The Halloween Tree

I have been trying to do fun, creative projects with the kids on Mondays before our FHE. I saw all these cute projects on Better Homes & Garden and I decided to copy a few.

We went for the Halloween tree today.

I just took a bunch of branches, cut off everything besides the main branches and spray painted them black. I bought a cute pot, put in Plaster of Paris, and stuck in the branches.We went to the Dollar Tree and bought some Christmas ornaments that had Halloween colors and some Halloween decorations that we could hang up and viola! We had a Halloween tree. The kids love it, I love it, (and I think Spencer thinks we are crazy.) and it was a blast to do with the kids. They said how much fun that they had and they were so happy that we made it. I just had to take some pictures and show off our hard work.

Awesome Quote

I have had a rough day.

Sometimes they just happen. I found this on a friends Facebook page and thought it was so perfect for me. Now I can move on, get over myself and enjoy the ride.

Hope you all enjoy it too...

-Gordon B. Hinckley commented:

I have enjoyed these words of Jenkins Lloyd Jones, which I clipped from the newspaper some years ago. Said he:....

"Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he's been robbed. The fact is that most putts don't drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to be just people. Most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, and most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old time rail journey, filled with delays, sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders, and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas, and thrilling bursts of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride."

A Hundred Things About Me

1. I am neither a Republican or a Democrat, but I pay very close attention to the election and I do vote.
2. My very favorite movie of all time is Pride & Prejudice (the 5 hour A&E version only. I have tried to love the Kiera Knightly version, but I just can't!) It makes for a perfect movie to sew to.
3. I have completed 4 triathlons and will do another in November.
4. I love to read. I read all the time. There is nothing more fun to me than staying up all night reading a good book.
5. My favorite book is Pride & Prejudice (I know, I keep repeating myself), but I love all Jane Austen books.
6. I have read all of the Twilight books at least 2 times. I love to do that with books. I read so quickly the first time because I just have to find out what happens next, that I love to go back and enjoy it and savor it a little better. To give an example of how fast I read, I got Breaking Dawn at like 12:30, started reading about 2. I fell asleep from 4-7, woke up and finished the book at 2 pm, even with children interrupting me. So 7 hours.
7. I am obsessed with Colin Firth. It all goes back to my Pride & Prejudice love. I actually freaked Sienna out when she was 5 because I was watching the movie and said I wanted to marry him. She started bawling and said "what about Daddy?" That was fun, trying to explain that I didn't really want to marry him. I just loved how he acts in the movie.
8. One of my favorite TV shows is The Biggest Loser. I cry almost every episode. It is so motivational and inspiring, seeing these people work so hard to change their lives.
9. I love so many different kinds of music, but my faves are Coldplay (I get to go to their concert in November. Yay!), Sarah McLachlan, Muse, and Matchbox Twenty/Rob Thomas.
10. I love to do hair. Even when I sometimes work long hours and get tired, I so enjoy doing it and seeing the results.
11. I have Endometriosis and Poly-cystic Ovarian Syndrome, which make it very difficult to have babies, so I thank Heavenly Father for blessing me with them every day of my life.
12. I have had 3 miscarriages, so 6 pregnancies in all.
13. I got married in A Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas when I was 18. It was the dumbest and yet best thing I have ever done.
14. I love to cook and bake, but I absolutely hate to clean up after, so I rarely do it.
15. I love to scrapbook, but I rarely have the time (or I guess I don't make it a priority). I'll make up for lost time when I go to a scrapbooking weekend in January.
16. My birthday is February 19th, 1980
17. My birth father passed away when I was 17 months old. It has been a huge regret that I don't know him, but my Dad who raised me is amazing and I am so thankful to have had him as my dad.
18. I love to watch BYU football games almost as much as my hubby.
19. I have had a testimony of the church as long as I can remember. I never had a burning bosom or anything. It was always just there and has been a huge strength and blessing throughout my life.
20. I love to garden. There is something so relaxing and soothing about getting your hands in dirt and connecting with nature.
21. I hate, hate, hate all peppers, but especially green bell peppers. I also despise mustard. I refuse to eat anything that has them in them. I also don't really like mushrooms, olives, fresh tomatoes (but I love them cooked, how weird is that?), or mayonnaise (unless mixed up really well in things like tuna, chicken and potato salads.).
22. In High School I read my scriptures daily for 3 years, without missing a day. Too bad I have slacked since I became a mother, but I have been improving lately. That's what matters, right?
23. I can cry during movie previews or TV commercials, or even kids shows. I don't know why. I don't get that emotional about things in my personal life. But crying at the end of Camp Rock? What the heck?
24. I love to do crafty things like sew, paint, draw, refinish furniture, but I never stick to one thing for very long. I'm always moving on to something new and fun to try.
25. I have made a real quilt (mostly, it still needs to be bound) with actual quilting patterns, not just the squares together.
26. I have been known to read Spencer's school books for fun (like Microbiology). It's all so fascinating to me.
27. I plan to go back to school one day and become a Respiratory Therapist.
28. I go a little nuts if the walls of my home are white.
29. I am very handy. In our last home I basically finished the basement. I helped frame the walls, put in insulation, ran duct work, hung sheet rock, ran electrical with my Dad's help, taped and textured the walls, hung lights, put in baseboards and door casing and laid tile. It was exhausting, but very fulfilling.
30. I love to sing.
31. I have tried to learn to play the piano multiple times, but it just doesn't work. I am also very slow at typing. I think there is something wrong with my brain's communication to the hands.
32. I sort-of played the bass clarinet in High School, but I bet Spencer could play it better than I could, now.
33. I love to exercise, but I have especially grown to love biking.
34. I am a total night owl. I try and try to be a morning person, but I just can't get to bed very early, which then makes it harder to get up in the morning. It's a vicious cycle.
35. My nickname is Erbear (which is better than the alternative of Eringorn (as in Aragorn from Lord of the Rings,) as Spencer used to call me. It's so ugly.)
36. I used to be very extroverted, but I am now very content most of the time to be home and just hang out here.
37. I hate, hate, hate sharks but I am fascinated by them. I can watch shark specials and know what type of shark they are talking about very quickly. Did you know Bull Sharks are the most likely to attack people? And that they can swim in fresh water and have been found in the Mississippi River? Way worse than Great Whites!
38. I used to have nightmares as a kid of spiders crawling all over me. I never wanted to sleep.
39. I love to snorkel, but will never scuba dive because of my fear of sharks.
40. I love to swim. I feel so comfortable and natural in water (in a pool, not the ocean).
41. I have always wanted red hair, the coppery kind, but it looks terrible against my skin. So I guess I've settled for blond.
42. I used to pretend as a child that Karen Carpenter was my mom but had to give me up for adoption, because I thought my voice was amazing and my own mom's wasn't good enough to have come from hers. How sad! She really does have a nice voice.
43. I have broken my nose twice, a finger and a couple of toes.
44. I pretty much get strep throat twice a year and have my entire life. It sucks. I know right away what it is and sometimes the doctors will tell me I probably just have a bad virus until they get the positive test result. Duh! I wouldn't come in if I wasn't sure.
45. I like the idea of dogs, but not the reality. When our little Nala dies, our kids know there are no more pets!
46. I am addicted to flossing my teeth. They just feel so clean. I love it!
47. I dislike most barbecue sauces except for KC Masterpiece.
48. Cookies are my favorite food, especially home made ones, like my hubby is baking right now.
49. I am obsessed with fiber. I only buy cereals that have a ton of fiber, especially soluble fiber. We only have whole wheat bread and right now we have double fiber, which has 6 grams per slice. Hey, I figure it helps counteract the negative effects of my cookie addiction.
50. I make a mean cheesecake.
51. My TV show obsessions are The Office, Lost, Heroes, Biggest Loser and American Idol. I do try to not watch so much TV.
52. I am loving Jodi Picoult's books lately, with her ethical and moral dilemmas. What is right and what is wrong? It plays with my head and makes me think.
53. I could eat cereal any time of day. Breakfast is always so yummy.
54. I adore high heel shoes. I have to wear them even while doing hair, or I can't reach the top of clients' heads.
55. My favorite season is Fall. I almost get giddy, thinking about the weather and the leaves and the smells and the anticipation of the holidays coming up.
56. I am almost always cold. I sleep with socks on sometimes even in the summer, just to keep my feet warm.
57. I lost my real wedding ring over 2 1/2 years ago, so I buy a bunch of very real looking fake ones. I have tiny fingers (size 4 1/2) and they tend to spin, so I take them off all the time. I will never buy another real one because I am positive I would lose it so I would never waste the money.
58. I love learning how to be more responsible with money and love Suze Orman. She motivates me to be even better.
59. If I have a choice between buying cute clothes for me or my children, I will buy the clothes for them. Kids look cute in everything.
60. I have 20 pairs of shoes. You can never have enough, right?
61. I have had my hair almost every color it can be.
62. The shortest my hair has ever been was 3 inches long everywhere. It was so ugly. I don't think I could cut it shorter than my shoulders ever again.
63. I lived in Sacramento, California until I was 12, when we moved to Utah.
64. If I had the chance, I would move out of Utah in a heartbeat. I just feel antsy sometimes, thinking about living here forever. I need the adventure!
65. I think potty humor is hilarious. I know, pretty immature.
66. I love to take super hot baths.
67. I can't stand to write with a pencil that isn't super sharp.
68. I love collecting Box Tops to give to Sienna's school. I even tried to take some from my Grandpa's house when we were in California.
69. I can't stand when food on my plate touches each other.
70. Some of my favorite movies are 13 going on 30, The Notebook, Legally Blonde, and Notting Hill.
71. I hate Tom Cruise, because I have personally had post-partum depression and it sucks. It wasn't because I didn't take enough vitamins.
72. Some of my favorite books are anything by Jane Austen, Harry Potter books, Twilight series, The Book of Mormon, and the Da Vinci code and Angels and Demons. I also loved the Kite Runner and My Sister's Keeper.
73. I love going on cruises., The food, the sun, the relaxation. Ahhhhhhhhh.
74. I love Disneyland. It truly is the happiest place on earth.
75. I suck at french braiding, even though I am a hair dresser.
76. I love to buy the energy saver light bulbs and find other ways to conserve energy. I recently bought the reusable bags to use when grocery shopping. I had been thinking about it for a while, but I read about a friend who used them and I saw them for a good price so I succumbed.
77. I would love to learn to speak Spanish.
78. I read gossip magazines and use the excuse of buying them for my clients. Why do I care about them?
79. Some of my favorite actors are Christian Bale (so h-o-t, HOT!!!), Colin Firth, Denzel Washington, Hugh Grant, Drew Barrymore, Reese Witherspoon, and Adam Sandler.
80. I love to use a Scentsy warmer and make my house smell yummy.
81. My calling in our ward is to sing to the 3 Nurseries for 15 minutes each. They are so cute. I really actually love it.
82. My favorite flower is a tulip. I love, love, love it when I get to watch for them coming up in the spring. I go outside everyday to see how much farther they have come up from the ground.
83. I have wavy hair and I actually really like it now. I air dry it and mix in some anti-frizz product and gel and call it good. It's so easy and (I think) pretty cute.
84. I met one of my best friends while running in a 5K race.
85. I sucked my thumb until I was like 10 or something. I hid it really well from my parents. It scares me that Madelyn sucks her thumb, but it's a tough habit to break.
86. I am addicted to dairy foods, but slightly lactose intolerant. The Lactaid is pretty pricey, so it makes me cut back on the dairy. So sad.
87. I have to have bottled water when I travel. I get really, really sick if I drink culinary water in new places, as we have found out a few times going to Disneyland.
88. I tried to adopt a baby and had her for 5 months before her birth mother took her back. One of the worst times in my life.
89. I love my clients as friends. I don't think they honestly know how much they mean to me.
90. I talk to my kids about drugs already and have for a few years now. I would rather have them prepared and know about it from me than anyone else.
91. I am an angry driver sometimes. I don't know why, but I go through phases where people really make me mad.
92. I have never gotten a ticket or been in an accident.
93. I am a back seat driver big time with Spencer. I try not to be, but it happens.
94. I have had my belly button pierced, twice. (I know, so naughty!)
95. I have had white socks for my entire life until my birthday this year when my friends got me a bunch of cute and fun ones.
96. I refuse to wear pantyhose.
97. I guzzle water like nothing else. I love it!
98. I love to find good deals at D.I. I bought Aidan a backpack, me a pair of Diesel shoes (orange and so cute), Sienna a shirt, and Spencer a pair of biking cleats recently.
99. I eat M&M's or Reeces's Pieces all weird. I have to separate the colors and put an even number in my mouth at a time.
100. It takes me a long time to come up with a bunch of random info on myself.

A few thoughts...

I am completely obsessed with the NieNie blog.

I read it for hours on end; I read her sister C-Jane's blog about their recovery. I am not sure why I am so taken with this woman, her family and her story, except that maybe she reminds me of the woman I glimpse I can be sometimes. Do you know what I mean?

Sometimes, very rarely, I am doing something I feel is important as a woman, as a mother and I feel like I get this little glimpse into my very soul of this amazing person I can become. Like she is there, deep-down and buried, but if I work hard enough and long enough I can find her and on these rare moments I can see her. Crazy? I feel like Stephanie is a reminder in a lot of ways to bethe kind of person I would like to be someday. She is an example to me to try harder, she reminds me to be kinder, to have more fun with my children, and to have more fun and to rejoice in the Gospel.

If any of you have time, read her blog. They are re-posting things she has written while she is hospitalized, but if you look on May 10th, 2008 she wrote a post about the Conference Talk about Mothers Who Know, which also inspired me. I am so grateful to have found her and been able to read her story. It has touched me in so many ways and I am feeling so much closer to the Gospel lately, thanks to her reminders and those rare little glimpses of the better me. I forget how much JOY the Gospel brings into my life. What an amazing gift I feel, finding this beautiful blog. Read NieNie and enjoy.

Sienna and Madelyn Stats

Sienna and Mad just came back from the Dr., so I wanted to post their stats really quick.

Sienna is 51 3/4 in. tall and is in the 30th percentile in height.
Her weight is 55 lbs. and 20th percentile.
Her BMI is in the 5th percentile, which he said is fine as long as she is on the charts. They really only worry when they are on the other end of things.

Mad weighs 19 lbs. 15 oz and is in the 30th percentile.
She is 28 1/2 in. long, also 30th percentile.
And her head is 18 in. and 60th percentile (I guess she needs more room for her growing brain, right?)

"THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH"

We went to Disneyland last week and I have to post some fun pictures from our happy time.

I think we love Disneyland so much because for me, it reminds me of going as a child with my very favorite Grandparents and all those happy memories, and for Spencer, well he's making up for being deprived as a child and not getting to go until he was 17.

There comes a time in your children's lives that it suddenly hits you that they are getting to the age where they will remember the things you are doing and you realize it is up to you as a parent to create happy, bonding memories for them to remember. Sienna was 5 at that time for me and so we went to Disneyland together as a family for the 1st time.


I think it is so amazing to go and have fun and create these memories for our children of having fun and being loved while we are all together as a family. That's what life is all about, right, our family? So anyway, here a lot of fun pictures of us having a blast in the "Happiest place on Earth."

Sienna and my special Grandpa Hanson

At Newport Beach


Madelyn isn't sure what she thinks about people singing happy birthday to her
Sleeping in the car (the kids were angels on the drive!)

Aidan's 1st day of Pre-school

Aidan has been so excited to get to go to school and have a backpack of his own. It leaves me with a little alone time with Baby, so we enjoy it all around. It has also been very fun to see what he is already accomplishing.

Happy Birthday Madelyn!

We have loved every single day for the last year. Every time I look at you I know that God has a purpose for all of us, and if we trust Him, have faith, and follow the promptings of the Spirit, things will be okay. I know this because I have you and what could be more perfect than that?

Madelyn's 1st Birthday Party!

Since we will be gone right after Madelyn's birthday, we celebrated her party a little early. We had the families over and got her into her cake. She was so funny. She was very excited; she kept clapping her hands and squealing, but wasn't sure she wanted to touch the cake. When she did, the texture bugged her. Eventually, she ate a few bites, but was very modest about it. A little lady all the way. (Don't judge me on her cake. Things didn't work out so well and then the frosting all fell down the sides. It's about how it tastes that matters, right?)

I love my beautiful baby girl and am so grateful that we have been blessed to have her in our lives. It took a while to have her join our family and we thought sometimes that we would never have another baby. I would go through all the wait and heartache again a million times to just be able to have Madelyn's beautiful, sweet, loving spirit in our family. We love you Baby Bear! Thanks for being our little angel! Happy Birthday.

Mish-Mash of Life

This post is a little random, but there have been a few things going on that are random that I wanted to post on.

Spencer's brother Jeremy went into the MTC on the 27th. We are so happy and excited for him and the experiences that he will have during this amazing time. We were very grateful to have been able to be there with him during this wonderful time in his life.

Our family went to the Timpanogos Temple to help the kids feel the Spirit and get them familiar with it what we need to do, and not do, to be able to enter the Temple. The kids seemed to enjoy it and were excited to see the Temple where Spencer and I were sealed.

Any time our friends and family come over we round them up and play Rock Band. It is so fun to feel like you are jamming with your loved ones. I love to sing and drum the most. Spencer is the expert guitarist and drummer. Sienna is really good at singing and the guitar and is improving constantly on the drums and will soon become a pro. I had to post this since we do it all the time.