School Pictures

School pictures crack me up. I always buy atleast one so I have the silly memory of my girls because everyone needs a hilarious school picture.

I remember taking this picture and thinking I looked so good in my t-shirt and fancy dangling earrings. I loved those earrings! They wanted me to be serious and you can not tell me to look serious, so I tried and this is what I got. I remember being so disappointed in this picture and hid it for a long time. Looking at it now - I don't think it is awful, but it is pretty BAD.

Looking good Warren - so suave!! I love this picture. SO CUTE!!

Disclaimer - I did get Warren's permission to put this on our blog. This is the perfect example of a school picture gone wrong. It looks like Warren just got back from recess and quickly matted his hair down for the picture. This picture makes Warren and I laugh out loud - so FUNNY!! But, to make my husband feel better - love your sideways smile as always -

So, needless to say, everyone has a funny school picture. They build character, make good memories, and make us laugh.

Well, I just got back Nicole's school picture and to my surprise - it was actually cute and depicted her perfectly.

This looks like Warren preschool picture!

Also, here is Nicole's class picture. I love these!!

Nicole told me her classmates names all by herself. Way to go Nicole -

Back row - Ms. Heather, Karissa, Ms. Megan, Ms. Kathy
Middle row - Erica, Nicole, Isis, Erin, Aubrey
Front row - ?, Christian , Brianna

Kaylee's Art

Kaylee finished her art class last week and we are going to miss it. She loved it!! She learned alot and it was a great experience for her. I hope we can do it again in the fall when we have more time. Here are some of her art pieces: (some of them are cut off because the pages were too big for my scanner).

Trees made from chalk

I wish I could get the entire art piece because this was Warren's favorite. It is a tree's trunk.

A Red Robin

Each of the girl's got a picture of a bird and were asked to draw what they saw.

Each of the girl's drew a flower and they ironed it onto a bag. Kaylee loves her bag.

Kaylee with her bag.

Alaine , Ashley , Rebecca, Brooklyn, Avery

Kaylee's all girl class - THEY LOVED IT!!

"Come What May, and Love It"

Last conference, Elder Wirthlin gave a talk entitled "Come What May, and Love It." It was wonderful and I suggest we all go back and reread it. LOVED IT!! In his talk, he tells us to laugh often. Well, I have been thinking about that alot this past week. This is why:

I LAUGHED when:

1. Nicole couldn't keep the bottom half of her swimsuit on. Warren and I dropped Nicole off at the YMCA swimming pool and went to lift weights. I came back about 5 minutes before class was over and a life gaurd came right up to me and asked, "Is that your daughter in the 2 piece tankini?" Yes, that is my daughter - why do you ask. She proceeded to tell me her bottoms would not stay on and I needed to buy her a new swimsuit. I immediately felt all eyes on the mom who let her girl flash everyone at the Y pool. I looked over at Nicole and sure enough, she was mooning the entire world. You could see her cute little bum under the water. And, everytime she got out of the pool, her bottoms would be down at her knees or ankles. I am sure her male teenage instructor was alittle uncomfortable. I couldn't help but laugh as she pulled them back up. No one else apparently thought it was very funny. It didn't bother Nicole, she just slid her bottoms right back up and said, "ooops -my bum, bum is showing."

2. My favorite bowl had an untimely death. I have had this huge plastic mixing bowl with a pouring spout since Warren and I were married. Nicole loves to pretend cook with it by mixing all sorts of imaginary foods in the bowl and than sticking it in the oven to bake her "cake or muffins." The other day, I was preheating the oven to make some delicious fish when Kaylee said, "WHAT STINKS!!" I told her something most be in the oven and it is probably just the fish. Well, a few minutes later, I opened the oven to discover that yes, something was in the oven.

My favorite bowl melted!! It stunk and was stuck. Nicole was alittle worried and we had a quick talk about sticking things in the oven, but I couldn't help but laugh at the situation - because what else can you do. I also was laughing because I was wondering why my sense of smell was off? Why did everyone notice the smell except for me? Could it be, I smell so many awful things (dirty diapers, crusty necks, lovely hands, etc) all day long that I have developed the ability to remove myself from the situation.

Warren had alot of fun that night with his torch melting the plastic off the oven rack. Thank you Nicole for coming up with a reason for Daddy to use his blow torch.

3. Nicole walked up to me at a Young Women meeting with her index finger up in the air and an "I smell Poo" face. She showed me her finger and blurted out, "I have poo on my finger." I took her by the other hand and went to wash her hands - laughing to myself as I walked down the stairs.

4. Taylor decided to become a tattoo artist right after a bath. Taylor loves markers and if you don't watch carefully, she will decorate her entire body.

(She hates when Mommy messes up her plans)

If she were my first born, I would stick her right back in the bathtub - but poor girl got handed a wet wipe to fend for herself.

5. My 7 year old daughter called a kiss YUMMY!! We were watching Highschool Musical 3 and right before the kiss, Kaylee says while clapping her hands, "YAY. Time for the YUMMY kiss." Oh, boy - I am in trouble.

6. When I emailed all my beehives a lovely email misspelling the word "Shirt." We were tye dying shirts and I emailed the girls to tell them that the shirts were no longer on sale. But instead, this is what I emailed these sweet 12 and 13 year old girls, "Never mind about the sh#! being on sale." NICE Kim. The girls were talking about it at the activity and one of them said her and her mom were rolling on the floor laughing. Another one said she didn't know what I met by that comment. She was so confused and couldn't imagine me saying this. It was definately worth laughing.

So as Elder Wirthlin said, "The first thing we can do is learn to laugh. Have you ever seen an angry driver who, when someone else makes a mistake, reacts as though that person has insulted his honor, his family, his dog, and his ancestors all the way back to Adam? Or have you had an encounter with an overhanging cupboard door left open at the wrong place and the wrong time which has been cursed, condemned, and avenged by a sore-headed victim? There is an antidote for times such as these: learn to laugh...The next time you’re tempted to groan, you might try to laugh instead. It will extend your life and make the lives of all those around you more enjoyable."

Bee Cupcakes

I work with the Beehives in my ward and LOVE IT!! Last week, a new girl came into Young Women and to celebrate her BIG birthday we made Beehive Cupcakes and BUZZED her room by putting bees all over her room, including some places she may not look for awhile (in certain clothes).

It was alot of fun and the girls LOVED doing this.

Here are the cute BEE cupcakes.

(The wings are made from white chocolate - YUMMY)

I think I will make the cupcakes chocolate next time.

Farrish - Winter Fun without the snow

Each year our ward goes up into the mountains to a place called Farrish. We went up there Friday night and played all day Saturday. There wasn't much snow this year so sledding was out, but it was still BEAUTIFUL and FUN.

Here is our little room. The girls love bunk beds and think a night away is a BIG adventure. On Friday night, we ate alot of food, played games, and laughed alot.

In the morning, there was so much food. It was delicious and my girls were in heaven. Breakfast is their favorite!!

I love this hat. Taylor loves to wear it even though it is way too big. It would fall down and cover her eyes, but it didn't bother her at all.

Love the cheesy smile Kaylee!!

Warren hates it when people try and get a picture of him, so if someone tries - this is what ends up happening. Isn't is lovely?

Nicole loves the outdoors and is in her element when she is outside.

Because of the warm weather, the corners of the lake were melting and the kids would stick stuff in the water. It freaked me out because I kept thinking someone would fall through.

Some of the kids tried to go ice fishing without any luck, but it was fun to drill a hole and try.

Kaylee and her friends spent the entire day sweeping the ice. They would sing, dance, slide, and worked so hard. Everyone got pretty burned from being on the ice all day.

Nicole kept falling on the ice and Warren would come to her rescue. She stayed pretty close to him.

There were alot of games in the lodge and my girls loved the dominoes. Of course, Taylor used the dominoes as a phone and Nicole loved to line them up.

On one side of the lake, there are huge boulders that all the kids loved to climb. They sat on the rock to eat their lunch, talk, look out over the lake, or just hang out.

Nicole hates messes and wants to clean all the time. People would track in mud and she would immediatley try to clean it up.

There was so much food. People brought up soup, cookies, bread, and other yummy treats. Our bishop spent the entire day inside making donuts and scones. They were so good and I ate so much food. The scones were delicious and I loved the homemade donuts. They were YUMMY!! Kaylee found the honey and someone gave her the idea to squirt it into her mouth. Later that night, she didn't feel so good and I am sure it was the combination of the sun, donuts, and honey.

I feel so blessed to be in such a great ward with so many great people. It is always fun to go someone overnight and my girls absolutely love it. I hope we can go next year and maybe there will be snow.

Happy Birthday WARREN

Saturday was Warren's birthday and we were out of town, so here is a quick shoutout to the BEST GUY in the world.

35 Reasons I love this guy: (In no particular order)

1. He cares about me.

2. Sometimes, I am the only one that understands him. Makes me feel pretty special!!

3. I trust him.

4. He is a great Dad and loves to spend time with the girls.

5. I can run my fingers through his hair - I like his hair alot!!

6. He is a swimmer and pretty impressive!!!

7. I love how our hands fit together.

8. I love his strong, muscular hands.

9. He has got a very handsome smile. LOVE IT!!

10. Nice, BIG shoulders. Perfect for me to lay my head on.

11. He can't sit still. He is always doing something.

12. He knows everything. I am not exaggerating. He can fix everything and if he can't, he will learn how.

13. He thinks I look the best when my hair is in a bun and I have frizzies everywhere.

14. He helps with the girls when I am busy.

15. He thinks I have a BEAUTIFUL singing voice.

16. He sends me texts saying "Love you. Hope you're having a good day."

17. He puts up with my moods - the best he can, because believe me - I am MOODY!!

18. He isn't Moody. Thank Goodness.

19. He has a wity sense of humor.

20. He is an excellent teacher.

21. Could care less how he looks - doesn't feel the need to impress anyone. Very secure in himself.

22. Love his BROWN eyes.

23. Loves his Mom.

24. Loves his Dad and considers him one of his best friends.

25. He has great friends.

26. I feel safe when he is around.

27. Loves my cooking and appreciates it.

28. Thinks I am talented and creative.

29. He loves books.

30. Loves the gospel and honors the priesthood.

31. Does what I ask - and that is so important.

32. His crooked smile when he thinks something is funny.

33. He cries in movies (THE FUNNY ONES. He laughs so hard and I love when he laughs)

34. He is patient.

35. He loves me.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY. LOVE YOU!!

Nicole's Silliness

Here are some of Nicole's silly new things:

1. "Don't spank-a my bum." She is adding "a" to everything. And it makes us laugh.

2. She was saying her prayers the other night, and Cocoa was licking her all over her face. So Nicole says, "And thank you that Cocoa could lick-a my face." My daughter who used to be deathly afraid of dogs now goes up to one, puckers her lips, and wants kisses. It grosses me out, but she loves it.

3. She loves to take Cocoa potty. She will take Cocoa outside and watch her potty. She bends down very close to poor Cocoa and than yells, " SHE DID IT. SHE WENT POO POO or SHE WENT PEE PEE. YAY COCOA!!" She than proceeds to come inside, get a bag, and clean it up. What a good girl.

She loves this dog!

4. When Warren and I went up to bed at 10:30, we found Nicole in her room playing dress up. I asked her what she was doing and she said, " I play mom." I told her it was time for bed and she of course said, "No. I play Mom. What do you do?" She loves to play!!

5. Nicole was asked to take IB guy home from school for a weekend and Nicole took such great care of this little guy.

Playing house

Sleeping with IB guy

Making sure IB guy is safe and buckled.

Skiing with Daddy and IB guy.

Taking IB guy and her baby with her to the park.

Nicole is such the Mommy and loved this assignment.

6. Nicole's favorites: The other day I asked Nicole what her favorites were and this is what she said: Color - blue, food - pizza, snack - ice cream, princess - Kaylee (this was my favorite), song - Dora and "Bet on It" from HSM 2.

My New Foot Wear

Isn't it BEAUTIFUL!! It really isn't that bad. It is black and there has been no snow to creep into my toes.

About a week ago, I woke up with a pain in my right foot. I thought, "Maybe I need to change my running shoes. It will work itself out." So, I ran 5 miles and did yoga. Pain still there, so I did yoga on Tuesday. Woke up Wednesday, felt ok - so I did my tempo run and ran 4 1/2 miles. Woke up Thursday - pain still there and I went to an Ultimate Conditioning Class. It was alittle tight, but not to bad. By Thursday night, my ankle was swollen and the top of my foot was pretty sore. Friday I felt better and got on my work out clothes to go to the YMCA, but after walking on my foot for 30 minutes - it was extrememly swollen and HURT!!! So off to the doctor's I went and I found out I had a very tiny stress fracture and torn ligament. OUCH!! I left the office with a lovely ace bandage and big boot, but it feels sooooo much better.

Now I get to sit inside and look at the beautiful weather wishing I could be running or atleast walking around. I have also realized something about myself. I love to exercise and I need it. It is my outlet and my way to let go of stress. So now what do I do? I like Tamzen's suggestion. I could do "Sit and Reach" with the cute little ladies on TV. I don't think I am there just yet.

There is an upside to this story - I am officially a RUNNER. I have never considered myself athletic and now I have my first sport's injury. Who knew? Kim is athletic and I am a runner.

YAY FOR ME!!