GREAT NEWS!

My most favorite Zumba instructor, Allison, is offering classes now in addition to her gym classes! I've been to a lot of Zumba classes with different instructors and I can easily say Allison is my all-time fave! QUALITY, all the way!!! Best music, dancing, workout, personality, and energy!!!! You definetely get your workout and your money's worth! Check her out and let me know if you want to go with me! Her blog also shows her schedule, at Gold's Gym and 24 Hour Fitness.

http://zumbaforever.blogspot.com/

Some of my favorite things right now.....

Now that it's fall and winter is around the corner, my hobbies are more of the indoor, hibernating kind. I love this time of year! So, as one of my favorite actresses Julie Andrews sang, "..these are a few of my favorite things!
I'm a total GEEK for the Broadway show, "Wicked!" As much as I've been listening to the soundtrack w/the original Broadway cast you would think I was sick of it. I'm not; I love it more and more everytime I listen to it! If you love musicals/Broadway and you haven't checked it out yet, I URGE you to check it out.

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I have Netflix (LOVE it!) and I just started watching "Pushing Daisies." The perfect way to describe it is that it's a mix of Edward Scissorhands and Dr. Seuss flavors. Very fun and clever! Check it out if you need a good laugh.

Klint and I LOVE fall! The colors, the air, everything! We tried our best to take cute family pictures and although they aren't traditional, I love them! Here are a few of our favorites from our little photo shoot last month...






It's official. Halloween is our family's favorite holiday. We had such a fun time this Halloween! It was raining cats and dogs, too! This was the first year Jaakson wanted to stay out later to go door-to-door! He was a trooper! They all looked so cute. And by "they" I also mean Klint. Klint LOVES Halloween.




I love candles. My sister brought SoHo Living candles to my attention. Vanilla Flower and Vanilla Truffle are amazing! AND they last forever...

Reading! What would I do without reading late into the night?! It's the only time it's quiet and I get my "Me" time. I finished a few easy read my Mom lent to me but now I have nothing left! Suggestions please! The last good novel I read was "Rebekah" from the Women of Genesis series and "Enchantment," both by Orson Scott Card.

Amish Friendship Bread. Amazing!!! I finally got a starter bag from my friend a month ago and begged my sister to give me one of her starter bags. It's that good! Here's a link to a good recipe for the starter: http://www.food.com/recipe/amish-friendship-bread-and-starter-153 *NOTE: instead of a bowl, use Ziploc gallon bags! Stick to the 10 days!!! It's worth it!

Bigfishgames.com. I'm a TOTAL PC nerd during this time of year. I'm borderline Hermit. This site has fun, cheap games that range from easy to challenging. PLUS, you can play any game for an hour before you buy it. This is another thing I do if I don't have a good book to read at the end of the day.

Oh! How Fall, how I love thee! I could go on and on but I'll spare you. What are you looking forward to this fall/winter?

Long time, no talkey!

Procrastinator extraordinaire! Life has been really good to us this summer! We went to the pool a few times, a couple parades, camping twice, rodeo in Nephi, salsa dancing in SLC, 2 buck Tuesday at Thanksgiving Point, the drive-inn theater off Redwood Road (our favorite!), the movie theater, lots of trips to the parks, a few great dates, fishing, lots of playdates, and etc. Now we move onto Jaakson starting kindergarten ("Bye Mommy!") and Shae becoming fully potty-trained ("Don't potty on the Princess on your undies, Shae!). So sad summer's over but the best is yet to come! We love fall and the holidays that follow!

Whomever invented arm floaties is a genius!!!

Oh! and I love the Dollar Store for selling them there! Once I put those floaties on Shae, she was happy as a clam! If I even tried to steer her around or keep her from bobbing too much she's grunt and try to wobble away in the water! But I had so much fun watching her enjoy her newfound freedom! Jaakson loved his Toy Story ring from the Dollar Store, too. Klint recently taught Jaakson how to go underwater, too!... my kids are getting so big! *sniff*

Early birthday present...

A couple posts down you may have read about my unfortunate situation with a family member. I just wanted to share with you the good news of the events that have transpired since I made that post! All of your comments were so thoughtful and encouraging! I just wanted you to know that a couple weekends ago on my birthday, against all believable odds, this person showed up at my apartment to give me a birthday card and gift certificate! I was seriously shocked but SO happy! It easily made my birthday a far better celebration! My sister was visiting from out of town and we'd stayed up talking the night before, including my husband. I had mentioned that if this person would even show me the smallest act of good faith or any proof that she was sorry I would welcome it with open arms! After a long talk, tears, a few laughs, and a lot of hugs we understood each other a lot better and I learned that it's more important to show those you love how you feel, rather than just tell them. Words aren't enough- especially when we all have insecurities to overcome. I know how much God wants us to love each other and help each other. This experience has helped me know that once we do all we can that it is possible for the Lord to help sort out the rest. So, the plan is we're starting fresh and are committed to having better communication and honesty in our friendship! Wish us luck! Thanks again for all your kind words of encouragement!

Life is good, isn't it?

We love visiting St. Jorge!!!

My sister and brother (Katherine & Daniel) graduated with their Associates from Dixie State College last weekend! I am so proud of them! They are both working towards their Bachelor's degree now; Katherine in English and Daniel in Criminal Justice.
We went to Washington's city celebration for Cotton Days. My sis-in-law Angela dances in a group that teaches Hula dancing and they were performing so we went and watched her dance. I was SOOO impressed, I got goosebumps! It was so beautiful to watch. I've never seen my sis-in-law Hula before and she is so graceful and beautiful! You can tell that she had authentic training back in Molokai. My nieces and Shae were shaking their hips the rest of the day, it was so cute! Haha!

We had fun at the fair, too! I had to add the second pic because of Klint and Shae's faces....classic! Hahaaa!


Sister's night out! We went to a grill/poolhall/club in Cedar by SUU called Toadz, I think? It was fun to get out with my sisters and shake a tailfeather! We had a blast!
Last but not least, I got to spend some time with my Mom! I am so grateful for my Mother for showing me how to laugh! I'm thankful she fostered in me a great love for art- in the forms of books and music. My mother has gone through a lot in her childhood and adult life but she continues to amaze me everyday because I see now, as a Mother myself, how many sacrifice she willingly endured to raise 7 kids. I love my Mom SOOOO much! Thanks Mom!

"Splendor in the Grass"

Aww! I just have to say how much I LOVE this movie. Although it may be controversial even today, I still love the truth in it and Natalie Wood's performance. Natalie Wood is absolutely stunning and I was brought to tears on more than one occasion. I find myself understanding this movie more and more the older I get; the last time I watched this movie I was 19 or 20..? If you haven't seen it and you enjoy classic movies, check it out!


"...What though the radiance which was once so bright
Be now for ever taken from my sight,
Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind;..."

-William Wordsworth

What are your favorite classic movies? I've been really into older movies lately and am running out of good ones. I'm a sucker for romance and drama!

Sunshine, you rescue me once again!

So I'm going to be totally self-absorbed right now just to get it out of my system. So cliche, but here goes....you've been forewarned.

Have you ever been in a funk before? Like, a FUNKY funk where you kind of "check out" for a while? I knew I was in a signifigant funk when I was listening to Etta James everyday and turning down friend's invitations to a Girl's Night Out....and when I didn't want to do anything but watch movies or read books. Any of you who really know me, knows that I am social and positive most of the time. I knew something was off. I now know what it was but didn't want to admit it, because then I would be succumbing to "it."

I've come to realize how strongly I have valued other's opinions of me throughout my life. It's unhealthy, really. Most of all, those whom I've come to consider close family and friends. So after 8 years trying to earn the love and respect of someone close to me and my family told me that she thinks I'm a horrible mother and wife I was surprised. I was hurt. I like to think I'm a fairly confident person with good self-esteem...but I remembered visibly flinching when she told me I was an ungrateful and disrespectful bitch, as well....my heart sunk a little when she told me that the reason my kids get sick is because my house is so dirty there is mold growing on my dishes.

See, I had been under the impression that my hard work throughout the years had paid off and this person and I had built a solid relationship of genuine respect and love for one another. I was actually pretty crushed over it. I was suprised this person had such a strong influence over me. Where did all of the animosity come from? How did I miss it? I had glimpes of these feelings but passed them off as my insecurities getting the best of me. I had always given her the benefit of the doubt.

I found myself criticizing everything I did everyday thereafter.

Little by little, I felt I was slipping down into a hole of despair and shame. Four months have gone by since that conversation and I'm finally on the other side of it. I haven't spoken to this person since January and it's all been via e-mail; she has never answered my phone calls.

After a lot of soul-searching, conversations with my husband, and personal prayer I've come to the conclusion that I am, in fact, a good person. I am a good person because I truly try my best in my life. Maybe it's because I have too much pride or maybe because my parents gave me confidence from an early age but I want to meet my full potential someday. I try my best to continue learning how I can be a better person. More than anything, I have come to know I've become a decent person because I still love this person regardless of the damaging doubts she planted in my mind. I would and have forgiven her. She will likely never ask for forgiveness but I will go on living my life to the best of my ability.

My conclusion: so what if I don't win "Mother of the Year?" Or clean my apartment obsessively every day? So what if my weight is never where I want it? What if I'm not perfect? My children know I love them. My husband knows I value and love him. My family and friends know I love them. I am in good health. I like myself. I contribute to society on a daily basis. The weather has been miraculously beautiful and warm for the past 5 days! I feel as though God has smiled on me! I look at all of my daily blessings and how can I question my worth? Life is good! My kids are healthy and happy! I get to go to the temple on Friday! I've cleaned out my fish tank, too and so now my fish are happy, haha! Even though everything in my life isn't perfect, even though there will always be people who will criticize and devalue me throughout my life, I will continue to press forward and endure to the end...with a smile on my face!

"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."

- Dr. Seuss

"When you wish upon a star..."

We took a vaca to CA & Disneyland a few weekends ago and I have to say, I wish we would have had another week away! Haha! I wish they were still doing the "Disney Give a Day, Get a Day" program- that's how we saved over $100 on our tickets. We suprised the kids and didn't tell them where we were going until we were strolling up to the entrace @ Disneyland- their faces were so cute! They were so excited, we couldn't get on the rides fast enough! They behaved so well and we made some great family memories. It was so nice to make memories w/just the 4 of us and get away from everything and everyone. Here are some of our favorite pix!

Day 1 in CA: Newport Beach @ sunset






*Klint found a white seal out on the rocks! The kids (including us) were fascinated.



Day 2: Disneyland!




















Day 3: Leaving CA :( ...Newport Beach in the A.M.