasted great when he cooked. When we were out camping it was common for us to shoot cotton-tail and grouse and cook it over a fire and sometimes it was our favorite meals. BTW it really does taste like chicken ... with lots of flavor.

Jeff looked out for his family!

You don't mess with family. I knew that as long as Jeff was around that you didn't mess with us and expect to get away with it.

Jeff could fix most anything!

Even though sometimes it may have been with duct tape! LOL He was very mechanical and would work to fix up vehicles and other things in his spare time.

Jeff saw a lot of this country!

And he loved all of it. He was an OTR truck driver and seemed to enjoy it. He didn't complain about it and when he was home he didn't complain about having to drive to other places even though that was what he did all week.

It has been quite a few years since I have seen Jeff. The last time I saw him was at his wedding reception and as I walked up to him his eyes filled with tears and he told me he loved me and gave me a big hug! I knew that he still loved and cared for me and my siblings.

Thank you Jeff for your all you have given to us and taught us. To his family my feelings for you are to feel love and peace in his passing.

A BIT OF GRATITUDE

So I woke up this morning about 4 just thinking .... it's a common problem for me. But all of my thoughts have been about my Young Women and my stewardship over them. And led me along these lines that I have decided to share as some of the people I have been thinking about I know will read this and I want them to know how grateful I have been for them.

I always grew up in a home where I knew religion was important, where I was taught to love God and to know that I am one of his special children just as everybody is! As I got to the age to become a Young Woman in our church our family changed. My parents divorced, and my mom remarried. She still went to church as often as possible but the circumstances did not always allow her to go. I have been thinking a lot this morning of the people who have been there since to make sure that I was always at church and my Young Women's meetings and activities. I know it was hard for my mom but I am also grateful that she allowed me to go with my friends families to church. For the first year there were 2 families that did this. Keli Cameron was my best friend at that time and lived only 2 houses away from us. It was funny that we were such great friends after I moved there because we spent our whole elementary school years not liking each other at all! I often went with Keli's family and I am so grateful to her and her parents for helping me to be there. My other really good friend Liz Ficklin lived kiddie-corner from me and her family was also always willing to let me go with them also. They also made sure that I had a ride and was always welcome to go with them to every fireside there was. Both of these families treated me as if I were one of their own and I felt loved every time I was at there homes.

Part way through my 8th grade year we moved to American Fork, which was the last place I thought I wanted to live. I didn't want to leave my friends or go to their "horrible" school! I'm quite sure I made it very clear to my mom and can admit that it was probably hell for her in the way I behaved through that move. My first day there however wasn't nearly as bad as I expected and as I got on the bus to go home I was invited by a girl to sit by her. Her name is Andrea Ault who quickly became my best friend through the rest of my school years as well as I became a member of her family almost as quickly. We lived in different wards however, even though we were just a few blocks apart. My ward only had a few young women and I didn't feel comfortable going alone there. Andrea's family quickly made me feel welcome to go to their ward and I once again was able to attend Young Women's with my best friend. I through special permission was able to play sports with their ward and go to YW Camp each summer. They even took it further and also had me to a lot of their family functions as well and when my family moved away a few months before graduation they once again opened their doors and allowed me to live at their home. That was like a permanent sleep over party!!!

As I have thought about all of this I realize how grateful I am to each of them even now. I'm sure I didn't express enough gratitude then as it was probably more "fun" to me than a learning experience, but it has still helped shape the person I am now. It has also made me realize that no matter who we are, or what our circumstances are, that we should always be willing to reach out to others. I know sometimes our kids friends' can be annoying, and even a bit disrespectful, but they should always feel like the door is open in our homes to them. We may be the only people that can offer them something they may not receive anywhere else. I don't remember the exact quote from President Hinkley, but he has said open your doors and your hearts and feed them until they are no longer hungry!!! I have always been blessed by my friends and their families because their homes were always opened to me.

To the Cameron's, the Ficklin's, and the Ault's, I say THANK YOU!!!

GUILTY PLEASURES

So can we all admit that we have them? We all have a little guilty pleasure here and there ... mine has become school! I love, love, love, school. Well love might be a little strong, but I really do enjoy it. It's my time out and I'm learning things that I really enjoy and even getting better at it which is great. I did Ky's second set of nails this past weekend and they look great! I'm not so big on all of the art stuff 'cause I really think it's kind of corny but that's just me. I've learned the acrylics, gels, toes, mani's, pedi's, and art. And then we even get a personal service day each month and yesterday I got eyelash extensions, and they are lots of fun. It's kind of become my new therapy, so that's why I haven't been so great at blogging lately. This is where my "guilt" comes in. Not for the blogging, just the part that I am away from my family and while I am away I enjoy what I am doing. I miss the kids like crazy, but I am almost half way through now. I am glad that it is only 300 hours, I'm not sure I could do much more than that. It breaks my heart in the morning when Ciara calls for dad now instead of mom. I can't hardly wait to hear "MOM" in the mornings again!

P.S. Kris, I am still working on pics ... maybe on Friday, just not sure which Friday that will be! LOL

A SHOUT OUT

To my awesome hubby!!! Valentine Day turns out to be a good day to reflect on love. And Randy did not disappoint yesterday! We are not much for going out and joining the crowds on this holiday so we stayed home and enjoyed a fabulous dinner with the kids! Randy brought me home some very thoughtful gifts yesterday and even a beautiful orchid. Now my goal is to keep it alive so if any of you have them and have some helpful hints to keeping them alive, I would greatly appreciate the sharing of knowledge!!! I typically don't keep live plants in my house because I can't keep them alive.

Since my hubby was so thoughtful, I thought I could share some information on this great man that I get to call mine forever & ever!

One of the first things I realized about him was that he was kind, and that sometimes his kindness has a weird sense of humor!

He is creative!

And sometimes has good ideas!

He is a great cook! Especially on the grill. Just ask Kylie where you can get the best steak .... she'll tell you "Dad makes the best steaks, even better than the Outback."

He can sleep anywhere!

He likes to keep everybody warm. Everybody knows when you are camping with Randy he is the fire tender, and at home he keeps the stove going and we are never cold!

He is funny!

Did I already mention that?

He is a worthy Priesthood Holder!

He is a hard worker and last but never least, he is an awesome hubby and daddy!

We sure love you babe! Thanks a million for all that you do!!!