What do you do when....

.....you have a budding domestic goddess for a daughter but you don't have a single crafty bone in your body? I don't have the foggiest idea. I do know that I learned the hard way not to allow them to check out books at the library full of wonderful craft ideas that they want to get crackin' at right away and then you have to admit that you don't have a clue how to help them. Poor Princess. :) I leafed through the book searching for anything that I could help her do. I settled on sewing a doll. Honey Bunch wanted in on the action and Dude did too, only he wanted to sew a Ninja, not a doll. So off we headed to Wal-Mart for fabric and stuffing. Princess was a natural and is already begging to sew another one. Dude was excited for a finished project but was frustrated with the time it took. He decided huge stitches would take less time, so his doll, I mean Ninja, ended up looking pretty realistic. Not intended, but fun nonetheless. Honey Bunch did a good job sewing but grew bored pretty quickly so I "helped" her quite a bit. Here's what they looked like before faces/clothes. (Dude's is the farthest on the left, notice the arm sticking up in the "hi yaw" pose.)
Princess really wanted to sew faces on but our Wal-Mart doesn't carry embroidery thread at the moment, so she reluctantly agreed to draw on a face with markers.
Dude hasn't drawn a face on yet, and he wants to make a Ninja outfit out of some extra black fabric we have so I'll post a finished picture of his later. He did make this castle with a battle between a ninja and a knight today, though.
And here's a picture of Megaman who napped all through our doll making but wanted a picture taken anyway.

New Do

Princess has been begging for months for a haircut with bangs. I have mentioned before on here that I am emotionally attached to her hair for some reason. I wasn't exactly thrilled about the idea. But, after much consideration and begging I relented. She is so thrilled she can't hardly stand it. She grinned from ear to ear the entire time it was being cut. What a doll.

Kid Comedy - Honey Bunch Edition

To understand this story I have to give some background information. When we were in Boise my brother, Mr. Rhythm was impressing my children with his "magic skills." One of his "tricks" was one that made it look like he was pulling his thumb off and then he would re-attach it. I wish I had video of Princess trying to pull the trick off. So hilarious. Anyways.........the other day Honey Bunch decided she wanted to try to roller skate. I was holding her up as she attempted to skate. She kept trying to use my index fingers for support. Here is our conversation:
Me: Please don't hold my fingers, your going to pull them right off.
HB: That would be AWESOME!!!
Me: No it wouldn't, it would really hurt.
HB: Mr. Rhythm can do it...........

Times, they are a changin'

My head is swirling with conflicting emotions. Yesterday I was released after serving for three years as the Primary President in our ward. There is relief and a great amount of sadness. I never felt comfortable with the title or the responsibility. There were dozens of women who I felt were more qualified. But now that it's over I am so sad. I have grown to love the 80 or so kids as if they were my own. I felt so lost yesterday. During Sunday School I kept hoping for a wiggle song. :) I am very grateful for the opportunity to serve and even more grateful for the growth I experienced. I would have never imagined that I was capable of serving during so many personal circumstances (i.e. a difficult internship year, pregnancy and having a newborn, a husband who is gone a lot, etc) but by serving in this capacity I learned that I don't give myself enough credit. I am capable of more than I realize. I can't express how thankful I am to my Heavenly Father for allowing me to learn and grow and serve. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the same church as the one that Christ established on the earth. It is restored and on the earth today, run by inspired prophets and leaders with Jesus Christ at the helm. We have a loving Heavenly Father who knows each one of us personally and gives us opportunities to grow. I will miss serving in Primary but look forward to what the next chapter brings.

Recognition - the first step

I have a problem. Recognizing it is the first step in my journey to recovery. I have been a Dr. Pepper addict on and off for the last 20 years give or take. I have had some huge successes in the past including quitting cold turkey and remaining clean for 3 years. However, today was a new low. I had a Dr. Pepper with lunch. It was exactly the way I love it in a glass full of crushed ice. It was nearly full when I accidentally bumped it. The glass shattered all over the counter and the floor. Was my first thought a worry that my kids would cut themselves? Was it sadness that I would have to clean up and throw away the glass? Did I worry about my beautiful cabinets that were now splattered? No. My first thought? I won't ever be able to drink that perfect glass of Dr. Pepper.

Ice Skating

I've decided to blog about our Boise trip slowly, so here's the first post. We went to Ice World with my sister-in-law and niece. It was the first time that any of my kids had been ice skating even though Princess has been begging to go since she could talk. Her and Dude were naturals. Dude even kept skating to the middle trying to do tricks. Honey Bunch loved it as long as she hadn't recently fallen and Megaman pretty much disliked the whole experience. He even yelled out at one point, "I CAN'T SKATE!" Poor Doctor was skating while trying to hold Megaman and biffed it pretty bad. His jaw and wrist still hurt. He saved the kiddo though, which was quite the feat. Except for a few spills, it was a great time.

Independence Day

We had a quiet 4th this year. We usually get together with a large group, but this year we were too tired after our Idaho trip. It was still fun, though, and full of fireworks most definitely illegal in Idaho.

Kid Comedy

Dude - He was explaining some features of his Nintendo DS to me and said, "I wish it had wee fee on it." When he asked him what it was, he told me that "wee fee" is the internet. (Instead of Wi-Fi)

Princess - When we were in Boise we went to the zoo. The giraffes were mating when we got to their display. Princess very loud yelled, "Look! They're forming a conga line!"
Princess has been very apprehensive when it came to taking off her training wheels so when she suggested it the other day we took them off right away. She fell down during her first attempt and became very distraught. She decided to take a break in the house. She came back out a few minutes later and tried again. Within 5 minutes she was a pro. When I went in the garage, I found a note she wrote to herself. It said, "I know I can!!!"


Honey Bunch - We were cuddling and she said, "Will you always be my mommy?" I replied that I was lucky enough to be her mom forever. She said, "Can you still be my mommy when I'm a Veterinarian?"

Megaman - Doctor came home for lunch t0day. I had to help the girls with something and when I came back, Doctor had gone to the restroom. I asked Megaman where Dad went and he said, "He went to Wal-Mart or the Dollar Store."

New furniture!

So I'm exhausted after writing the Cancun travel log, so it might take awhile before I get to the Boise one. Look for it in the near future. Here's a sneak peek of how we felt when we got home.
In the mean time I had to post about our new furniture. It came while we were gone. Thank you Thank you Thank you Liz for being here when it arrived!!! Our room is no longer empty, hooray!

Awwwwww, Cancun!

Doctor and I went to Cancun to celebrate our 10th anniversary. We were able to escape on our own, thanks mom! The weather was gorgeous all week. We flew out of Boise on a Monday morning and were at our hotel by 3:30pm. There was a chocolate cake in our room that said happy anniversary. After the first of many DELICIOUS meals we headed to town to do some shopping. We got back to late to swim, bummer.
Tuesday morning we went to a different resort to hear their membership presentation. Our lady was pretty odd. Long story short, we still aren't members and we walked away with 2 free jungle tours and money for the spa. After the presentation we went shopping again and Doctor bought me a beautiful new necklace. We were also on a hunt to find a certain type of vanilla for Doctor's mom. We found it in a local drugstore tucked in a corner. After shopping we went to a Japanese hibachi restaurant for dinner. Always fun. By the time we got back to our hotel, it was too late to swim again! I know we still hadn't made it to the beach! We did get back in time for Karaoke, though. I wish I had pictures of my husband the Karaoke king! He was so fun to watch.
Wednesday we lounged at the beach and ate delicious food all day. We also got back massages. What a nice day. :)

Thursday we went to the Talum archeology site. It was crazy hot, but beautiful. After the tour we went to a different resort for swimming and snorkeling. Later that night we went to a fire show. At first I thought it was pretty impressive, then I realized the people were super stupid to be playing with fire like that. :)
Friday we got up early to go zip-line. The plan was for both of us to do it, but I chickened out last minute. Doctor thought it was fun and even did part of it upside down. After zip-line, we went on our jungle tour. When we got there, they asked us if we would drive separate boats so that another family would be able to go. So, we each drove a boat with a kid from the other family. It was a super windy day so it was a pretty scary boat ride. It was fun though, and I can now say that I drove a speed boat. We drove out into the ocean and went snorkeling at the reef. So beautiful.
Saturday was another beach lounging shopping day. That night we went to casino night and rocked the Texas Hold-em table. We even won a bottle of Tequila. :)
Sunday we went to church. It was fast & testimony meeting and it was probably one of the most spiritual experiences of my life. I'm so glad we were there. We went back to the hotel and had a couples massage and a pedicure and manicure. You can never be over pampered.
Monday we lounged at the pool until around noon then headed to the airport. What a wonderful week! I definitely missed the kids, though and was super excited to get back to them. Maybe next time we'll bring them along. Here's some pictures from our balcony.