Before We Get Mom & Dad

I still have a few things to do before we go pick up mom & dad from the airport. Some of those things are:

~work on Friday

~go to bank

~drop T's soccer uniform off

~make salsa

~make cupcakes for party

~decorate for party

~finally have J's birthday party

~go to T's game

~clean studio

~watch conference

~go to T's game on Saturday in SLC with baby Joneaux!

~clean out shed

~finish cleaning upstairs

~clean car

~get bed for mom & dad

~get mom & dad's stuff out and ready for them

~watch conference

I can get it all done, right?

Found These Crazy Pictures On My Camera

I'm not sure what the boys were doing, but I found these crazy pictures on my camera.

Is that a what's up picture? An I'm cool picture?

I'm tired?

I'm weird?

I'm gonna beat you up?

??????

Love these crazy boys of mine!

I Love This Girl!

This girl is such a sweet heart! She is always thinking of others and is super dependable. Sometimes I feel bad because I know she'll always do what I ask, so she is often the one I turn to for help. The other night I was getting ready for bed and as I was moving my pillow I saw a folded note. It was from M. She wrote me a note saying sorry for something she had said to me a few days previously. I had forgotten all about it until I read the note. She told me that she had been worrying about it for a few days. What a sweet girl! I went in to her room to give her a big hug and tell her thank you. That is just one example of her kind heart. She worried enough to write me a note. I just love her and am so glad she is my daughter. She is growing up to be such a nice girl and I am so proud of the things she has accomplished so far. She is a beautiful dancer, a great helper, gets excellent grades, and is a joy to be around!

Stupid Knees

My knees have really been bothering me lately. Really, really bothering me. I'd given it about 3 1/2 weeks and they still hurt. Then last Sunday they started to get pretty bad, and now I'm limping around. They hurt all the time; standing, sitting, walking, it doesn't matter they hurt. I debated on whether to go to the dr. or not. Finally on Friday I went. He told me I have strained MCL's on both knees and something else on the front of my knee (can't remember what he said), and they are both very inflammed. So, no exercise for two weeks, 800mg of ibuprofren 3 times a day for 2 weeks, ice, and this knee brace. If that doesn't work then I might have to have cortisone injections. I really hope it doesn't get to that point. I don't like needles, which is why I never had an epidural. So, let's cross our fingers that this works. This is no fun:(

Muffins from Sister's Cafe'

Grandma's Blueberry Lemon Muffins

2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

zest of one lemon

1 egg

1 cup milk

1/2 cup shortening (or butter*)

1 cup frozen blueberries

Topping (this makes extra - you can try cutting it down if you want):

1/2 cup butter, melted

1 Tb lemon juice

1/2 cup sugar

Mix dry ingredients and set aside. Beat egg, milk and shortening. Stir in blueberries. Add dry ingredients and lemon zest. Stir gently to combine. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Combine butter and lemon juice. While the muffins are still warm, dip the tops in the butter and lemon juice, then dip in sugar. Makes 12 muffins.

I made these yummy muffins from my new favorite website a few weeks ago. T LOVED them and has requested them several times, so I've made them. They all get eaten right away. Super delicious!

Yesterday

Here was my day:

6:45 - Wake up and get T up. Start getting ready.
7:00 - Wake everyone else up and read scriptures.
7:15 - Cook breakfast.
7:30 - Finsih getting ready.
8:10 - Walk to work.
12:15 - Walk home from work.
12:30 - Eat Lunch.
12:45 - Clean studio.
2:45 - Kids get home.
3:15 - Drive girls to dance and pick up Lucus to babysit.
3:45 - T's cross country meet. He beat his time by almost a minute!
4:15 - Drop S off for his game.
4:30 - Teach jazz class.
5:15 - Go to S's soccer game.
6:15 - Drop Lucus off.
6:30 - Tap class.
7:30 - Jazz class.
8:45 - Cook dinner (a little late, I know)
9:00 - Finish homework with kiddos.
9:45 - Kids are in bed and fell asleep right away.
10:00 - Clean kitchen.
11:00 - Shower.
11:20 - Talk with DH
12:00 - Finally going to bed, getting ready to do it again!

Whew!

Great Friends!

I'm so grateful that my kids have such great friends! This is M's BFF Morgan. They are so cute together. They get along great and are always having fun! We were over at their house one day and the girls wanted to make a treat. They made Rice Krispy Treat Balls. Then, they took "orders" to find out what kind of chocolate we wanted our treats dipped in. Our choices were milk chocolate, dark chocolate, or white chocolate. My choice was half milk and half white. They were delish! Good friends, good times, good food, what else could you ask for?

She's At It Again

We were playing games the other night with some friends and J kept saying she was bored. I was trying to think of things for her to do. She colored, made a list for her party, and still wasn't satisfied. So then I suggested that she go cook something. She jumped at the chance. She went straight to the kitchen and got right to work. Like I've said many times, she LOVES to cook! She was so excited to come bring us our treat, and we were so excited to eat it!

Kids Dentist Stats

Going to the dentist is always a lovely thing (said with great sarcasm).

The kids had cleanings yesterday. Here our stats:

T: 1 cavity

M: 2 cavities

S: NO cavities, but needs sealants

J: NO cavities, but had an abscess because her adult tooth is ready to come in, but the baby tooth was not ready to come out, so it formed a nice little abcess. So, she had a tooth pulled. Poor J she really has bad luck when it comes to her teeth.

I've made an appt. to bring the other 3 back for their work. What fun (again said with great sarcasm).

Algebra Woes

Oh how we love Algebra. T had his first Algebra breakdown the other day, and another one tonight. I remember those days. I feel bad because he is so frustrated. He can do it if he's patient, he's a pretty smart guy. He's just like his dad in that he wants to know why. Why does a negative plus a positive equal a negative? Why does there have to be 4x? In 2(9x-3), why does the -3 mean a negative number and not a subtraction problem? I don't care why. I just learned the rules and did it. So, I'm trying to help him and I'm trying to be patient because I remember just what it was like. I guess I better brush up on my math skills because I fear we have many more breakdowns and algebra troubles to go. Such joy!

Sister's Cafe'

I have a new favorite website!

Sister's Cafe' is wonderful! They have SO many yummy recipes. I've made a lot of their recipes and have loved every single one of them. My family has loved them too. I've spent many an hour browsing for new recipes on there. If you are a lover of cooking, then you need to check it out!

DELISH!!

Say, "AHHHH"

So, my tooth has been bothering me for a little bit. It's been pretty sensitive to cold and heat. I just kind of let it go for a while. But, lately it's been getting worse. It got to the point that I couldn't eat anything hard, hot, or cold. Finally I broke down and made an appointment because I knew something was wrong. I was a little freaked out because I haven't had any work done for a long time and was having major anxiety. Luckily my dentist was nice enough to prescribe me some medicine to calm my nerves. (I wonder, why I was so nervous to have dental work done, when I had 4 children without any epidurals?) But, I was nervous. However that was all in vain. I hardly felt anything. The dentist did a great job and now I can eat and not be in pain!!

Got It!

Finally figured out the kink in my blog, and now I can do backgrounds again!!!

HELP!!!

HELP!!

I was messing around with my blog the other day and now I can't get it back to what I want.

I need my original layout back and for some reason I can't download any cute backgrounds. What did I do? Any help is very welcomed!!

Sunday Picnic

We headed up the canyon after church today for a picnic. It was nice to get out and enjoy some fresh air. It was a little windier than we would've liked, but we had many laughs and good eats!

I'm Going There Some Day

Today was a very special day, we took T to the temple for his first time. He's been wanting to go and we were finally able to make it work. He was so excited and so were we. It was very special for me to see him walk in to the temple prepared to do the Lord's work. I hope and pray that he will always have the desire to attend the temple and that he will do it regularly. I know that he will be blessed because of his obedience. There is no better place to be than the temple. He had a wonderful experience and is already wanting to go back! We'll have to make that happen soon!

Our friends came with us. This was a first for their son too. I thought it was really neat for the two boys to experience this together for the first time. They loved it!

All Things Zucchini

I have SO much zucchini. I've found some yummy recipes so that we could use all that zucchini!

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cake, so delish!

Stuffed Zucchini

Surprisingly everyone LOVED this. It really was good.

Zucchini, Squash, and Bowtie Pasta Soup

Not pictured:

Zucchini Casserole

Saute'd Zucchini

Zucchini and Red Onion Flatbread

Going to be trying:

Zucchini Soup

Fried Zucchini Strips

Zucchini Bars

and much more!

My 2 Summer Babes

I had these 2 little cuties for a lot of the summer. It was a blast! I just love 'em!