Gets better every day!

Leavin' on a jet plane......

Well, I am lucky enough to be heading out to California today w/ a few of my good friends. I'm so excited to go. My friend Tiffany's mom gets a beach house there every summer....& has invited us to come stay for a few days. We are flying out today, and will be back on Saturday.

Curtis says it's good timing for me to be getting away, because I'm grumpy all the time about my house being in shambles from packing boxes, and getting ready to move. :)

You would think since I'm planning to be on the beach for the next few days, I would have been watching what I eat.....ummmm, I tried last week, but then this morning, I had a big brownie with vanilla ice cream, and caramel on top for breakfast! Washed down with a diet coke of course. :)

 (this wasn't mine, I googled it so you could get a pic)

Anyway, I will miss you all...I feel I'm back in the blogging zone, and want to update more often. Tiffy is bringing her laptop, so maybe I'll try to be as good as Debbie, and actually blog while on vacation.

I wanted to leave you with a really yummy recipe I made for dinner the other night. Debbie asked for some easy recipes, so I thought I would post it here so you would all get it. My family loved this....not one drop left.

It's a soup that they have at Olive Garden.

Zuppa Toscana:

1 lb. Italian Sausage ( i used Jimmy Dean)

1tsp. crushed red pepper

1/2 lb. bacon, cooked & crumbled (important to cook BEFORE you add to soup)

1 yellow onion chopped

2T. minced garlic

4c. chicken broth ( I actually used 6 cups, or 3 cans)

1/2c. heavy cream ( I used 1 cup...I like it creamier)

8-10 red potatoes, cubed (1/4 inch)

3-4 leaves of kale (didn't have it, so I didn't add it...and it was fine)

Preheat large skillet on med-hi. Add sausage & crushed red pepper; cook till no longer pink. Break up large chunks, drain fat & discard. Set aside.

In saucepan, cook bacon, onion, & garlic till onion is clear. Add broth to skillet, heat till bubbling. Add potatoes to skillet. Cook until tender, approx 15 min. (I put the lid on for part of that, to help steam the potatoes). Reduce heat to simmer. Add heavy cream. Return drained sausage to skillet; cook 5 min. Add kale 5 min. before serving.

Add some homemade bread sticks to the side, and you have a yummy dinner!! If you try this, let me know how you like it! Unless you don't like it....then don't tell me. :)

OOPS

101. I can't count :)

101 things

I really enjoyed reading these on other blogs...so I thought I would join in. 101, honest, random things about me.

1.I get extremely grumpy, and short tempered if I don't eat on time.
2.I think my husband is hot.
3.I hate it when you buy seedless grapes, and they have seeds.
4.I have constant stress knots in my neck and shoulders.
5.I really like sweets and Diet Coke for breakfast.
6.I wish I had it in me to scrapbook more.
7.I have a lot of anxiety about things going on in my life right now.
8.I think I have the best kids on the planet.
9.I need to wax my toes.
10.I miss my far away friends.
11.I don't like putting away laundry.
12.I am proud of my mom and her talents.
13.I want to be a fabulous photographer.
14.I want to be a pro at photoshop.
15.I don't try very hard to get to know my neighbors.
16.I wish I could lose this dang baby weight.
17.I eat Chik-fil-a WAY too much.
18.I need money for school clothes.
19.I'm sad Abbey is starting kindergarten. Just thinking about her not being
here during the day, makes me cry.
20.Curtis makes me laugh every day...I love that.
21.I'm moving.
22.I'm in denial about moving.
23.I really don't like moving.
24.I worry wayyyy too much, and wish I could stop.
25.I can't stand having people mad at me...it really affects me.
26.I am proud that I'm a decent wakeboarder.
27.I love going to the movies.
28.I get headaches a lot.
29.I'm pretty boring when I eat out..I order the same things
at the same places every time.
30.I don't like to eat hot fruit...it's gross.
31.I wore braces for 5 years...& I still don't feel like my teeth
are perfect.
32.I love it when Abbey climbs in bed with me in the morning,
I've had that time with each of my kids at this age.
33.I love kissing my kids on the nose.
34.I'm very scared of going to the dentist.
35.I get grossed out easily...are you shocked??
36.I'm worried whoever is reading these could care less about these
facts.
37.I love the smell of 409 cleaner.
38.I ate chalk with most of my pregnancies.Weird, I know.
39.I wish the decision to have, or not have another baby was
easy.
40.I often pray that my kids will be good friends when they
get older.
41.I am easily annoyed by people.
42.Curtis never annoys me.
43.I want to travel to several places I've never been.
44.I don't like it when kids say "hate". In any context. My kids
aren't allowed to say it.
45.I'm obsessed with the show So You Think You Can Dance.
46.Curtis and I tried to memorize one of the routines on that
show....it was laughable.
47.I'm horrible at keeping in touch with friends I don't live near.
48.I like to change my hair a lot.
49.I can't take clutter in my house. If I know there is an area
that is cluttered, or messy....I cant sit and relax.
50.My house is definitely not always mess and clutter free.
51.I have learned a lot about not being judgmental this past
year. It has made me a better person.
52.I feel panic if I don't have a bit of cash in my wallet at
all times.
53.I buy new purses a lot. I still keep the old ones though. Which
aren't very old because...I buy purses a lot.
54.I love taking pictures of kids.
55.We often go stay in a hotel, not far from here. Just to get
away. I love it.
56.I get grumpy when I'm hot.
57.I love to put my family in the car, and take a drive. It
calms me.
58.I would much rather text, than talk on the phone.
59.I love getting pedicures. (Judge away Deb)
60.I worry that I don't play with my kids enough.
61.I feel sad when I finish a good book. Like I wont be reading
about my friends anymore. :)
62.I have to put lotion on EVERY time my hands get wet.
63.I enjoy cooking/baking.
64.I like to sleep with the fan directed right at me.
65.I get annoyed by people who just stop by my house.
66.I never answer my home phone. Don't even look to see who's
calling. If someone important needs me, they can call my cell.
67.I could eat potatoes for every meal.
68.I like my skin.
69.I like to bother Curtis when he is just about to fall asleep.
Like a kid...I put my finger right near his nose or eyes..not
touching him, but he can sense I'm there. It drives him crazy,
but I get a lot of laughs out of it.
70.I feel sad for my brother and what he is going through.
71.I think my dad is the greatest man to walk this earth.
72.I am a peacemaker.
73.AM radio....cant stand it. Makes me ornery to listen to it.
74.I can't touch raw meat.
75.I LOVE getting things in the mail.
76.I always have good intentions, and ideas for birthday gifts
for friends...but rarely follow through with them. I wish I
was better at that.
77.I really don't enjoy painting in my house.
78.My entire new house needs to be painted.
79.I wish I had a flat stomach.
80.I love cucumbers.
81.I need to compliment people more...I think nice things about
them, but don't always voice them.
82.Curtis is very good at complimenting people.
83.I'm fairly shy. I don't like to perform in front of others.
It makes me very uncomfortable. Karaoke...not my thing.
84.My son Bayley is a special breed of boy. I hope I don't screw
that up.
85.I'm a good driver.
86.I eat all the toppings off my pizza before I eat the actual
slice.
87.I'm a much less picky eater in my old age.
88.I'm hungry.
89.I'm glad Abbey still likes to cuddle.
90.I used to never wear flip flops or open toed shoes, because
I'm self conscious of my toes. Now, I wear them anyway.
91.I can honestly say this past year was the hardest year of my life.
92.I'm not very photogenic.
93.When I see it's 11:11 on the clock, I make wishes until it's
11:12.
94.I feel like crying when other kids are mean to my kids.
95.I like buying lip gloss...I have way too many of them.
96.I like it when Abbey mispronounces things. I get mad when
people try to correct her.
97.I'm more bold than I used to be growing up.
98.I wish we could have a puppy for my kids sake. Allergies
and Asthma suck.
99.I wish I could play the piano. I have long fingers, and
think I would be good at it if I took lessons.
100.I like my hands...they look like my moms.

Are you snoring yet?? This was fun.

Powell Play..

 After a very eventful ride up to Powell...we made it. Curtis and I picked up the jet skis and headed up on Thursday night. While we were driving through Flagstaff at around 11pm, we were next to a truck in the lane beside us, and out of nowhere, there was a huge, full size elk in the center of the lane that the truck was in. They hit it at full speed. Luckily Curtis and I saw it a split second before they did....so we had some time to slow down. Curtis is such a good driver, he didn't slam on the breaks...that would have been ugly with the trailer we were pulling. The truck spun a few times, and barely missed us. They ended up in their lane facing the oncoming traffic. We quickly turned around to make sure they were ok. I was so scared of what we might walk up on. The elk was in the road....very dead. Curtis got out of the car...we were both in shock. I called 911. The truck had a couple in it, and a baby and dog. They all ended up being ok. They were a little beat up.....but fine. It was quite scary. We were very blessed to have escaped any harm.

We got there, and us girls headed to Walmart to shop.....and to our dismay...THEY WERE CLOSED!!! Every year until now, they have been open all night, and this year they had closed at midnight. I almost cried!! So, they didn't open until 6am. We needed to head to the dock by 7:30. YIKES!! So, we buzzed through walmart as fast as possible, barely getting done in time. No shenanigans to be had. :(

We had a great time. We are always sad to go home, but I must say....I am VERY grateful for my comfy bed, and nice clean bathroom!

I like to take pics of my feet hanging off the boat. :)

 

We all dressed up as pirates one night, and got in the boat. We hid until Curtis was right up on another houseboat, and then he would yell "these be private seas....we're takin yer campsite" then we would all jump out and yell "arrrrgh". Bay would wave the skeleton flag around. It was quite fun. Then we would throw them a bag of Pirates Booty (cheddar cheese popcorn). We had 13 kids in our ski boat dressed like pirates...and the jet skis followed.

One of my favorite things to do, is just take a ride in the ski boat and relax.

 

We bought a water trampoline this year...

Bayley rocked the wake board...getting better and better!

 

Curtis scared me a few times....he's crazy on the wake board. Made for some awesome pics though!!!

I mastered a 180 on the wake board this year....so cool! I've been trying for awhile. I did a few face plants in the water...but finally got it down. :)

I love Curtis' family so much. I always laugh till my stomach hurts when they are around! Such a fun bunch.

Goodbye till next year Lake Powell!!

Lake Powell baby!!

It's that time again...we are heading out today for Lake Powell. I'm so excited. I dont really love the getting ready for the trip....laundry, packing, searching for lake shoes & life jackets...making sure the boat is running properly. You know what I mean?

But....once we arrive...the fun begins (even though we dont get there till midnight every year). The minute we pull up, us girls take off and head to Walmart to spend some serious dough on groceries for the week. This is one of the funnest parts of the trip for me. :) We usually aren't done shopping until around 5am when the sun is coming up, and the guys meet us in the parking lot to load all 3 suv's with food!! Okay, so we do take time to try on every bathing suit...pair of jammies, and socks in the store too. LOL.

I'm excited to try out my new manual camera skillz too. We are also taking our family picks up there. So fun.

I've lost count of how many times my kids have asked me today "when is dad getting home?"

Here are a few highlights from last year.....catch ya later. (in one week) :)

Can't wait to make more memories!!! Lake Powell Forever! :)

Az photoshoot

Well, Debbie requested she get an Arizona sunset picture while she was here. I wanted to do a photo shoot with the three of us before the girls went home. So...Friday turned out to be the day for both.

I had a good time trying out my manual skillz with the sunset....only problem was we had to climb a very stickery, cactus filled mountain to get to the right spot. We had just finished our photo shoot, so of course I was in heels. :) Thank goodness I didn't break my ankle.

These are my favorites:

Curtis wasn't sure why I would want to take pictures of a sunset when I could take pictures of something like this:

 

Now for my faves from our photo shoot together:

I cant help myself, I always have to be a little bit inappropriate...it makes Debbie laugh. :)

Now some real faves: oh wait...here's Debbie and I fighting. :) She was getting mad at me for not setting the white balance on my camera right for the first 10 photos. LOL

Polly can't resist workin' it for the camera...

ok, we are friends again:

 

Laverne & Shirley walk...

 

Can you tell Debbie is NOT amused with us goofing around in the background?? :)

This one is for Kristi:

Thanks for taking all these fun photos Curtis!! It was such a blast to have you girls here. I miss you already! I wish it never had to end. Love you both!!

Post from the slacker...

Debbie suggested that title for me...apparently I don't update enough for her. :)

We've been having a good ol' time here..we went shopping yesterday, had a yummy lunch, got called "the sex in the city girls" by some guy in buckle. Not sure if that is a compliment or not...but it was funny. I got some really cute shoes!! :) Then Curtis came home and took us to a cool place to eat dinner...here's our pic before we left:

Debbie said we are both unusually tall, and are both wearing heels, so she had no choice but to stand on her tippie toes in this picture. :) (those are my new shoes!!)

So, after we got home, we entertained ourselves by trying to take self portraits in my kitchen on manual mode. Not an easy task with horrible lighting. Here's the outtakes though:

First...my cute shoes. From all angles of course, because you care right???

I had a hard time getting us all in the same picture with my lens...

 

Polly always has to be the center of attention....JUST KIDDING, she was just sitting in the middle. :) Love you polly!

I think this one is cool with Deb behind me...

Well...today I think we will head to the camera store, and maybe the scrapbook store. I'm trying to get Debbie to lay out and get a little sun while she's here in sunny AZ, but she wants to swim when the sun is DOWN. No sunburns that way. :)

They are on their way!!!

Debbie is on an airplane as I type....heading to my house!! I'm so excited! Polly is on her way here tomorrow. My kids have been shipped off to grandmas house for tree climbing, creek exploring, and country life. They are in heaven. I feel a little lost not having them here. I'm excited to have some uninterrupted girl time though. :)

I'll try to be good about posting while the girls are here....I wish you could all be here!!

Annette-heart....you will be greatly missed! Are you sure you can't come?? ;)

Tribute to Granny

Sorry I've been MIA. Curtis' grandma passed away on May 31. We drove up to Snowflake to be with family that evening...and ended up staying for about a week. Everyone from all over drove in for the funeral. It was great to see all the cousins...but so sad to realize that our granny had gone.

Things we all loved about Granny:

-She sang "You are my sunshine" to every child, grandchild, and great grandchild in the family....on MANY occasions. I believe she is now singing that same song to River, and all other great grandchildren who didn't make it to this earth.

-She worked in the temple for as long as she could...and drank Dr. Pepper like it was going out of style. :)

-She nicknamed Abbey "Chatty Cathy".....which is quite true...although granny was known to be pretty chatty herself.

-She loved the Phoenix Suns, and rarely missed watching a game.

-She felt like the queen of the world when curtis and I picked her and grandpa up and took them to a Suns game. We had VIP floor seats, and free food, and she got to ride in a Mercedes. She kept saying "this is the high life".

-She loved to come with grandpa to watch Bayley play football. 

-Her and Grandpa had the cutest relationship...and truly love eachother. They are great examples, and an inpiration to us all.

-When she came to see our house we bought...she said "I've never known anyone who lives in a mansion before. LOL

-She always read my blog. That made me feel loved.

-She couldn't believe what a mess all of us girls made when we scrapbooked!

This is granny and grandpa when we had a girl cousins retreat awhile back:

We love you grandma, you will be dearly missed. We are thankful for your example, and the love you have shown us all.

Custom Jewelry....now added!!

Okay, it has taken me forever to take pictures of my jewelry, edit them, and add them to my blog, but I have done it finally!!!! The pictures aren't the best....but I just really needed to get them done. I run into people daily, who ask me where they can view my jewelry to buy, and I dont have anywhere to send them...so maybe someday, I'll take better, more professional photos, but for now, these will have to do! :) I'm also working on adding these photos to my moms website, where you can actually add them to a shopping cart, and purchase them. I will add a link on my blog when I get them up there.

I've really been enjoying this new hobby. I love creating new designs, and stretching my imagination with bead combinations. I've gotten into the chunky, funky necklaces lately with bright plastic beads...and crystal too.

Here are a few of my recent faves....and you can click on the jewelry photo album to see more. I will be adding constantly, so keep checking back. I can create any color combo you want, for adult or child. Keep me in mind when you need a great gift!!! Just email me with any questions, or for prices. Thanks!!!