my girls

just a warning...this post is going to be all about how fantastic my daughters are, for future reference.

the other night, while listening to elder dieter f uchtdorf at the rs general women's broadcast, i was feeling very much like i should write a few things down. one thing he said was that we all have talents and gifts. it struck me that maybe i should have a family home evening to talk with my girls about this. i try really hard to emphasize how kind and loving and generous and so on, they are every day, but i really felt like i needed to sit down and tell them some of the gifts and talents that I see in them. so, i thought and wrote down a few for each girl and then i shared my thoughts with them in family home evening last night.

ella: fun, full of energy, sweet, gentle, good at writing her letters, a great friend.

afton: creative, kind (especially to animals), willing to share and be a good friend to her sister, funny, easily able to laugh.

i shared ella's first and afton had the sweetest smile on her face while listening and would add in a few items here and there. i think afton will remember this evening more than ella, but maybe that's the point. i don't know. all i know is that i felt like i needed to tell them, and anything positive you hear about yourself will only help you feel better about yourself and others.

when i was pregnant with afton, ryan said how important he thought it was to always use positive words to describe your children. if you say they are bratty, then they probably will be. but if you say they are sweet, then they probably will believe that about themselves. when afton was born, everyone would say how beautiful she was and i thought to myself...i want her to feel beautiful, but i also want her to know that she is smart, kind, loving, strong, etc. so i would tell her (and ella as well), "you are my sweet, smart, strong, gentle, (etc) girl" each day while i was dressing her. i still try to tell them these things when we have a quiet moment. i hope it helps them develop these characteristics as time goes on.

i love both of these beautiful girls and i hope that they will always remember that they are individuals with different gifts and personalities, but that they share one important common thread...that they are both daughters of Heavenly Father.

a few items of business

after a very inspiring coupon-clipping enrichment class, i found myself at the delta sonic (the least expensive gas station that also sells a salmon salad i'm dying to try, seriously) filling up the rodeo. i had a coupon for 3 cents off per gallon. so, i took my receipt and marched right inside that delta sonic and asked if i could use the coupon. the clerk said yes and took my receipt and promptly handed me my 0.39. i couldn't even buy a drink with my savings. (by the way, ryan has never laughed so hard.)

i just have to share how much i love my cute little nursery chickies, all 30+ of them. i am the newly called nursery leader. the kiddos are split into a jr and a sr nursery. today got a little crazy, but it's mostly pretty good. they are all so funny and such individuals! it's so much fun to see them out of the nursery setting. they usually light up, but get a little shy until i give them a hug and then we're good. i love love love my nursery co-workers! they are all so loving and reliable and wonderful. i'm naturally a teeny-tiny bit crazy/stressed/sweaty in chaotic situations, but they make me feel much less frantic. so hooray for amazing people.

also, in the news...ella is hysterically funny. she and her friend, kira, have all the words memorized (not so much the tune) to all of the barbie & the diamond castle songs. in case you aren't up to date on the barbie movies, this is the latest and greatest. they love this movie and especially the "i feel connected" song. apparently kira loves to annoy her brother by singing this over and over! they are very serious about all of it and even have 'magical heart' necklaces that we had to make last week. then they held hands and repeated in unison, "today, tomorrow and forever" (regarding their friendship, apparently), just like leanna and teresa do in the movie. it is difficult not to laugh out loud.

afton is doing great in 2nd grade! hooray for a new school year. she loves her teacher and is making new friends in her class. she is feeling pretty pleased with her newly acquired math skills taught to her by dr. hulse. he taught her a different way to add, and the very next day her teacher taught the same thing. afton said "ms. butenschoen had to teach everyone, but i already knew how to do it!" she was so excited because math is not her favorite subject. way to go aftie and dad.

ryan is off to a meeting tomorrow for the week. he is just thrilled to be going. (read with a sarcastic tone) he's had a few weeks of frustration, but that just makes us appreciate the good stuff even more. he's been golfing on saturday mornings with a few friends and having a great time. i am so glad he can go out and have some fun. sometimes those 5 work days can seem like they'll never end. sometimes saturday morning never looked so good.

i am just wishing for a million or so dollars because i finally feel like doing something with this place we call home. so, while ry's gone this week i just may do something crazy, like paint the door, or hang a picture or two. you just never know...

tagged by christi

i don't really do tags, although i like to read what others say on theirs! so, here's one for all of you to enjoy...

10 Years Ago:
1. dating ryan and praying he would marry me
2. working at Profit Recovery Group
3. lived by myself in my own apartment in sandy, utah
4. did a lot of shopping
5. did a lot of eating out

Today's To Do List: (my day is almost over, so for tomorrow)
1. exercise
2. grocery shop
3. make a wreath for enrichment craft day
4. pick up the preschoolers
5. family home evening

Fav Snacks:
1. apples and peanut butter
2. cookies
3. bananas and peanut butter
4. cookies
5. kashi tlc dark chocolate/oatmeal cookies

If I was a Millionaire:
1. give money or things away to people in need (secretly, of course, it's the most fun)
2. start a business and hire people to do the stuff i didn't want to do.
3. buy lots of clothes and wear them in paris
4. open a yoga studio with a cork floor
5. buy ryan a porsche

I have lived in:
1. dallas, texas
2. twin falls, idaho
3. rupert, idaho
4. salt lake city, utah
5. buffalo, new york

if you are reading this, i expect to see your tag list shortly! i'll be checking.

happy birthday to megan!!!!

today is my sissie, megan's, birthday! megan is 4 years younger than i am. she is a very, very silly girl. we like to laugh together as sisters. my youngest sister kara could really make us laugh with her bart simpson, mr. ed (the talking horse) and mr. white (jr high math teacher) impressions! we spent many an evening laughing at kara's impressions. (this is probably one of those times my mom canceled the cable.)

so, here are some of my favorite things about megan...

she is funny! she loves to laugh and she loves to laugh at others. wait, that doesn't sound very nice. mostly she likes to laugh when people fall, but are unhurt. (does that sound better?)

megan is soooo cute. she has dark brown hair and always tries to look her best. she wears super cute clothes, although she doubts the cuteness sometimes. so i have to reassure her.

megan is one amazing mama. she has three little peanuts. they are so darling and always dressed so well. they are very funny, like their mom, and very silly, like their mom! megan does all sorts of crazy things with her kids and is always so loving. she rides those crazy little scooter things all over the place with them. she reads lots of books to them and shares her love of music with them. her kids try all sorts of sports and different classes. she helps at their school and always has lots of kids playing at her house.

megan also has great taste. her house is so lovely and yet so warm. i LOVE going to her house because it makes me feel snugly and warm. i feel so at home and very comfortable. maybe too comfortable, because we usually stay in our jammies until noon. she has each room organized and decorated. i'm always inspired when i'm with her. when she's at my house, she always cleans up a little here and there. bless her heart!
megan used to organize her friends closets when we were young. and was almost caught in our neighbor's home while they were out of town on vacation. apparently someone had come back home to grab something, but she and kara hid and when the people left, they were able to finish their work. isn't that hysterical?

megan has the most tender heart. she is always concerned for others and helps so many people. i often think she's crazy to be doing so much, but she can't help it! she's just so sweet, she has to help.

megan is a great sister. she's always calling kara and i to check on us. she always has concern for one of us and talks to the other about how to help. she really is so amazing. i like to think i taught her a few things, as the older sister. but i'm pretty sure they were things NOT to do!

also, she picked a pretty great husband. we like cam!!!

so, here's to you sister! hope you had a great day and that this will be a wonderful year for you!
I LOVE YOU!

my sweet little peanut

our sweet aftie has been learning so much and trying so many new things and having some new emotions and concerns. yesterday she worked on making a quilt. she is amazing. she found some quilting fabric i had been given and decided to make a quilt. ryan helped her sew the pieces together and then she and i went to the store to find a piece of fabric for the back. she was so excited to work on it! she's almost finished and wants to do some tying as well.

the difficult part of the day came a little while later, when i tried to help her with her homework. she was not very happy about doing math and let me know it! then ryan came home and tried to help her. still not too happy. over dinner, we heard a sad story about how she wasn't able to write her sentences fast enough and everyone was going on without her. we tried to console her but to little effect. after dinner we headed to cold stone to drown our sorrows in sweet cream.

on the way home, we had a few sassy moments and had to have a little, sad talk about being respectful and kind, etc. no one was very happy, but we ended the night with a story and loves and kisses.

when i woke up this morning, this is what i found magnetized to my bedside lamp...
is that the sweetest thing you've ever seen? i love my sweetheart and hope she is having a better day today. hopefully she will be excited about her after school snack...earth balls! you can see the recipe on my recipe blog.

tennis anyone?

this is my friend kari. she and i decided it would be fun to play in a little tennis tournament at our tennis club. we didn't realize we'd be playing for 4 hours last night. we weren't the best players, but we were the most fun! actually, we got switched around a lot, so we only played with each other twice. we had a great time! i played with some amazing players and learned a lot. when i really paid attention, i could place the ball where i wanted it and even got it past my nemesis of the night, Raj! Raj is a guy i met who has been playing for only one year. however, you would never know it, you'd think he'd been playing for at least a year and half. hee, hee. anyway, we had a good time, except for the 90 mph ball that gary (who i believe is from a communist/no fun/and did i mention, mean? country) sent sailing straight to my, how shall i put this, nether-regions. it was painful. he asked if i was okay, but it was like those old russian gymnastic coaches. there was no fawning over me, no dramatic apology, etc.

also, in case you were concernced, this photo was taken after our first match. thus, the sweaty pits are showing up for a good reason.

no offense sweethearts...

today was very productive for me, and i believe i know why. i had a few hours to myself to actually accomplish something. no offense to my little sweeties, but i have a very difficult time getting things done when they are home. either they want me or i want to be with them, so things get left undone. which is alright most of the time. but let me tell you, there was some serious santizing needed in the playroom. so, while elle was at preschool i took the opportunity to discard and recycle and organize. guess what? when aftie returned from school, she and ella played in the clean playroom for hours. it's amazing when you find things you remember seeing long ago! they were so happy and content playing and coloring. it was really something. they created a new game of "mail" and colored pictures for me. if you look closely you can even see the floor. it's hardwood! i'll bet some of our friends have never even realized we had lovely hardwood in the playroom.

a few more faves

here are a few more of my favorite things. and the bonus is...they don't cost a lot of money.

the first is a good run. i love to run with my friend eliza, because she talks the entire time and it makes the time fly by! i don't know how she actually is able to talk, but she does. i mostly pant and say, "yeah" as we run along. the next fave is one of my all time favorites. i love clean white sheets on a saturday night. there is just such a lovely feeling of climbing into a bed made up with clean sheets, but i especially love white sheets. and it's even better on a saturday night, after i've been running around all day, cleaning, or working on the house. i think this comes from saturday cleaning days as a child. thanks mom.
last, but certainly not least is yoga. a good yoga practice can make your whole day better. i have a link to yogatoday. it is a great way to learn poses and how each pose can help your body. it does move a little slowly, which is good if you're new to yoga, but a little frustrating if you already know your poses and want a good workout. i do learn new things everytime i log on, but there is a lot of talking by the instructor. talking interrupts my peacefulness.
also, i have so enjoyed watching the us open. there have been some great matches! aftie has watched a little with me and i love her excitement when she watches and when she recognizes one of the players. we love tennis!

schoolgirls

so, here we go...two girls off to school. today was the first day of 2nd grade for our sweet aftie. she was excited and was especially looking forward to lunch. gg sent her a new barbie lunch bag and we put soup in a thermos, that eliza found for us. by the way, she didn't eat it! such a silly girl. also, you can't see the best part of her jeans...they have a lovely, shiny, purply unicorn applique on the thigh. ella chose her outfit, which is quite fitting, because it's almost like a princess dress-up. she was so excited to be going to school just like her grown-up sister. yesterday ella asked if one braid in the back with a 'bendy' would be a cute hair-do? a bendy is when you don't pull the hair all the way through your ponytail. so, let me tell you, it WAS a cute hair-do.

afton's best part of the day was making birthday cards and playing on the playground. believe it or not, playing outside is a BIG deal. this happens about 2-3 times a year. no kidding. she likes her teacher and says she is nicer than her teacher last year. she said, "even on the first day last year, mrs. walter wasn't very nice." so, we are feeling very glad about a nice teacher.
and here's elli at her pre-k. it's held in the basement of a lutheran church. ell has emphasized that her preschool is at a church, but not our church, a different church. the best part of her school time was getting a sticker at the end. she's not too difficult to please, luckily for her teacher! i had a good day, no tears, no sadness. i did feel a little funny driving home by myself and then coming home to a quiet house. but i got used to it and actually got to talk on the phone without anyone screaming in the background. weird.