THAT'S HOT!

You may wonder what I do while I sit waiting for my boys to get done with their baseball practices...

Well, I read, or play games on my phone while sipping on a delicious salted caramel hot chocolate from QT.  YUM!

 

Annual Relief Society Progressive Dinner

Tonight was our ward's annual Progressive Dinner.  I opened our home to serve the main course.  There were a lot of yummy soups and I think there was a pretty good turn-out. 

 

Family Christmas Photos

Uuuuggggg....

So, in the process of trying to get some photo files off of the Internet, I unintentionally deleted every photo on my blog.

 

Who knew that deleting a Google+ file would remove my photos from Blogger?????????

 

Obviously I didn't.

 

So now I have to go through and manually re-enter all of the photos from my posts.  I am really thankful that I have books printed of my blog through 2011.  I think I will just re-insert all of the 2012 photos and start fresh from there.  You know, because I have tons and tons of extra time to be able to do that...

 

Uuuggggg.

Post Election Funk...

I'm exhausted.

I haven't slept for the past few nights due to major anxiety surrounding the Presidential Election.

Last night, after watching the results, I tossed and turned all night.  I am in serious need of a nap right now.  I'm so very, very tired.

AND I'm in such a funk.

I attribute the funk to the fact that I was completely invested in this election.

I have been reading everything I could set my eyes on for the past 6 months.

I have talked to everyone I know about the issues I felt the strongest about.

I "tweeted" and "facebooked" oodles and oodles of information I found.

There wasn't any more I could have done.

But I still feel completely let down, and quite frankly, a bit in shock.

As Kevin and I were talking this morning, we both agreed that it's not necessarily the fact that Obama won a second term that upsets us most, (although it does upset us!) but the steep decline in moral and ethical attitudes of the American people.

Washington, Maryland, and Maine legalized same-sex marriage.  As of November 2012, six states— Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont—as well as the District of Columbia and two Native American tribes, have legalized same-sex marriage. In the November 2012 general election, voters approved ballot measures in Maine, Maryland and Washington to permit same-sex marriage in those states, but same-sex marriage will not be official until state election officials have certified the results.

Maryland and Rhode Island recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions.

Colorado and Washington legalized the recreational use of marijuana.  Really?  Recreational use of marijuana??  I am curious if Obamacare (i.e. ME being taxed within an inch of my life) will pay for drug rehab for all the pot heads this will create?

 

Massachusetts actually voted on whether doctor assisted suicide should be legal.  Did you know it's already legal in Montana, Oregon, and Washington? 

 

Even though the Catholic church claims it is against abortion, over 50% of Catholics voted for Obama, and by voting for Obama they basically voted for Obamacare which includes funding abortions. 

 

On another note, New York has banned the sale of SODA over 16 oz. in their restaurants, street carts, and MOVIE THEATERS.  Excuse me? 

 

Did you know that in 2008, President Obama assigned a "Technology Czar" whose main function was to make sure that regulations were put in place to LIMIT THE VOLUME OF YOUR PERSONAL STEREOS, CAR SPEAKERS, IPODS, ETC????

Excuse me again??

(for a complete list you can find it here)

 

Did you know that President Obama has used his "Executive Order" 130 times during his first 4 years in office?  President George W. Bush used his 140 times in 8 years.

Factcheck.org says this:

Obama has been sidestepping Congress through his “We Can’t Wait” initiative, a series of executive actions that he claims benefit the middle class through infrastructure projects and economic policy changes.

He also skirted Senate approval in January when he appointed nominees to the National Labor Relations Board and to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The appointments were unprecedented because he made them when the Senate was technically not in recess, prompting legal challenges from conservative groups.

In June, the president halted deportations of illegal immigrants who entered the United States when they were children and met certain requirements, such as the lack of a criminal record. The change mirrored provisions of the DREAM Act — failed legislation that Obama supported and Senate Republicans blocked in 2010.

And in July, Obama changed welfare policy to allow states to modify work requirements if they test new approaches to increasing employment. Obama did not submit the policy change to Congress for review, which the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office concluded he should have done.

 

I have many friends (who happen to be teachers) who voted for Obama because they claimed that Romney didn't care about class sizes and would cut education budgets down to the quick. 

From factcheck.org:

Obama also claimed that Romney “cut education spending when you came into office.” That’s true, though it’s worth pointing out that the state faced a budget gap and the Democratic Legislature proposed cuts, too. Our colleagues at Politifact documented a similar Obama claim on this point.

 Romney actually proposed a modest increase in state (Massachusetts) K-12 spending categories and larger cuts elsewhere. The $248.7 million in education-specific cuts reflected primarily the work of the Democratic Legislature in a time of serious financial crisis that predated the governor.

He did not want to cut education spending...just wasteful education spending.

 

It concerns me, beyond measure, that the unemployment in our country is hovering around 9%...although depending on where you look, some numbers are as high as 19%.  Any way you look at it, however, it is too high.

 

I can't understand why people can't grasp the fact that if we don't MAKE anything in this country, we can't CREATE jobs.  Everything in our country revolves around the ECONOMY.  If the economy is healthy, then everything else follows. 

 

President Obama claims that manufacturing jobs have doubled since he took office.  That is not true.

Obama correctly states that manufacturing jobs have increased by more than half a million since hitting bottom, but he fails to mention that the number regained is less than half the total lost since he took office.  (factcheck.org)

The auto industry and failed bail out is also a travesty.  There are substantiated rumors that Chrysler/Jeep and looking to move their production to China.  C.H.I.N.A. 

 

Obama claimed that he was "going to war" on coal energy and oil.  He is more interested in developing "clean energy" than to use the resources we have HERE IN OUR COUNTRY.   Pennsylvania's main job provider is coal mining...

explain to me, then, why they would vote, overwhelmingly, for Obama?

 

 

  Here's what I have finally come to:

I did what I could.  I exercised my right to vote.  I love to be able to cast my ballot.  What an amazing freedom.

And through these past few days my testimony of my loving Heavenly Father has been strengthened.  My resolve to "prepare every needful thing" has been strengthened.  I know that when I live as I should, when I obey the commandments, and when I put all of my trust and faith in God I will be okay.  My family will be okay.  And God knows exactly what He's doing.
I love this quote:
"It isn’t as bad as you sometimes think it is. It all works out. Don’t worry. I say that to myself every morning. It will all work out. If you do your best, it will all work out. Put your trust in God, and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. The Lord will not forsake us. He will not forsake us. … If we will put our trust in Him, if we will pray to Him, if we will live worthy of His blessings, He will hear our prayers." - Gordon B. Hinckley

Garden Take 2

Gonna give it one more try...

I guess time will tell!

I Remember

Homemade Chinese Food

I'll admit, I'm not a huge fan of Chinese food...but, my family loves it so I thought I'd dust off the wok and give it a try!

Recipe:

1 bag of Chinese rice noodles

4 or 5 boneless/skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces

3 or 4 carrots, cut on the diagonal

1 head of broccoli, cut into bite sized pieces

1/2 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

4 eggs

2 cloves garlic, finely minced

Sauce:

Mix together

1/8 tsp Chinese Five Spice

1/4 tsp Rice Wine Vinegar

1/2 cup Yoshida sauce

1/2 cup soy sauce (light or low sodium is ok)

1 cup water

Directions:

Put rice noodles in a large bowl and cover with warm water.  Let sit 30-40 minutes. 

Add 1 tbsp oil to very hot wok, then stir fry the garlic and chicken until chicken is almost done.  Remove from wok and set aside. Add a but more oil and scramble the eggs in the hot wok.  Remove when done.

Adding a bit more oil if needed, let wok get hot and add the carrots, broccoli, peas, and mushrooms, and stir fry until slightly tender. 

Drain noodles--they should be softened. 

Add the noodles to the wok, along with the chicken and egg, and add sauce, stiring until everything is coated in the sauce.  Cook until veggies are done to your liking, and the chicken is completely cooked through.

Enjoy!

Labor Day Weekend 2012

On Thursday morning, Sara and I went to Utah on our annual Swiss Days trip!  We spent Thursday in Salt Lake City at the City Creek mall and enjoyed lunch at Kneaders. 

Friday was spent in Midway enjoying the Swiss Days festivities!  We had lunch with Bonnie, Rebecca, and Michelle, and when we finished in Midway, we headed down to SLC to visit with Murline and go to dinner with her.  We went to Layla where the company and the food were fabulous!

On Saturday we went to Dear Lizzie and then to have lunch at  Blue Lemon.  We shared fettuccine alfredo and a pannini...yummy!!   After lunch we headed back up to Salt Lake to go to a few boutiques and then it was time to head back to Phoenix.  It was such a fun trip and I'm already looking forward to next year!

 

 

Sunday morning, Tanner and I were up extra early to drive to Flagstaff to meet Kevin and the rest of the boys.  Ty's club team had their first tournament of the season this weekend and I was really excited to see Ty play!

They did so well, and Ty did exceptionally well with many RBI's, including a 3 run, 320 foot home run in one of his games!!  Awesome!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

WHEW!

Today is August 20th.

The TWENTIETH.

I am amazed at the speed these past two weeks have flown by.

I am going to have to play CATCH UP again. 

Where to begin...

Well, the first day of school (the 8th) went off without a hitch.  The boys had a good day and I had a good day because HAIR day is ALWAYS a good day!!

Scott, Katherine, and Chase came on the 4th...I forgot to mention that-or maybe I didn't-I don't remember.  I tended Chase from 1 p.m. on.  Scott and Kat were attending a conference in Phoenix.

On Thursday I nearly lost my mind.  Unfortunately, that's not a difficult task these days.  The day started out earlier than usual because my 3 extra kids came at 6:45.  The Herrera kids will be spending some time with us during this school year...should be fun!  I also had Chase today while his parents went to their conference.  On Thursday night, our book club threw a beautiful bridal shower for Hayley Jorgensen.  Everything turned out so nice, but I had a bit of stress getting ready for it.  I was in charge of an appetizer, as well as the ice cream for the ice cream bar we were serving.  I spent 45 minutes scooping ice cream into cupcake wrappers only to realize that they would never transfer to the shower in 115* heat without turning into a puddle of cream.  DUH!!  I ended up stopping at the store on the way to the shower to buy another gallon of ice cream. I don't know why I always have to do things the hard way.

Payton doesn't have school on Friday, and I was watching Chase all day while Scott and Katherine went to their conference, so after I dropped all of the boys off at school I took the little ones to run a couple of errands.  It has been a long time since I've had a 3 year old and a nearly 2 year old.  I had forgotten how much work it takes to get them in and out of their car seats, into a stroller, and into the store, only to reverse the process once you're finished.  It was 114* at 9 a.m. and I was a sweaty mess by the time I finished my errands.  We went back to the air conditioned house and chilled out for the rest of the day.  We were all pretty tired from the hectic week, so once we got Chase down to bed we all headed to bed!

The weekend was busy.  We had Chase again on Saturday.  He's a hoot!  We love that little guy!

We ran errands, did the grocery shopping, and got ready for Sunday.  Ty had try-outs for the Predators USA club team Saturday night, so he did that.  Tanner had a party at one of his friends homes, and Scott took Kevin, Tanner, Tate, and Chase to the Diamondbacks game.  I had a lovely, quiet evening at home all by myself.  That doesn't happen very often!!

Church, as usual, on Sunday, then we were back to our "normal" school routine on Monday morning.

Scott, Katherine, and Chase left Monday evening.  After Kevin took them to the airport, we went to dinner as a family to Chili's. 

Ty had more try-outs on Tuesday, and Treyson and Tate both had practice for their club teams on Tuesday night. 

Wednesday night was mutual.  Treyson, Tate, and I worked on homework and watched the D-Backs game on T.V. 

Thursday night I had a Relief Society activity and Ty, Treyson, and Tate had practice.  It was a crazy night trying to get everyone where they were supposed to be.

On Friday night, Kevin and I, along with Brian and Sara, went out to dinner at Carabba's then to Gilbert for Brett and Haley's (Jorgensen) wedding reception.  It was beautiful, and the weather was amazing for the middle of August!  Not too hot, and NO RAIN!!

Saturday was filled with baseball practices, a family swim, and chilling out at home.  

Sunday was the same as usual.

Well, I guess I'm caught up.  I'm sitting here watching a show called POCOYO with Payton.  She helped me dust and vacuum this morning.  She's such a cutie! 

As soon as her mommy comes I'm headed out to meet my friend, Staci, for lunch.  Yay!!

 

What Was I Thinking???

I knew that I had company coming on Saturday evening, but for some reason I decided to re-do my main level bathroom before they came.

Unfortunately, I decided to do this on Friday around noon.

I didn't think it would be THAT big of deal...I mean, really...how hard could it be to just paint a small amount of bead board?

Once again, I underestimated my time and ability, but with a little help, I also

PREVAILED!

Since we moved into this house 7 years ago I have been wanting to re-paint the main level bathroom.  It was a hideous bleen color (blue/green) and I really hated it.  On Friday I finally got around to changing it.

BEFORE:

This tiny amount of silicone took me an hour to get off of the wall...I scraped, I sanded, I swore...OK, not really...yes, really...but I finally got it off.  Stupid silicone! 

DURING:

I used Behr paint this time...

I will NEVER use Behr paint again. 

EVER.

I hate it...and that's an understatement.

THE FINISHED PROJECT:

Almost Epic Fail

I love Pinterest...it's not a secret.  When I finally sit down at night, I just want to look at Pinterest and find all kinds of wonderful and new projects to try.  

 I had seen some silhouettes on canvas that I decided to try, and, well, it wasn't as easy as it looked.

I have always wanted to be the kind of blogger that goes through each step of a project with descriptive photos and witty commentary, but I have to face the music and realize that THAT is just not me, and my boring photos and boring description will have to do. 

I started with 4 (four) 16"x20" white canvases and profile photos of my boys.
 

(I don't know why this photo is on its side...???)

With black craft paint, I painted the sides of each of the canvas boards.  I don't know why I did this...I guess I just thought it would have a more "finished" look. 

I'm cracking myself up as I type that.

In the meantime, I sent the photos to Costco photo shop to have them blown up to 14"x16" prints. 

When I got them home, I carefully cut the profiles out and turned them over to paint the back side with black craft paint.

Once they had dried, I used spray adhesive (as the Pinterest site told me to do) and glued them to the canvas.

And here is where the Almost Epic Fail occurred.

They didn't stick.

At all.

Not even a little bit.

And I've got a crazy internal conflict going on because I don't want to use any more spray adhesive and I can't use Mod Podge now because it will react with the adhesive and not work as it should.  I'm thinking I will just take them out to the trash and stuff them in.

And then I thought twice about that...

So, I put them in my extra room and shut the door because things that don't work like they should just completely tick me off.

A couple of days later, (today) I had an epiphany...

I grabbed one of my favorite things in the whole world--

SPRAY PAINT!!!

I taped the silhouettes to the canvas and then started spraying. 

And for the record...I'm thrilled about how they turned out!

As it turns out, it wasn't a fail at all, but a fun new addition to my upstairs hallway.

Score!

UTAH: Day 17

Lunch with my oldest and dearest friend, Amy.

Oh, how I love and miss her!!

UTAH: Day 16

The boys ended up staying over at Michelle's house until about noon.  I sent Grandpa H over to get them because mom and I went to two of my very favorite places in Utah...

While Mom and I shopped, Grandpa H took the boys up American Fork Canyon for some hiking and fishing.  The also went to Cascade Springs, and finished off their adventure at Granny's in Heber City for onion rings and milkshakes!

When we got home, I met G&G Lewis over at Kreed and Gage's little league games, and afterwords we just went home and went to bed. 

JUNE

Well...today is the last day of June and I'm just now realizing that I did a really crappy job of blogging this month.

I don't really know why...

Maybe it's because I (happily) sat through 26 baseball games.

Or maybe it's because it's a GAZILLION degrees outside and all I want to do (when not sitting at baseball games) is sit in my air conditioned house and veg out.

It could also be because I've just had nothing to say. 

Life is pretty ordinary right now...nothing good and nothing bad...just ordinary and un-exciting.

Treyson and Tate did go to Cub Scout Day camp a couple of Saturdays ago, but they didn't have much to say about it.  Treyson did say that it was "the same as last year", and Tate was upset that he lost his neckerchief.  

See?  Un-exciting.

However...we are headed up to UTAH on Monday and I can't hardly wait.

CAN'T.  HARDLY.  WAIT.!!!

It's been a year since I've been "Home" for an extended amount of time.  I look forward to seeing the beautiful mountains and being in a place that feels familiar and comfortable (not that AZ doesn't...you know what I mean, right??).

I am looking forward to driving up the canyon, spending time with our loved ones, seeing Bryan and Rebecca sealed in the Manti temple, and just enjoying all the wonderful things Utah and family have to offer.

I'm sure I'll have plenty to blog about in JULY!!

Mother's Day 2012

From My Bug...

April

It seems to be my mantra lately...

Where did ____________ (fill in the month) go?????

April is no different.  I'm reeling at the speed at which this month has flown by, and yet it has seemed really long, too.  That probably doesn't make any sense to anyone but me.

I'm going to try my hardest to re-cap this month.  I did post on the 3rd about mom and dad coming down, so I'll start from there.

The easiest way to describe my month is this way...with a photo of my calendar.

Maybe it doesn't look too bad to you, but it was incredibly busy.  Baseball is in full swing and there were days that I had 4 games to go to.  It was incredibly difficult to choose between watching Tanner play, or watching Ty, since their games were scheduled on the same days at the same time.  They were both so understanding and seemed to be ok whether I was there or not.  I hate having to choose.  It makes me sad.  Especially since I hate to miss ANYTHING!! 

My dear friend, Stephanie, came to sunny AZ with her family and some friends for their spring break.  It was so wonderful to spend an afternoon shopping, lunching, and catching up!  She is an amazing woman, wife, and mother, and I love her dearly!  I sure miss you, Steph!

{blurry cell phone photo--at least it sorta hides my hideous sunburned nose and sudden and extreme case of adult acne!!!}

Treyson made it into the elementary school's annual high jump competition again.  I didn't get any photos of him jumping (too many kids and parents to get a good view), but I did get some of him waiting to jump. 
(Try to ignore the fact that the boy in front of Treyson is scratching his butt....uuuggg...)

 (...and I have no idea why this boy is wearing a white glove on his hand.  Maybe trying to channel his inner Michael Jackson?  Wow.)

Easter snuck up on me this year.  Needless to say, I was grossly unprepared.  I did manage, however, to get some eggs boiled for our annual coloring...

Sadly, that was the extent of our Easter celebration.

On the 10th, Becca and her family came down because Rob had meetings in Phoenix.  We had such a fun time hanging out with them!  They were incredibly good sports to support the boys by watching their many, many baseball games.  Of course, I didn't take any pictures.  I don't know why.  I can't explain it.  Dang!  We love you guys!!  Thanks for coming down to visit!

On April 12th and 13th, I got to tend my very favorite redhead in the whole world!  She is such a sweetheart!

On the 16th, Tanner was recognized at a school assembly as a Golden Scholar.  I was so proud!!

The 17th provided me with some much needed "girl time".  Leslie, Sara, and I lunched and talked the afternoon away at Liberty Market in Gilbert.  It was great!  Thanks, girls!

Bevan, Donna, and Anna Bean (as Treyson calls her) came down for their annual the-winter-is-over-the-ski-resort-is-closed- trip to visit!  We had fun catching up and loving on that sweet Anna!

Tanner's last Freshman baseball game was on the 24th.  I am not ashamed to say that after the game I sat in my car and shed a tear or two.  It has been such a fun team to watch.  Most of these boys have played together in 7th, 8th, and now 9th grade, and will probably not play together again for a while.  Next year, a few of these boys will move up to Varsity, while most of them will be playing J.V.  It will still be great, just never the same.

Top Row: Coach Gilbert, Adrian Montano, Justin Boubelik, Sonny Santibanez, Tyler Muzzy, Brendan Morris, Ryan Beaver, Tanner Lewis, Coach Peloquin
Bottom Row: Daylan Amey, Brandon Balli, Sam Eichinger, Max Cook, Jake Peloquin, Harrison Alteri, Evan Spitzer, Christopher (Boston) Rossini

This weekend is looking to be another busy one.  The baseball booster is having a huge garage sell to raise some needed funds for the team.  I also have a couple of baseball games and a bridal shower to attend.  However, next week holds a couple of very special events:
Kevin is graduating with his Masters Degree (wooooooo hoooooo!!!!!)
and
Tater Bug is getting baptized!!