When it Rains......

IT POURS!!!!!!!!!!

We had an EPIC rain storm. One that had three generations in awe. Brett's family has lived in this area for many years and they have never seen a rain storm like this. 

If you don't know, I am a HUGE fan of rain storms. Especially SUMMER RAIN STORMS. One day in September, I was sitting on the porch with my boys. We were watching the rain fall from the sky, listening to the thunder and enjoying every bit of the weather that day. 

Then all the sudden, the water went over the sidewalk and started to come closer to our house. I got really worried and panic started............ It never went past my flower bed that is shown in the picture above. It was quite interesting. The river usually goes under the road and through our back yard. There was so much water that it jumped across the road went around my house and joined the river in the back of our house. We literally had a water motte around our house.  

It was sure one of the most fascinating rain storm I have ever seen. 

ONE TOUGH COOKIE

Last December, My Mother In Law announced to us all that she was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. 

Last month She finished her cancer treatments and is now Cancer FREE!!!!!!!

The past year has been full of prayers, hope, fear, and relief and paying attention to the things that matter most.

The Girl is ONE TOUGH COOKIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She fought HARD

Served as the YW Camp Director

Brett's family has gotten together every Sunday for dinner for the past nine years. 

She made sure we continued this tradition through it all.

She didn't let Cancer stop her one second. 

We celebrated her last treatment a few weeks ago. 

Brett's family is a Joking family. Mine is totally not at all

So... I've learned a lot by being married into this family.

Brett's sister Joda asked me to make a Boob cake for my MIL Raylene. 

Because of the "Jokingness" of his family it had to make it.

They are big fans of 60's music so I had to make a yellow polka dot bikini cake

She LOVED IT

A week later was her Birthday. So we surprised her with a surprise Birthday Party and invited all of her friends. We made lots of yummy treats, caught up with old friends and had a Mentalist come for entertainment - WOW he was amazing. 

 October is Breast Caner Awareness Month. So we surprised her and all dressed up in pink one Sunday. Coincidence... She was wearing pink too :)

I'm so grateful that she was able to beat Cancer and that My Kids will have her around for many more years to come

My Latest Cakes

I've said it before... as a little girl, 

I wanted to grow up to become a Cake Decorator

Here are a few more cake's I've recently done. 

This cake was for one of the Girls that I worked with in the Young Women program. I was so excited to do her cake. It turned out to be my NIGHTMARE cake. But in the end.... It turned out beautiful.

This cake was for another Girl I worked with in YW's. 

After my NIGHTMARE cake, I was almost ready to give up making cakes. 

But, I gave it one more try and this cake turned out perfect. 

It went smoothly and I didn't have anything go wrong with this cake. 

It got me all excited about cakes again.

This is my Favorite cake yet

 

Trip to the Cabin

We took another trip up to the Cabin. Had a really great time. Spent lost of time playing in the stream, water fights, and got lots of playing around in the dirt.

Its great having such a beautiful place to go

 and get out of all the craziness of life. 

Never a better time than NOW .... RIGHT???

Here I am again. Lets just say we've been having TOO MUCH FUN for the last five months. Here is my Summary:

Ethan Graduated from Preschool. He LOVED everything about Preschool. He had lots of friends, loved his Teachers, and loved learning so much. His Teachers were AMAZING. They payed attention to every detail, made sure Ethan was doing well and my favorite part was, they made Ethan feel important to the class. 

This year was a Cat in the Hat Theme. It was so much fun because Ethan loves to read Green Eggs and Ham. They had a crazy sock day.... So I made him some cat in the hat socks.

I also got to make some cakes for the Graduation Party.

I'm So proud of Ethan, all the things he has learned and the boy he is turning out to be.

Birth Mothers Day

There is a special day every year that falls on the day before Mothers Day. 

It is Birth Mothers Day. 

It is a day of thankfulness here in our home. We are SO very thankful for the amazing Birth Mothers of our Children. I often get emotional on this day, thinking of each one and forever grateful for them. 

Families Supporting Adoption always hosts a Birth Mother Walk on this day every year. It is always a fun time and great to see other Families blessed by adoption. They have the walk, races, activities for kids,

 My favorite is the Balloon release.

I always find myself getting emotional, thinking of all the families blessed by adoption. Especially thinking that two of those balloons represent our very own Birth Mothers. Then I think of our next Birth Mom and release one for her. 

Signed Sealed Delivered

A couple of weeks ago Brett and I took a trip down to St. George. Brett's Cousin adopted this cute little one

and she is forever part of this family.

Signed, Sealed, Delivered by Stevie Wonder makes me think of Adoption.

 We really enjoyed the weekend away. 

THIRTY

Yep... This girl just turned 30. 

Just about a month ago.

I've always been one to be excited for my Birthday. Especially since I've been married. I've said this before, but Brett always finds the most perfect way to make me feel like a P.Y.T (Pretty Young Thing)

So, I found myself a little surprised that I found myself a little nervous about this Birthday. 

It's just another number... right??!???? 

It just seems so OLD

While examining my hair, I found a few strands of white hair all in the same area.  

Yep, I'm going to be one of those grandmas with skunk hair. 

About a year ago, I made a goal to be Thirty, Flirty and Thriving by my 30th birthday. 

So... I joined a workout class that has Pumped, Zumba and Ripped. 

Zumba has been a lot of fun. 

I've FINALLY started to pick up the moves, but still feel like this:

Pumped and Ripped have totally kicked my Butt. 

I leave those classes dripping with sweat and sore for days. 

I started eating better and joined myfitnesspal. 

One year later.... I finally feel like I AM 

Thirty, Flirty and Thriving

I'm not as skinny as I hoped though. I've lost a couple handfuls of lbs. 

It's almost like it's taken a whole year for my body to figure 

out what I've been trying to do these past months. 

I had my cholesterol check one year ago, it was high. 

I had it tested again last month and it was PERFECT!! 

:) :) :)

I think I've gained some confidence from my classes. 

Songs like: Girl On Fire and Sexy And I Know It 

can really make you feel like you can do anything.

My new favorite song to cool down with is 

Glitter In The Air - Pink 

I got a bunch of money for my Birthday so... 

I had my hair done and my friend Melissa and I went on a shopping spree. 

An entire new wardrobe, new shoes, and accessories. 

We had so much fun! 

Although, I dropped a box of shoes on her face 

and gave her a black eye. 

Oops!

This Girl's got a new skip in her step and looking forward to another 30 + years. 

Busy as a busy Bee

Yes, We have been very busy lately. Even busy with our new Bees. Last weekend we headed out to Delta to pick up a 3 lb box of bees. 

Yes, I even had every fear of driving down the road in our Durango being stung by a million bees. 

So... I made Brett put the box of bees in another box that was sealed up tight 

We made it home safe and sound. 

Thank Goodness!!!!

We're excited about our new bees and are looking forward to harvesting the honey in the fall. 

Until then, we are enjoying our beautiful Flowers. 

Without bee's we wouldn't have these beauties. 

While we were there, we stopped at the Sand Dunes for a picnic and had a great time.  

The boys enjoyed digging holes, burying treasure, making Sand Angels and running around. We took our Kite and got it all tangled up in the Tumble Weeds. 

Strep Throat is a BEAST

I don't get sick very often (must be some kind of Mom Power) But when I do, it comes FLAMING. 

Thursday, I had the worst sore throat that I have ever had. I thought it was just a virus, so I decided to be tough and wait it out. Went to Zumba. Bad idea. I didn't have enough energy and the teacher kind of made fun of my sissyness. I spent the next day with cold/hot flashes. By Friday night, I was wrapped in the warmest five blankest we have in our home. I decided to go to the Dr. Saturday morning. They swabbed my throat, and the strep test was positive.

I've learned a few things during this sickness:

I really hate being sick

I don't have the time to be sick

My house doesn't clean itself

My Husband is the best caregiver and makes the warmest snuggle buddy

I found a new favorite movie - Morning Glory

Nothing tastes better than my Mom's homemade chicken noodle soup

last but not least...

I have NO CLUE how Single Mothers do it.

Hello Again!

Holy crackamoly!!! It's been SO long since I've posted here on my blog. If you want the short story, here it is: After a long time without the internet, trip to St. George, our home gaining 1200 square feet, getting our Adoption papers turned in and being APPROVED for our next adoption, I'm finally here again. 

If you want the long story, Keep reading: ;)

In january we decided to get rid of our cable tv and signed up with Hulu. It was great! We watched all 3 seasons of Downton Abby and really was thinking it was a great idea. THEN. Our internet connection went crazy. It was almost like it was too much for the server to handle. So we ordered new software, modem etc and what seemed like forever, we got our internet back. It's much faster and I love it. 

Brett had a conference down in St. George. So, we decided to leave the Boys with my Mom (yep, She's Awesome) and enjoy a weekend away together. It was so relaxing and much needed. The drive down was perfect. No one saying, are we there yet, how much longer, etc, etc, etc... ;) It was so nice to just talk with each other and just laugh. During Brett's classes, I headed to the Temple and had a wonderful time. I have never been inside the St. George temple before and it was beautiful. We met up with some of Brett's Cousins for dinner and laughed and laughed and laughed. This was the first time since we got Ethan that just the two of us have gone away together. We slept in, Stayed up late, went shopping and just enjoyed our time together. 

Valentines Day 

Valentines Day was so much fun. It was so much fun helping Ethan get his Valentines ready for all his friends at Preschool and having him come home with so many valentines from his friends. He was elated with each one. 

I made heart shaped pink pancakes with strawberries and cream. YUMMY!!!! Ethan is crazy about pancakes and has no problems eating them all gone. Which is a miracle most days. He's not much of an eater. 

Brett surprised me with my first Singing Valentine.  In high school, I was always crazy jealous of those girls that got singing valentines in class. I opened the door and standing there were four teenagers. They sang This Thing Called Love and gave me flowers and chocolates. Brett sure knows how to make his Valentine feel special.

A few of my High School friends have started getting together for a Girls Night Out. We had our first one a few weeks ago. We went to dinner, caught up with everyone, went to The Sweet Tooth Fairy for some sweet deliciousness and headed to our house to make a valentines craft. 

1200 Additional Square Feet

Before we were parents we use to rent our basement. We had two sets of family/friends who rented for a few months. Last September, we had a family member ask us if we would consider renting our basement to him and his soon to be wife. We weren't using our basement at all, so we decided to rent the basement to them. They got married in November and they moved in. They just got a better job in Price and moved out last week. Since them we have totally moved in and are using every square inch. We've moved ALL the toys downstairs (Heaven!!!!) moved the computer downstairs and made an office for Brett and I. We are loving the extra space. We spend most of our time downstairs now and the upstairs is clean all the time. It's a homemakers DREAM!

Trip to the ZOO

We took the Boys the the Zoo on Presidents day. 

We loaded up the wagon, Grandma and Grandpa and headed to the zoo. It is always a fun experience to see the boys get excited to see the animals. Our favorites were watching the seals swim in the water, the polar bear play in the snow and watching the Baby Giraffe  dance around in his pen. 

And the biggest thing that has taken most of my time lately is....

WE GOT OUR PAPERS IN AND WERE APPROVED FOR ANOTHER ADOPTION

Here's our online profile

We are so excited!!!

So please share our link on your facebook page and help us spread the word. 

LET IT SNOW!!! :)

This has been the BEST winter snow experience of ALL TIME. At least for me. And I've had a lot of really GREAT winter experience. Come on, I love in UTAH of all places. Greatest Snow On Earth. We have had 17 inches of snow fall in the last two days. It's a total Winter Wonderland. INSPIRING! I think the reason that I have loved this storm is the fact that I don't have to go ANYWHERE. I'm a Stay At Home Mom and loving it. Loving it because I can stay home and not go anywhere if I want. In the past driving in the snow was my biggest fear. Now, I love when it snows. I love how quiet it gets and how bright the nights are when it snows. 

It defiantly helps that we have the right equipment and lots of helpers in the neighborhood. Brett's family lives across the street. So, we have Grandpa on his four wheeler, cousin Ashley on his big tractor  and Brett on his four wheeler. Between the three of them, they have created the best snow mound. Perfect for snow forts. 

Ethan had a blast on the tractor with Ashley.

 (Brett's family has a few old fashioned names for their men. Cousin Ashley and Grandpa Clair)

He even almost fell asleep.  He finally came in the house because he was too cold. 

We have been having a BLAST making snow forts and playing in the snow. 

 

As I have thought back on ALL the winters that i have had here in Utah. There is one that I always wonder about. I remember walking outside to go to church when I was LITTLE and the snow being taller than me. It was like walking through a maze to get to the car.