FINALLY....

Yesterday was a BEAUTIFUL day...FINALLY! Here in Southern Alberta we have dealt with an unbelievable COLD LONG winter...and then a rainy miserable Spring. But I think the weather has mad a change for the better and it looks like it is here to stay...for awhile anyway. Yesterday I sat out on my patio, which I LOVE and put tanning oil on my legs and read a book while I listened to Carson and Hunter playing and while Grace was napping peacefully. It was heaven. I even have a sunburn to show for my relaxation...a burn I don't mind at all. It is proof that we actually had a sun shiny day. YIPEE!


I love Summer...it is my favorite season. I love the smell of lilac bushes in bloom, fresh cut grass and the air right after it has rained. I love hearing my kids play outside in the sprinkler. Their voices full of laughter and glee as they run through the cool water. I love seeing their messy, sticky faces as they attempt to eat a Popsicle. I love having backyard BBQ's with friends and family. I love packing out trailer and heading out to go camping. My kids LOVE camping too and ask EVERYDAY if we are going. I keep telling them not yet...but SOON! YAH!


I am excited for our family trip to "the Lake." Thanks mom and dad for giving us this gift for Christmas. I can't think of a better gift...one where we can all be together enjoying the lake and all the fun times. I am looking forward to going to Silverwood again. The kids LOVED it the 1st time, and that was 2 years ago. Now they are older and will LOVE it even more now. I am looking forward to out week at Surveyor's my favorite place to camp. There are so MANY fun things we have planned...now we only have to get through a few more weeks of school and then we can HIT THE ROAD!


A few days ago Tiffany & I took the kids to Indian Battle Park so the kids could play at the playground and ride their bikes on the path. It was another GREAT, BEAUTIFUL day. Here are a few pictures.

Today we are tackling the job of re-painting our deck floor. It has been chipping and peeling for 2 years now and looks TERRIBLE (IMO) so Tyler has a few days off and we are going to get the job done. I can't wait. We spend so much time out there it will be nice not to have to look at the nasty floor. LOL! So here is hoping for more sunshine and happy days to come this week!

A Few of My Crafty Projects...

I have been in crafty mode lately. Must be this crummy weather that has made me think of a few fun things to do inside. I got this idea from my sister. I love how it turned out! You put a vinyl tablecloth on the back that way sand, dirt ect. won't stick to your blanket. I can't wait to use this new blankie at the lake & camping.

I have also attempted to make a few dresses for Grace (not that she needed any. LOL!) But it was fun to put my sewing skills to the test. There is a GREAT website where I got the patterns from. They were very easy to follow and had great step by step instructions with photos.

Sorry the dresses looked wrinkled...they are. I should have taken the picture before she wore them. Oh well...you get the idea. This is called a Pillow Case dress...VERY easy to make!

This is the 2nd dress I made. It is a criss cross dress and it is SO darn cute...only I made it a little bit to small so it won't fit her very long. At first the middle was too big...so I attempted to cut it down a few inches...and that was too much. AGHHH...oh well this was a practice and I will know better for next time. This dress was very fun to make and didn't take long at all!

I didn't make this dress...but I LOVE it just the same. Got it in Provo for a great deal at Walmart! I love the spring colors. Can you believe that my baby is 10.5 months already? Where has the time gone?

Life has been hectic but good as usual. We are all happy to have Tyler home from his week in Edmonton. Carson missed him terribly and wasn't acting himself at home OR at school. He had a few chats with Miss Rita when he was misbehaving. KIDS! He continues to enjoy gymnastics though...but also got into trouble there last week. So yes we are all glad daddy is home. We are all anxiously awaiting Summer to come and visit southern Alberta! Do you think we will ever get some sunny days with NO rain? I sure hope so. The kids are so looking forward to camping and we have the campgrounds booked. YEAH!

My latest endeavour has been training for the Ladies Fest 8km race on June 13th. I know 8km really isn't any big feat but it is for someone who is NOT a runner. I have really started to enjoy it...well I think I like the feeling AFTER I have run...so that is motivation for me to keep going. I have lost 6lbs in the past 2.5 weeks so I can't complain about that either. There really is something to eating healthy and exercising...it just makes you FEEL BETTER!

Here is a fun website that I found. She has some great things on there...and right now she is doing a give away. Who doesn't like FREE stuff right?

Well I think that is all for now...I hope you have a WONDERFUL day!

A friend sent me this video...I had a good chuckle.

I have to admit that my mother's day was just like any other day...sadly. Tyler had to go to Edmonton for work and he left shortly after church. So I got to make the Sunday meal & clean it all up and watch him pack and leave me for a week (insert cry here.) He did however take Grace during Priesthood so I could enjoy Relief Society by myself so that was nice. He also gave me his annual HUGE Mother's Day card and had the kids sign it. That was cute. In the card he told me that I deserved a new dishwasher and to go put it on my credit card....YIPEE! Although I haven't really minded washing the dishes...so I might hold off until the $$ is saved before buying a new washer. Even though my day wasn't too special I still took some time to reflect on being a mom and how much I love it. I wouldn't trade being a stay at home mom for anything! Even though there are some hard...ROUGH days...there are SO many more good ones. I am happy that I am here when my kids get home from school, and that they know they can call me at anytime if there is a problem. I love being able to take my kids to all their activities like soccer, piano & gymnastics. I love seeing my little girl learn how to crawl and to say DA DA & MA MA. I wouldn't trade in those moments for any high paying job! While at Women's Conference I heard a quote that has stuck with me, "All of Eve's children were NOT perfect, but she found joy in MOTHERHOOD." Even though our kids make mistakes & frustrate us we still need to find the positive and enjoy being a MOTHER. I hope all of you will have a wonderful day not only on Mother's day...but everyday!

I just finished reading THIS book...and could NOT put it down. At times it was hard to read about the unbearable hardship and gruesome tragedy that struck Rwanda in the 1990's. Most of us probably didn't even know what was happening on the other side of the world at that time. A genocide was taking place while we were all busily going to High School and stressing over what clothes were "cool," and which boy was going to ask us to the dance. Those things now seem SO very trivial to me know. After mustering past the graphic nature of this book the message of hope, FAITH, and most of all the Lord's hand in EVERYTHING really made me stop and re-evaluate my life. We have no idea how horrible life really is for some people..and through it all some of them manage to have an optimistic view of life and really lean on their FAITH to get them through. This book just reiterated to me that Heavenly Father really does know each and everyone of us and that he REALLY hears prayers. He LOVES us and has a special purpose for each and everyone of us. I am so happy that I stumbled on to this book...it really has put things into perspective for me. No matter how LARGE or SMALL a problem I may be having my Heavenly Father will hear my pleas and answer my prayers. I really do encourage ALL to read this book...you won't be sorry you did!

I'm BACK...

It seems like it has been a VERY long time since I have blogged. Don't you just find that sometimes life gets SO busy and you neglect certain things? Well one of those things for me is definitely blogging. When life gets busy it is the farthest thing from my mind. So here I am catching up on a few things that have been happening. Carson is at my sisters (thanks Tiff!) and Grace is napping so what better time to catch up.

We had a VERY eventful trip down to Provo, Utah for Women's Conference. I spent the few days prior to leaving cleaning the house, folding ALL the laundry, making meals, and writing out the 4 page agenda for Tyler. LOL! So we headed out for the 12 hour drive on Wednesday morning at 7:30. When we got to the boarder the patrol officer said we might want to stick around for a while as there was a severe storm in the area. Us being stubborn (me) decided that we would just push on through and drive slow. I wasn't about to miss my trip that I had been planning for for so long and have everything arranged just because of a little snow. Well it turned out to be A LOT of snow...and VERY bad roads. So bad in fact they closed down the interstate at Shelby and weren't letting ANY traffic through. Bound and determined as we were we decided to wait out the storm for awhile at the Town Pump gas station. We met several friendly truckers who informed us that this was the worst storm in 20 years. Yes it was VERY VERY bad. I have never driven on roads so horrible. We did manage to meet up with another lady who was travelling by herself back home to Utah and she became our travelling companion. My mom kept saying over and over that "things happen for a reason." Maybe meeting Janeene and helping her get home safely was the reason our trip was delayed? After 7 hours of waiting...they finally opened up the interstate and we made it to Great Falls...luckily.

(Waiting in the truck stop playing cards.)

The roads were still very treacherous. We were happy to be somewhere we could at least shop! After some retail therapy and a good meal we settled into a nice hotel room for a much needed rest. The next morning we headed out again...a day later than planned and made it to Utah save and sound.

(Finally on BYU campus. This was our dorm...JAIL...LOL!)

Although we missed one day of the conference we were still happy to be surrounded by so many LDS women and we could feel the spirit of the conference immediately. Even though we didn't make it to all the classes we wanted to go to I know that the classes I did make it to impacted me and taught me things I needed to know.



(Concert at the Marriot Center on Thursday night...it was AWESOME!)

Here are some things that I learned:

Julie B. Beck said, "Every mother should produce a superior daughter."

Joseph F. Smith said "NO love in ALL the world can equal that of a true mother."

All of Eve's children were NOT perfect but she was glad to be a MOTHER!

Humor is mostly needed and the most neglected in families.

We shouted for joy to come to this earth and now we are so depressed with everyday things.

Life is seldom fair...Fair is where you go to see the pigs.

Wrinkles indicate where SMILES have been.

And the all time highlight of the conference for me was seeing this video of President Hinckley.


It was a great trip despite the little obstacles. Tyler did a wonderful job at taking care of the kids. I am so thankful that he was willing to take time off work so that I could go and get my spiritual bucket filled....it was near empty! There were just a few minor things that happened while Tyler was taking care of the kids. 1st day he made the Easy Mac in Tyson's thermos in the microwave = thermos "blowing up." I had made a meal plan for what to send Tyson to school everyday for lunch. Tyler texts me and says that he should have followed the meal plan but changed it and sent PB & J sandwich to school and Tyson's school is a nut FREE school. He didn't know that but he learned his lesson and said that from now on he will follow the meal plan to the T. LOL!

It was great to bond with my mom & sisters and Lori. We all got along SO well and laughed A LOT! (sorry mom) Now I am anxious to put what I learned into action and see what kind of results I get from my family.