HOTEL

My girls have the best imaginations...ever! Lately they have been playing a game they made up and call "Hotel." This game basically turns our house into a hotel. It requires the use of our house phone and my cell phone, the entry table has to be pushed out for the front desk and occasionally, food for room service is necessary. So, someone checks in at the front desk and is then taken to a room where they....ask for things they need, complain about the room and call the front desk for room service.... finally end up eating pretzels or an orange on the bed. It's fun to watch the girls and their friends playing fun things like this even though there are aspects of it that drive me a little crazy...like my lack of access to a phone while they are doing it!! Oh well, they are only little once!

The Lady at the Front Desk

These lovely gals sure did enjoy their stay at

The Lambert Hotel

 (or whatever it's called!)

McKenna's Baptism ~ February ~ 2010

This is a scrapbook I made for McKenna's baptism. It was such a special day for our sweet and special girl! We had pictures taken by my sis-in-law's good friend Cecily Cook at the new Oquirrh Mountain Temple with two of her best friends, Josie Pratt and Christina Lindquist. It was freezing cold and snowing at first, but I love how they turned out. My parents surprised Kenna by coming from S. Carolina for her special day. It was great to spend time with them and the rest of our family. 

We love you Kenna!

The invitation we sent to family and friends...Kenna's favorite color, YELLOW!

I can't believe the day has come and gone! McKenna looked forward to her baptism for soooo long and was so excited. I love Kenna's great attitude and the way she always tries to do what is right. So glad we could enjoy her special day as a family. :) 

Valentine's Day

We had yummy fondue, salad, roasted chicken and bread for Valentine's day. The kid's loved dipping into the fondue pot! Here are some pictures of the girls on V-day with their boxes and bags of Valentines.

We made Kelsie and Allie's boxes and Kenna made hers at school. On Super Bowl Sunday we stamped all of their Valentine's and got them ready for their classes.

LoOk wHo's EiGhT...McKeNna!

We had such a fun time celebrating McKenna's 8th birthday!

She wanted some new things for her bedroom, so we didn't let her sleep in her room the night before and did a little makeover on her room while she slept in the basement. I made a magnet board, with mod podge and scrapbook paper and got a new quilt for her bed. She woke up to her "new" room with her presents all wrapped on her bed. We let her open them in her jammies. Later we went ice skating with our family at the Olympic Oval and came home for dinner and cake. It was a great day, celebrating this sweet girl!

Kenna is so full of life and so happy to finally be 8! She was so excited for her baptism and we had such a great time getting everything ready for her. McKenna is very active and social...always wanting to play with a friend. She loves riding her bike, roller blading, swimming, playing at the park and just being a kid! She is such a fun girl. I ♥ Kenna

OrGaNiZaTiOn...

In January, I spent A LOT of time organizing my kitchen. I cook 99% of the meals for our family and decided my work space needed some help. Here are a few before and after pictures. This probably seems like a silly post...I actually revamped almost every cabinet and drawer in my kitchen! It has made cooking SO much easier and I've been so happy with the results. I couldn't find a spice when I needed it and even ended up buying double on occasion because they were such a mess. I love organizing and having everything in its place, but the reality is...it doesn't always happen! I've been happy I spent a little money and took some time to make my kitchen space more functional! So far it still looks like this too! :) 

My cRaFt RoOm!

A few people have asked me to post pictures of my craft room...so here it is! 

It's actually a little room...but I don't care because it's mine!! I've wanted a place that I could work and store all of my projects FOREVER! So I love this room. I have a place for everything, pictures, scrapbooking stuff, wrapping paper/cards, beads etc...

It was so fun decorating in bright fun colors and not caring what anyone else thought. I have my old kitchen table for projects and the changing table stores all of my stamps and ink pads. I got a few fun things from IKEA for storage and a bright colored rug. I love going down there to work on projects and if I don't finish, I can just leave it and shut the door! Yay! The green room above is another room we finished. We refer to it as the kid's family room. It has a TV, a few chairs and a game table. It's their hangout, with two large closets lined with shelves for games and a few toys. It has been SO nice to have the extra space. Red spent about four months getting these rooms finished, along with the hallway and a toy space under the stairs for Kelsie. He worked very hard and did an awesome job! It's so nice to have a handy husband! I am truly grateful for the extra space!

Tanner Appreciation Night!

One night....clear back in December.... Tanner was having a bad day! He was sick of his sisters and pretty much tired of life! You know, typical middle school, teenager stuff. Anyway, Red had the idea to have Tanner Appreciation night. I thought it was a great idea! So, when he went over to his friend's house we hurried and ran to the store. We grabbed a whole bunch of treats and a poster board. The girls made him a poster and then we presented it him as a family, each taking a turn telling Tanner how much we love him and why we love him so much. Of course there were tears, because that is what we do! But, it was really fun and reminded Tanner (hopefully) how much we love him and love having him as part of our family.

The poster said, "Hey big hunk! We know it's been a rocky road and you're a sour punch.

We've been duds so take 5, Mr. Goodbar, you Rockstar. We wish we could give you 100 Grand. But instead you get a kiss!

Love, the Watchchamacallit's (mom & dad) and the 3 Musketeers! (the sister's)

Okay, so it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. But, I think we got our point across! 

We ♥ Tanner!

A Daisie Story...

Allie & Daisie on Christmas Eve

Allie lost a tooth the other day and we were reminded of this little Daisie story. Daisie is our little maltese/poodle mix, weighing in at about 8 pounds give or take a few ounces. She is a much loved dog! However, Daisie is not the sharpest tool in the shed...if you know what I mean. Case in point... Allie was about 6 years old and lost one of her first teeth. She was so excited! Allie wanted to show Daisie her tooth so she held out her hand with her tooth in it for Daisie to see and smell. So what does Daisie do? She eats the stinking tooth!! Allie was of course very distraught and wrote a note to the Tooth Fairy explaining that she did actually lose a tooth, but the dog ate it! The tooth fairy understood...she knows the dog well! She left money. Sometimes I wish she would have taken the dog with her! Just kidding, I love Daisie! ;)

...MoRe HoLiDaY FuN!

I took these pictures of the kids the Sunday before Christmas! Don't they look cute?! The only thing I bought for this year was Allie's sweater...I was able to find coordinating dresses in our own closets...yeah!

Our trip to Temple Square

The night we went downtown it was so foggy. It made the temple look really neat. We went to Trolley Square for dinner and saw Santa. It was a great night with the family and Temple Square always reminds me what Christmas is really about.

Kelsie Anne at her preschool party with Santa and her teacher, Miss Lesli.

****SnOwMeN***

After our last snowstorm Allie and Kelsie decided to build a snowman. This is how he turned out...  kind of a sad little guy! The hanging banana is supposed to be his mouth! A snowman only a mother can love! They had a great time making the little guy!

I found a picture of these cute snowmen made from candy bars on a friend of a friends blog. I immediately knew the girls and I would have to make some. So this weekend we did and they turned out great! They are made from a giant candy bar with a glove for the hat and a tic tac nose. We embellished them with ribbons and buttons I already had. We put a label on the back that said, "We hope the warmth of the holidays melts your heart...not your snowman!" The girls are giving these to their friends and teachers. 

I ♥ SnOwMeN