Friday: Fort Night

I try to do something fun for the kids Friday night since it is their only day really they can stay up late. Ususally we do popcorn and a movie but tonight we had a FORT! It takes up my whole living room but it is fun to see the kids play in it and sleep in it. They had a great time and for one night, I was the coolest mom ever!

(fake sleeping)

Things I have done or haven't done

My brother posted this list on his blog so I wanted to see what my list would look like. Do it too. Its fun. Bold the things you have done............comment if you wish!

Started your own blog
Slept under the stars
Played in a band [Does an orchestra count?]
Visited Hawaii
Watched a meteor shower
Given more than you can afford to charity
Been to Disneyland
Climbed a mountain
Held a praying mantis
Sang a solo
Bungee jumped
Visited Paris
Watched a lightning storm at sea
Taught yourself an art from scratch (Digital Scrapbooking)
Adopted a child
Had food poisoning
Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty [floated past]
Grown your own vegetables (tomatoes)
Seen the Mona Lisa in France
Slept on an overnight train
Had a pillow fight
Hitch hiked
Taken a sick day when you're not ill (wish I could do that now)
Built a snow fort
Held a lamb
Gone skinny dipping ( I haven't but Lacey has)
Run a Marathon
Ridden in a gondola in Venice
Seen a total eclipse
Watched a sunrise or sunset
Hit a home run
Been on a cruise
Seen Niagara Falls in person
Visited the birthplace of your ancestors (Ryan's ancestors in Ireland)
Seen an Amish community
Taught yourself a new language [spanish]
Had enough money to be truly satisfied
Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
Gone rock climbing
Seen Michelangelo's David
Sung karaoke
Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
Visited Africa
Walked on a beach by moonlight
Been transported in an ambulance
Had your portrait painted (A Caricature)
Gone deep sea fishing (Off the coast of Nicaragua)
Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (On my 5th anniversary)
Gone scuba diving or snorkeling [snorkeling]
Kissed in the rain
Played in the mud (Played mud football for FHE in college)
Gone to a drive-in theater
Been in a movie (Tifferella, a classic!)
Visited the Great Wall of China
Started a business
Taken a martial arts class
Visited Russia
Served at a soup kitchen
Sold Girl Scout Cookies
Gone whale watching
Got flowers for no reason
Donated blood
Gone sky diving
Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
Bounced a check
Flown in a helicopter
Saved a favorite childhood toy [I still have my Barbies and Cabbage Patch Doll]
Visited the Lincoln Memorial
Eaten Caviar
Pieced a quilt
Stood in Times Square
Toured the Everglades
Been fired from a job
Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
Broken a bone
Been on a speeding motorcycle (Don't tell mom)
Seen the Grand Canyon in person
Published a book
Visited the Vatican
Bought a brand new car
Walked in Jerusalem
Had your picture in the newspaper
Read the entire Bible
Visited the White House [just the outside]
Killed and prepared an animal for eating
Had chickenpox
Saved someone's life
Sat on a jury
Met someone famous [Naomi Judd, Elder Dallin H. Oaks]
Joined a book club
Lost a loved one (Grandparents)
Had a baby (Three cute ones)
Seen the Alamo in person
Swam in the Great Salt Lake
Been involved in a law suit
Owned a cell phone
Been stung by a bee
Totally copied a post from someone else's blog to your blog

Two Random Pages

I completely scraplifted this one because I really liked it.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7eKvZdkD47w_2BSigcLBRVJiK1cjj9BKZAYS0iBTO8x5xa5empqgLGVR1U299DBue_HNd1vWqU93nfrBcSgW5-WNcXKrBDc665RU4V9Jyarce5pCY59P6-Y9qZz2CkK8kpEqKgE74OnRg/s1600-h/StaceyMA.jpg

I found my pics of our trip to France 3 years ago so I felt inspired to scrap a couple of pictures.

Lesson learned

Since the power outage from the ice storm I have tried to make a list of things I was glad I had and things I wish we had and that we desperately needed.

1. Indoor Safe Propane heater.................check. We just bought this at the Bass Pro Shop. It works off of two small propane tanks or off one big tank. It heats 400 sq. feet which is half my house. Which is sad that my house is that small but not sad that I can heat half my house off this thing.

2. Kerosene lanterns.............................check. Candles are nice and all but these lanterns give off a lot more light. The oil stores easily and goes a long way. I also have extra wicks for it too. It will be a great way to light our house. We do also have two propane lanterns but I think these are better to have for indoor use.

3. Phone list........................................check. I rely so much on the computer and my caller ID that I didn't have a lot of phone numbers that I wished I had had. Now I have a hard copy of the ward list, friends and neighbors and other important numbers.

4. Old school telephone............................check. I have one of the old phones that just plug straight into a phone jack and it doesn't need power at all. I had this already and was so grateful because it was the main way I communicated with people.

5. Car cell phone charger........................check. Luckily I had this already too. I was able to charge my cell phone so when I wasn't home I was able to keep in touch with Ryan. I had to sit in my car for about 15 minutes for it to charge but was happy I did have a way to do it.

6. Supply of batteries........................check. I get batteries at Costco so we always have a lot of them.

7. Extra diapers..........................check. That is the one thing I had to run around town to find. Most stores around us weren't open so I had to drive about 15 miles to Costco to get them. Not too bad but with the roads bad it took a long time. So now I try not to wait until I am almost out until I buy more.

8. Extra cash.............................check. You know if the power is out and people are still able to sell stuff they won't be able to take debit cards. It would be helpful to have some extra cash around in small bills, just in case.

9. Full tank of gas......................trying to be better at this. I was glad that when the storm came I did have a full tank of gas. I don't do very well with keeping my tank above half like they suggest so this is something I need to work on. When the power did come back on there were huge lines at the gas stations.

So these are the things I learned about during the power outages. If I had a heater, I would have been able stay in my house. I would have been able to feed my family from our camping stove and I had plenty of food for us. I felt like I had enough blankets and sleeping bags to keep us warm too. So now I am a little better prepared. It feels nice.

Self Portrait

This is Aidan's self portrait when he is 100 years old. He says that he will still be playing the PSP and Xbox 360 when he is 100.

I personally love the thinning gray hair and of course the stylin' suspenders!

Valentine's Day

We had a fun day planned for our Valentine's day with Grandma and Grandpa. It was really our only day all together so we had to take advantage of every moment. We started with breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Aidan loves this place. We aren't sure if it is for the food, the game at the table, or the big sucker that he got there one time. We all had good food and enjoyed someone else cooking a big breakfast for us. It was great!

After breakfast the boys went to the Bass Pro Shop while the girls went to Old Time Pottery. I love that they are right next door to each other. Smart planning. Mom and I had a great time picking out things that would go well in my house. I always love shopping with my mom.

After our little shopping event we went across the street to the $1 movie theater and watched Bolt. It was a pretty cute show. I laughed a lot. Of course we grubbed on popcorn, treats and soda. The kids were in heaven.

We took a little rest and then went swimming at the YMCA. We ended the night with some dinner at home. It was really a great Valentine's day. I was happy to be able to spend it with my parents, Ryan and my kids.

Ryan and I went out for the dinner the night before to avoid the Valentine craziness. We went to a great bar and grill called Bristol. We had great steaks and a yumMEE dessert. We also were boring and went to a very UNromantic movie, Taken. It was a crazy wacked out movie that had everyone dying or being severely injured by Liam Neeson. Romantic or not, I was happy to be alone with Ryan with free babysitting. Now that is a GOOD valentine's day!

Lunch with Grandma and Grandpa

My parents came to visit for a couple of days and the top thing Aidan wanted to do with them is have them eat lunch and school with him. He was so excited to have them come. We packed some food and enjoyed having lunch with Aidan. I love seeing him at school. You can tell he is so proud of his school. We were able to show Grandma and Grandpa his classroom, where he sits, and who his teacher is. We all had a great time.


Later that day Grandma and I came back to the school for Aidan's Valentine Party. I was doing the games for the party. It was fun for me to see Aidan in his class with his friends. They played games, ate snacks and opened their valentines from each other. Each child was so nice to each other. They would open a valentine and then ask the person, did you give this to me. They would say yes and then the other would say thank you. It was just really sweet to watch. The biggest hit was all the tattoos that came with the Valentine cards. Each kid had at least 3 on each arm. We had a good time.

First Birthday!

Facing Forward

Cassidy received a new car seat for her birthday. We turned her around now that she is one. She loves it and so do we. I love when I turn around to back up or to check my blindspot and see her cute little face. It still surprises me to see her just looking back at me. She is all smiles.

My new favorite appliance

Still can't believe it!

About a week before Christmas Ryan went shopping at Macy's with Lacey and Cassidy for Christmas presents for me. I had some money still left on a gift card there so I sent him to use it. While he was there he called me and said he found some money on the ground. How much I asked. FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS. He found five 100 dollar bills just laying on the ground. He could barely believe it when he saw it laying on the ground. I think he rubbed his eyes a couple of times. I'm sure it looked kind of strange seeing five $100 bills just laying there. He called for moral support to do the right thing. So, he walked it over to the HR department to turn it in. It was an easy choice for him to turn it in but still not everyday do you find $500. The girl he gave it to said, "Wow, you are an honest person." Ryan said, "I know!" She told him that if no one claimed the money in 30 days, he was entitled to the money.

Ryan couldn't stop thinking about his find. He mentally spent the $500 like a million different ways. Today Ryan called Macy's to see what had happened. The money was still there. So he sent me in to pick it up. I had to sign for it and show my ID. I couldn't believe I was walking out of there with that money. I didn't know if I felt blessed or if I felt like I just swindled someone.

So what do we do with $500?

Birthday Take two

Tonight we continued with the second half of Cassidy's birthday....the cake. We went to Kroger just to pick out a small cake. We put a pink one in front of Cassidy and a purple one to let her choose. Lacey wanted the pink one, Aidan wanted a yellow one. So this was the easiest way to let her choose. She quickly slapped her hand on the purple one. Purple it is.


We were all so excited to sing to her and see her dig into the cake. One of our favorite first birthday traditions. Cassidy didn't disappoint either. We all laughed and loved it.







Doesn't that make you want to eat some cake?