Happy 41st!

Pretty sure that Charley will kill me when he sees that I've posted his age here... so maybe if I say a whole bunch of nice things about him, he'll forgive me :) (love ya honey!).

My sweet husband's birthday was yesterday (Feb 22). I feel bad that this is the only picture I got of him the whole day. Well, we didn't really see each other but just for a couple hours. We both had a stressful day!


I did manage to leave work a little early so I could take him out. He was (luckily) able to get his shift covered at the last minute so he had the night free. He chose to go to dinner and a movie! Surprise, surprise! Actually, it was a pretty fun night. We went to Teppanyaki for dinner. We always love that place, but definately can only go there on a special occasion! After that we went and picked Nate up and went and saw the Percy Jackson movie. It was actually pretty good. (Did i really say that??). It was funny because 10 minutes into the movie, I pulled out my phone and said.. "I'm glad I have games & facebook on my phone" But after Charley convinced me to put my phone away, I was actually able to get into the movie and enjoy it. Nate loved it! I think he will read the books now! And to make it even better.. we had a private showing! We were the ONLY ones in the entire theater! Weird?

So onto Charley's "card".

Charley and I kind of have a "fortune cookie" motif going on in our relationship. When we were first dating, I think he was a little more ready for a "relationship" than I was. The first time I went to Idaho with him, we at at a chinese buffet. My fortune cookie said something about "embracing what I had in front of me" we just kind of laughed about it.

So when Charley propsed, he had fortune cookies made, and the fortune read "Sarah will you marry me". I still have the fortune!

So this was mine & Nate's little project. We made this little chinese box and filled it with paper "fortune cookies". Gotta admit, it was pretty fun to make... and Charley loved it!

(So this is where I redeem myself...)

Just wanted to say happy, happy birthday Charley! I have no idea where I would be without you, and I am greatful every day that you have come into my life. You are an amazing husband & father and I am so lucky that you have chosen me as your wife! I know life is stressful right now, but I also know that we have happy times in store for us. Life is better because we have each other...Love you! Hope you had an amazing day and your next 41 years look even brighter.. looking forward to spending them with you!

Catching Up...

Whew... So much to blog... So little time!

I have finally posted some stuff from the last few weeks... I always think about blogging, but just sitting down to do it.. Yikes!! So if you're reading... keep scrolling.. There's quite a bit!

We just got back from Idaho. Just a short day trip this time. We went to see Brogan be baptized. It was actually pretty neat. It was at a hot springs place close by and afterwards all the kids could swim. (I guess in Idaho, when the church is booked for the day you need it, the next closest church is NOT so close!)... But it was really neat to go and to visit with Charley's family for the day... I always wish we had more time to spend there.

Here's a few pictures that were taken at the facility where he was baptized. It was called 1000 Springs. I always love the look of a suit & tie, so I had to take a picture of "my boys" in their suits.

Happy Valentines Day!

Teacher Appreciation...

It's teacher appreciation week at the school! I've done these banners every year (minus one) for Nate's teachers. For some reason, this year's was a HUGE feat. Took forever and a day to do these... Keep in mind, these are 6 feet long!

This was the banner for Ms. Hansen, which is Nate's teacher. It says: Ms. Hansen... The Best in The West... And all the kids' names are on the stars. I also made her a little notebook (it was so last minute, I didn't even get a picture of it). But it was pretty cute, it matched the banner with the same cowgirl and writing on it.


And this year they asked me to make two banners. This is for one of the other teachers in fourth grade. While i loved making it, TWO banners is TOO much work for a full time working mom!! I think next year I will be back to one banner! LOL. Anyway, this one said "We Love Ms. Kelso.. A Bushel and A Peck". The kids' names will be on the apples, but I don't have her class list.... Funny thing about this banner is I was making it in the middle of the night at the last minute to get it done, and for the life of me, I couldn't remember the teacher's name!! I couldn't ask Nate or call anyone.. so I finally thought to go on to the school's website to look it up! Good thing it was on there!

Photo Shoot...

The girls were over last weekend and we actually had some "down time" that we were just hanging out. Lauren brought her new dress that she bought with her Christmas money and wanted to model it so the girls decided to have a photo shoot. Holly & Maddy had matching outfits and wanted to have their pictures taken in those.... So I told told told them to get ready and I'd take their pictures.

Well, after they had all spent 4 hours in the bathroom doing their hair, (I even took a nap while I was waiting!! LOL), they all looked adorable!! We just took these in our front yard and around the circle, and they look adorable!

I think by the time we were done I had taken over 80 pictures. (What did I ever do before digital??). Here's some of my favorites of Lauren. Charley is a little worried... look how grown up & mature she looks here!

And here's some of my favorites of Holly. This girl loves to have her picture taken!

And a few of them together. I love the one of them looking at each other... and no, they're not arguing! They were actually teasing each other saying "look at me like i'm.. (insert crush of the week here!).

Now, onto Holly & Maddy. These two are inseparable whenever Holly is over. They are so crazy when they get together and they have such a great time! I've also loved getting to know Maddy more... She's lived next door for 12 years, and finally spending time over here :)

We tell Maddy it's a good things she's around, otherwise Holly would never want to come over and visit! Holly claims they are long lost sisters... Guess they do look a little alike here.. What do you think?

We also love it when Stephanie comes over. We even got Stef to jump into a few pictures. My house has never been a gathering place for teenage girls, so it's definately a change of pace. It's a nice switch from the boys... Legos, nerf guns, WII, to the girls... Cooking, Makeovers, Hair Salon & pictures!

And I think this one is my absolute favorite!

So Charley always says he doesn't have a lot of the pictures of the girls. I think he has since changed his mind. He had no idea how much I love to take pictures! It's true he doesn't have a lot of them when they were younger, but we are catching up with the memories we create while they are here!

Ski Utah Day...

Nate went skiing for the first time! He went with his class at school, and needless to say, he loved it!! He wants to go back!!

Me, I was a nervous mom! Anybody who knows me knows that I'm not the "nervous" or "over protective" type, but for some reason, I worried about this! I think it's because I've never been, so I really don't know what it's like, just that a lot of bones get broken while skiing!

Ok, seriously, I knew he was in good hands. They had lessons while they were there & i'm sure they just did the little slopes. No poles, just the kids & the teachers. I actually was so surprised when I picked up the skiis from the rental place because they were so tiny!! So cute. Wish I could have been there to take pictures of the action, but I did get a couple when I dropped him off at school.

Celebrating Lauren's Birthday...

So the girls have come to love one of my old time favorite restaurants... Italian Village! We love those pizza benders, and it's affordable to take 3 kids!! So this year for Lauren's birthday we went to Italian Village with Grandpa & Grandma J & Denise's family.

This year for birthdays, Charley is going to take each of the girls on a daddy-daughter "date". So we gave Lauren a playbill to Hale Theater (She loves acting/drama/plays) and told her to choose a play she wanted to see. Then Charley will take her on a day that it's playing that she will be with us. We've always given them gift cards in the past (they love to shop) but we thought this might be a way that C can spend some one on one time with each of them.

These are a couple pictures of Lauren & Michele... they get along so well and have so much in common, it's kinda scary! Denise and I have known each other since I was in high school and have grown to be such good friends. I love that we can get together and our kids can hang out too.

And then one of all the girls... Holly, Maddy, Lauren & Michele...

These pictures are really bad because of the lighting in the restaurant, but I thought they were still so cute! Did I mention that I'm learning to be a mom of teenage GIRLS?

Rocket Derby...

This year's rocket derby was Nate's last year. Our ward doesn't have trophies, but rather they give participation awards for everyone that competes. It's actually better that way. The kids (or in our case the step-dad) work so hard on the rockets that they all leave with an award and not feel like their efforts were wasted.

Charley had to work over the derby, so these are the pictures I text him as a "play by play". He was so disapointed that he wouldn't be able to be there to see it in action. Well, as it turned out... Nate's Rocket smoked the first race. Then the hanger fell off and I had to super glue it. Well, as little as I know about these things, I glued to rubber band together.. and didn't find out until the second race when it didn't move off the start block...... So, after a little help from the scout leaders, we were back to smoke the 3rd and 4th races.. for an overall first place finish! Nice way to end his last derby.

Charley has built all three of his rockets. I was thinking back to Nate's first rocket derby. I was a single mom and knew (well, still know) nothing about scouts. When they dropped off the rocket "kit" I started to panic. I don't know what I was thinking the kit would consist of, but when I opened it, it was two rubber bands, a pin, a white plug thing, a propeller, three white triangle plastic things and two blocks of rectangle wood. ??? I had no idea what to do with it. Thankfully, Charley and I had just started dating, and he knew all about it! (Although he did laugh a little because I had never even seen a rocket derby!). Charley loves scouts, and he knows a lot more about it than I do!! I'm so greatful he is here and able to help Nate.. and also because it's something they can do together.

(I actually have to give credit though.. Nate's scout master called that year and asked if I would be needing help building the rocket so that Nate could participate.. This is when C and I were first dating and it wasn't really known yet... But I was so impressed with the willingness of the scout leaders!). What a great program!

My Sanity...

Yep, my sanity is scrapbooking. Once a month I go to a crop, with these friends (minus Janine who travels too much to scrap these days!). Although I don't do a lot of scrapbooking anymore, it's more like "paper crafting". I make cards, gift albums, notebooks, stuff like that. Maybe someday soon pictures will actually make it to pages again... but for now, I am just glad to get out with some friends and have a good time.

Jen works at Roberts. It's the perfect job for her. She is the one that hosts the crops... She doesn't get to scrap, but hey, she's gettin paid to be there, right? We've turned it into a potluck/scrap night.... And Yes, I'm goin again next week!