Easter Eggs!!

Pride and Prejudice

Have you ever read a book that you loved, and then you were a little hesitant to watch the movie version, because you knew that it could never be as good as the book?

Well, I was a little backwards, but same idea. I have always LOVED the Pride and Prejudice movie (the one with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle). I was really hesitant to read the book, because I didn’t think it would be as good as the movie. Boy was I wrong! I LOVED it!




I found myself giggling out loud, and even a few squeals—Darin even put up with my rereading sections out loud to him. This just may be my new favorite book! If you haven’t read it—it is an absolute must!!

The BIG REVEAL!!!

Here is a picture of how the kitchen looked when we bought the house.




Here is how we’ve had it for the last two years.






And here it is today!!



I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!



We removed the soffits, put in new white cabinets, light fixtures, new stove, microwave, fridge, dishwasher, and subway tile backsplash!


Three of the things I love the most are first-- the automatic closing drawers and cupboards (no slamming and no pinched fingers).



Second, the counter-tops (obviously), and third is my new sink!!

(If you are looking to get granite countertops, I LOVED who we went through).




Thanks to ALL of our AMAZING family and friends for tons and tons of help!! Especially Rick and Rick for giving us 2 Saturdays, Greg and Heather for getting supplies with their truck—and paying for them, Darin working every spare day/night, mom doing the backsplash by herself, running errands, and hours and hours of help, Dad and uncle Al for installing the microwave and dishwasher, and awesome dad and neighbors for making us so many meals while we were without a kitchen!!

Best. Husband. Ever.

Last week I was feeling REALLY frustrated with our kitchen. Things weren't working out, and everything was taking A LOT longer than I had anticipated.

While Darin was at Priesthood session I decided to surprise him and get a bunch of work done while he was gone. Unfortunately, I didn't make any progress and even made things worse!

I got a little teary, expressed my frustrations, and then remembered that I still needed to go get some groceries. Darin said he'd get the groceries, and when he came back, he had these:



Aren't they beautiful?!!

We got everything fixed and put back together, and I am proud to announce, that as of 5 minutes ago,

OUR KITCHEN IS FINISHED!! And I LOVE it!! (Pictures to come soon!!)

Also, cute little side story:

We were at Costco yesterday and walked by the flower section. Matt yelled, "DAD!! STOP!!" When Darin asked why, Matt said, "Because I want to buy mommy some flowers!" I think Darin is doing a great job of training this boy right! Love you Darin!!

I LOVE General Conference!!

General Conference is THE BEST!! I always want to be a better person after the weekend! Aside from the wonderful messages, my favorite part of the weekend was going to the parents for brunch between sessions!

Get ready to salivate…we had strawberries, bananas, grapes, bacon, eggs, and pancakes. But, they weren’t just any pancakes—they were my two favorite pancakes EVER—macadamia nut pancakes with whipped cream, toasted coconut, and coconut syrup, and the other is caramel pecan pancakes! Oh yum!


*Did you notice the snow? Utah weather is CRAZY!!



Best. Pancakes. Ever.

Spring/Summer Bucket List

New Beehive Breakfast!

One of my favorite parts about being in Young Women’s is when we have a new beehive come in.

We always go surprise the girls’ while they are usually still asleep in bed the day before they come into Young Women and bring them to our house for breakfast!

This week we had TWO girls turn twelve! We’re so excited to have them in Young Women’s! Aren’t they cute!?

One more step on the way to a new kitchen!

Just picked out my slab of granite! Eeek!! SOOO excited!!

(Yes, that is my car in the background, running, door open, and children inside unattended. Please don't call CPS).

(Sorry to those that voted on the uba tuba).

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE holidays, and I LOVE to celebrate them! So, it was a little bitter-sweet to celebrate St. Patrick’s day doing this:





...and this



…and this


….then taking a break for lunch. Thanks mom and dad for the KFC!



Yes, I know this picture was taken at lunchtime and Lindsay is still in her jammies.

But hey! At least I got out a green table cloth right? Right?

Then back to work.





Thanks Rick and Rick for all your help! You guys are the BEST!!

Mother Daughter Night

Last night we had a mother daughter activity for the young women. My friend/councilor Jena planned the whole thing and it was PERFECT!!

We started out by watching this video:

Then we played a mother/daughter version of the newlywed game.




Check out the scoreboard:



That’s right—my mom came and we WON!!!

Then we had a delicious dessert!

Thanks for planning the most fun mutual of the year Jena! So much fun!

And thanks to my awesome mama for coming! She seriously is the best, nicest, most awesome, fun, beautiful, kind, selfless person I know! I love you mama-c-ta!!

Awesome News!!

Lindsay still has physical therapy twice a month.

We’ve been working on getting her to crawl for a while now.

Last week Lindsay’s therapist said she probably would never crawl, so we should focus therapy on teaching her to walk.

Well, guess who crawled this week!? LINDSAY!!! WAHOO!! Just wanted to share the news! YAY!!

A BIG Change!!

We have a big change in progress at our house. Here are 4 hints:


1- My dining room table is covered with “stuff.”


2- My kitchen floor is covered with “stuff.”


3- My walls have holes in them.



4- The holes in my floor are no longer.


Guesses!?

More details to come!! :)

Birthday Gift Card

For my birthday, I got a gift card to Benihana's.   Since it was a birthday certificate they brought me a free hot fudge sunday with a candle in it!   We also tried a new sushi roll that is our new favorite--the "Sumo roll" it had crab, avocado, cucumber, shrimp tempura, salmon, and a special mayo sauce all baked.  YUM!!  So, if you ever go there--that roll is a MUST!! SOOO good!!

Happy Birthday to Me!

So, I wasn’t totally selfless on my birthday—ha ha--and the spouse did spoil me a little. It was SUCH a WONDERFUL birthday!

Darin made me breakfast in bed to start the morning. (He took the whole day off of work--it's always fun to have him home).

We went out to lunch at Maxwell’s.


(This was a new restaurant—so it helps me with my 30 before 30 list).—Thanks Heather for watching the kiddos.


Darin watched the kids while I went to the Garden Day Spa. When Matthew saw my toes he said, "Mom!  Where did your band-aids go?"--I guess he thought the polish was blood.  ha ha.


I also picked out two presents:
I am getting these cute shoes.


Oh, and these too!


Darin made me this delicious dinner.



We ended with cake and ice-cream.


And a big thank you to all the friends and family who helped make the day so special!

Happy Birthday Dr Seuss!

We had a little Birthday dinner in honor of Dr. Seuss’ Birthday. Mathew LOVED having candy on the table while we ate dinner!


We had “Green eggs and Ham”


We had “One fish Tuna Fish” Sandwiches


And Cat in the Hat hat jello dessert!


It was pretty last minute, but it was really fun—I especially loved when Matt said, “Hey mom! This is a fun party!”

"The Birthday Project"

Last year, my birthday was less than ideal. We woke up really early in the morning and took Lindsay into Primary Children’s for her 2nd surgery. That day had potential to be the biggest downer of the year. However, I was amazed at how many people were beyond kind during that time. We received phone calls, texts, messages via the internet, cards in the mail, dinners at home, and meals brought to us at the hospital, gifts for all of us, visits in the hospital, people babysitting Matt, help with hospital bills, and so much more. I couldn’t believe the goodness and kindness of family, friends, acquaintances, and even perfect strangers! I promised myself that I would be a better person and try to help others more. I was trying to think of what I could do/who I could help, when I came across THIS.

Have you heard of this girl? She spent her entire birthday doing random acts of kindness, and she's encouraging everyone to do the same. I decided that since people had been so good to me, I’d at least try to spend this birthday helping others. I gave myself a whole week to do it, instead of just packing it all in to one day, and my acts of kindness aren’t nearly as impressive as hers, but at least it’s a start.

So, to all those who have been so generous to my family and me, this birthday is dedicated to you! Here are my 27 acts of kindness for my 27th Birthday!

1- I babysat my siblings’ kids so that they could go on a date.

2- We took little bouquets of flowers to two ladies. (By the way, if you want to do this, the week right after Valentine's Day is a perfect time---all the flowers are REALLY inexpensive!)

3- We took a gift card to the sister missionaries.

4- Lindsay outgrew her diapers, but we had over 100 left, so instead of saving them for the next kid, we gave them to two new moms.

5- We gave a treat to the garbage man--he even let Matt sit in his truck and pull the loud horn!



6- We made a double batch of soup and took some to a girl who has been sick.

7- I had a gift card to an auto shop. I had Matt give it to a person inside, and they thought it was so nice that they gave Matt a sucker!

8- Matt took a treat to the recycling man.

9- We left a treat in the mailbox for the mailman.

10-We left quarters for someone to do their laundry. (I think that was my first time in a laundromat)
11-We made cookies for some neighbors.

12-We took some cookies to the police station--they gave Matt and Lindsay badges!

13-We gave a box of donuts to two bus drivers--they let Matt sit on the bus, and he LOVED it!

14- I made chili for 50 people (the scouts and their parents)
15- I ironed all of Darin's work shirts!!

16- We left quarters at the car wash.

17- I asked my bagger at the grocery store what her favorite candy bar was, and the I gave it to her has we were leaving.

18- I took a treat to a neighbor that was having a bad day.

19- I brought in my neighbor's garbage can.

20- I made cupcakes for my cousin who just came home from his mission (and I thought they turned out pretty cute too).


21-We took a box of donuts to the fire department--they let Matt sit on the fire truck, gave him a little tour, and gave Matt and Lindsay hats.


22- We got some gifts for the parents and kids at Primary Children's Hospital.

23 to 27- I want these to remain secret--hopefully no one will find out about these :)

And, there you have it! It made for a busy, and fun birthday week!