Friendship Fortress

Tiana and her friend Regan have been working really hard on making a fort area in the wooded area of our yard. They decided that today would be clean up day and they raked and changed things around. They spent hours working and playing. This is the sign that they made and it says, "Friendship Fortress!"

The girls showing off their hard work

Every fort needs pets!! These are there pets - a moth and a caterpillar!

Tiana and her new pet! This is a pet I can handle!

Girls Camp and Beach

Larisa was so excited to go to Girl's camp this week! I was excited for her to have the adventure, but sad to have her be away from home for so long!! Tiana started crying the night before she left. Tiana and I were able to drive the girls down to camp and I took some wonderful pictures, but I didn't have my memory card in!! Arghh!! I guess they will have to be brain pictures. Larisa was smiling and happy and then it was time to say good-bye! Tiana broke down in tears, but Larisa was still smiling, she just felt bad for Tia! Since we were already a good portion of the way Tiana and I decided to go out to the beach.I have been craving the beach for a week or so now! It was a beautiful day and we had a great time building a sandcastle! I love to look out and see water for as far as I can see - I love the sound of the water- I love the sand in my toes- I love playing in the water and I love being with my daughter! We had so much fun together and we were able to laugh most of the way home!! I love living in such beautiful state and I love being a mom!!

Magnet Board

My Sister Lori gave me the idea to make these magnet boards. I bought a board awhile back, but never made it. The other day I was at Hobby Lobby and I found this metal sign board...

I know - you're missing election time! Well, it was on clearance for $1.40!!! So I snatched up several and took them home! The girls had a fun time making them. All you do is modge podge scrapbook paper on! The color is off for some reason in the pictures - they really are cuter in real life!

Too much Fun!!!
Oh, I forgot, the magnets were made with left over scrapbook paper and the clear stones that are flat on one side!

I CAN do windows!!!!

I know this may seem silly, but I hate doing windows/mirrors because no matter how hard I try I can't get them clean!! What is my deal???? I know it may sound dumb, but it has always made me feel like a bad housekeeper!!! Well, the other day I was helping clean a house while the family was moving. I had already cleaned the bathroom mirrors when another lady came in to help me. She had her own cleaning business at one point in her life and she started cleaning the mirrors I had already cleaned! I must have looked so pathetic as I hung my head low and said, "I already cleaned those mirrors. I am just really bad at it!" She was very kind and just looked and me and said, "It's not you, it the product!" Is there maybe hope for me yet? She uses a strong paper towel that doesn't leave lot's of fibers. Her favorite is Brawny. Then she said that I needed to use Windex , it's the only thing she has found that works well! (I always use the cheapest I can find) So I went down and cleaned the french doors and Tada!!!! They looked beautiful! I was soooo excited that I stopped at the store on my way home to get paper towels and Windex. Now, please don't tell me I am the only one to do things like this, but when I got home, I purchased everything I needed, BUT the Windex! Arghh! So I remembered an enrichment night years ago and found a similar recipe for making my own window cleaner and thought I would give it a try! Guess what? I LOVE it!!!! No streaks!! My windows shine! Birds are flying into my windows! I feel almost like a normal person!! So I thought I would post the recipe. You can see it on my spray bottle and that is for a small mix or you can follow this for a gallon:
2 cups rubbing alcohol
1/2 cup ammonia
1 tsp dish detergent
Then fill the rest of the gallon with water!
I don't love working with ammonia, but I love having clean windows! So I would suggest wearing a mask. It is watered down enough that you really don't smell it much when you clean.

Scout Camp

Yet, once again, Chris went off to Scout camp!!! He was gone for a week and we really missed him! He had a good time and it was a great camp! This was the first time I remember there being a family night at camp. I was excited to go up and see the camp! Larisa had already commited to babysit and couldn't come up, but Tiana and I had a great time.

Chris' friend Ryan is from a neighboring troop and they were able to share a site together. Everything is better when shared with a friend!

Tiana really enjoyed her dad showing her around camp!

I am glad to have him back !

Sister Day!

The other day we were going to go out to the lake, but the girls thought it would be fun to stay home and swim instead! We had a blast! I love watching the girls play together! They were making up different jumps off the board with several tubes on! Tiana would finish her jump and then say, "that was totally awesome!!!" They were VERY loud and I am sure the neighbors didn't enjoy it as much as I did!! They played cute together, a happy mommy moment!

Blueberries!!!!

One of my favorite things about living here are the wonderful blueberries!!!! They are so delicious and they are really pretty affordable! I am working on freezing a lot so we can have them to enjoy all year! The girls love to grab handfuls and just gobble them down! They are wonderful on cereal!

Activity Day Swim Party!

The Activity Day girls had a swim party at our house. This was an activity that Tiana really wanted to have, so thank you Kasey for making it possible. They are such great girl and are a lot of fun! I enjoyed being able to visit with Kasey and just playing! Thanks girls!

Emma and Kasey

Talia

Larisa

Liberty and Tiana

Sarah

A Play Day for Me!

On Monday my friend Sonja and her children came over to swim. We have been trying to get together to swim since I've moved here! We had a great time!! Larisa was an extremely helpful teenager and she helped out with the little ones and even made lunch for everyone! It was so fun to visit and relax! She asked me if I would pictures of her little 3 month old. I had a lot of fun and it did get me thinking about starting up photography again. I did it on the side before I moved, but have debated whether to be involved with it out here. I'm still thinking! The little ones had a great time playing with legos and they put on some skits for us! It was a fun day!

Here are some of the pictures that I took.

Chicago & Temple Trip

We were able to go up after work on Friday Night to Chicago. It was our stake temple day and the youth were also doing baptisms. I pricelined a hotel room(only $50) and I have to tell you that I loved the hotel - -why?---Look at the bedding- down mattress pad, blankets and pillows!! I could hardly wait to sleep in all of the fluff!!! The hotel was about 15 minutes away from the temple, but I loved the area. We dropped off our luggage and went quickly to the mall before it closed!! It was an amazing mall! I actually though I might run into Oprah there!! There were all kinds a fancy stores and I think that some of the stores are from her Favorite things list!! Chris was content because we were going to the Lego store! I wish we could have shopped longer - lots of fun things to look at! We stopped on our way at the coolest grocery store! The fruits and vegetables were really cheap and they had tons of unique food various countries! It was a lot of fun!!

In the morning we met up with our friends the Wesels and they watched the girls while Chris and I went to the temple and then we watched their children while they went to the temple. Chris and I loved being in the temple together!! It was wonderful!! I love the temple and I love Chris - what could be better!!!

While our friends were in the Temple we took the children to lunch and to the LDS bookstore. It was a lot of fun. While I was there I bought each of the children a packet of Scripture hero cards. They were on clearance for $.79 and I thought it might be worth a try to see if it could occupy them for a little while! This is a picture of the Wesels!
Then it was time for the youth baptisms. It was a great experience for them! Since Chris is serving in the YM's it was a great experience for them to got to the temple together!
The youth and their leaders!

While they were in the temple I watched the children. They came up with their own game that occupied them for quite awhile. They laid out the cards and would give clues to which card they were thinking about. If they could guess it they could move this stone up one brick closer to ...
The Promised Land card! It was fun to watch them!
Kevin thinking hard!
Tiana asking questions!
Liberty
We had a wonderful day! We really do like Chicago and hope to be able to come and stay for a longer time next time and do some sightseeing!

Cleaning Your Room???

Tiana was supposed to be in her room cleaning!! If you know the way it works at our house - she is always trying to clean her room! She came out of her room all dressed up and had a pretend mic that is hanging by her hair for some reason in all of the pictures! She wanted me to take her picture and off went the photo shoot!! She is hilarious, but her room still isn't clean - do I just give up?

Being Cool!!

Being Cool & Sweet!

My little performer!!