Happy Birthday Lis!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LISA!

I'm sure you all know Lisa wouldn't post Happy Birthday to herself on her blog..... This is Monica. I just had to sneek in and wish her a HAPPY BIRTHDAY. If you want to check out the list of things I love about Lis it's here on my blog! I hope you have a great day, you deserve it!

Tylie's Getting SO Big!

I can't believe how BIG Tylie is getting! I tried a new hair do today and I think it turned out very cute on her. She LOVES to get ponies in her hair and she even sat really still for me today while I did it... A MIRACLE!!! But she was excited to get new ponies with cute flower clips :)

I wasn't sure that it would work since I keep her hair cut short, but it is getting pretty long (for her) right now so I decided to try it out.

I think that it turned out stinkin cute on her.

Look how sweet and innocent she can look :) Good try Ty, be we all know the truth!!!

The Butcher, The Baker, The Wedding Cake Maker

Yep, that's right! This last weekend I was playing wedding cake maker! You're probably thinking the same thing as everyone else right now..... "I didn't know that she made wedding cakes," Well, that's because I don't. Or at least I haven't for a REALLY LONG TIME. So I was a little bit surprised when Jen asked me to make hers. If it would have been anyone else, I don't think I would have agreed to do it, or should I say my sweet hubby wouldn't have LET me do it! In fact, I didn't even tell him that I was doing it until a few days before because he hates it when I do them. You may not believe this, but I usually get really stressed out and freak out a wee little bit. But I promised him that I wasn't even stressing this one and I would be fine. And guess what ??? IT WAS! I was very calm and collected the entire time.

I think it has seriously been at least 4 years since I have even decorated a cake of any kind, let alone a wedding cake. Oh, and not to mention, I had NEVER done a cake out of fondant. Well, I wanted to try fondant, so I had done a lot of research about it on the internet and felt pretty good about it. Well, you'd think that having never done it before, I'd at least practice before the night before I had to do it... right? Oh no, I am a last minute person and with my crazy busy life, that's just what happens and and how I roll :) So here are some pictures of the process, and of course the finished product.

Bryson was my little photographer and as always he loves taking pictures.

He actually does a pretty good job.

Here I am getting it all smooth. So fun!

This is the cake before I put on the finishing touches. You can tell that I wasn't too worried about the bottom edges because I knew that they were going to be covered up in the end.

And... the finished product. Of course it wasn't perfect, but I was pretty happy with how it turned out, especially for my first try at it!

So I said earlier that I am a last minute type a gal, well, we got the cake delivered at the reception with 15 minutes to spare before it started! And no, I wasn't even stressed at this point! I am sure that it was because Jodi and the girls know me, and know that I was right on time!

I have to say that there is NO way that I could have done this without my fav sis Mo! She was totally awesome and had my kids both Fri. and Sat. while I worked on the cake. Jeremy had guard so he wasn't any help with them, and there was NO way that I could have done it with them here. So she was so good to help out and kept them at her house while I slaved away. So thanks Mo, you are my LIFESAVER!!!

Good Times On Halloween

What a CrAzY time of year! I love Halloween, but by the time it actually gets here, I have just about had it. This year was no exception. It started thursday evening with the Meadow Ward Halloween Party which is always a good time.

Friday morning was a just plain HeCtic trying to get the kids all dressed up, painted, and ready for the ScHooL CaRniVaL that the PTA puts on every year. They do such a great job, and the kids have a blast at it. They have asked me to help the past two years, and it is SO much fun to see all the kids dressed up so cute. Let me tell ya, this year I was in charge of the Witch Hat Ring Toss game and by the end of the day, I honestly had done at least a thousand lunges and squats picking up all the rings. My legs were sore for days after, but it was still a lot of fun.

After school Mo and I were stupid enough to think it would be fun to take the kids to SpOoKy StOrY hOuR at the Library in Fillmore. Now that was wild! I don't know what we were thinking, but the kids had fun there too.

By the time we needed to get the kids ready for TrIcK or TrEaTinG my nerves were completely shot. I know, I know, for those of you who know me, you would never believe that :) But, we got them ready and headed out. They had a great time, and of course got way too much candy.

Jeremy loves to dress up for school and this year he was a hit. He even had that redneck southern accent that he spoke with which had everyone bustin up.

Carson and Brock were both Darth Vader. Carson decided not to wear his mask because it hurt his face (the costume looks much better with the mask, but whatever!)
Bryson and Kaleb were both Vampires. Look at Kaleb's freaky face!!! Every picture was a tad bit scary. What a kid.

Here are all 4 girlies. Carlie was Tinkerbelle, Addi was Snow White, Tylie was a Ladybug, and Kamryn was a Witch. It gets a little crazy when the girls are all together, but they have a lot of fun together! Carlie was insistent that Kamryn needed her witch hat on, but Kamryn didn't think so!

Here's my little TyLiE bUg! Doesn't she just look so sweet and innocent??? Yep, she can fool anyone with that sweet little smile!

Here's the GirLs... Kelsey, Me, Skyler, and Mo. I am so glad that they came down to the ward party, it just isn't the same without them living in Meadow anymore! What are we gonna do when Sky leaves us and goes to college next year? We have a good time hangin out and chattin:)

The kids love goin to Great Grandma & Grandpa's house. Of course they spoil them rottin and let them pick WAY too much candy! I love these pictures we got of them with the kids.

What a cute pic of ALL the kids (except Kamryn who had already had enough at this point) with Great Grandma & Grandpa.
Addi and Great Grandpa. What a little cheeser!

I LOVE this sweet picture of my Grandma & Grandpa Beckstrand. How cute are they? We are so lucky to live right next door to them. My kids love to walk over and visit, and of course get treats. What great examples they are to me in every aspect of their lives!

My Little Darlin's At It Again!

What am I gonna do with this little darlin of mine???

So the other day I was getting ready for the day in my bathroom, and I had just changed my clothes. In the process of changing my pants, I emptied out my pockets. There just happened to be a tube of dark pink, extra thick and sticky, lipgloss in my pocket which I sat on the counter. I continued to do my hair, not noticing that while Tylie was in there watching me get ready, she grabbed the lipgloss and ran. She is so fast I didn't even know that she had taken it! A few minutes later, she came walkin into my bathroom and this is what I saw...

Yep, she bit the top off the lipgloss so she could just squeeze it out and that is just what she did. She went to town on painting herself, and just about everything else she could in the few minutes that she had.

That included her baby doll and her bedspread...

Her chair... and of course every bit of clothing she had on!
This is after I tried to get it off her face and out of her hair with baby wipes. You can tell that it didn't quite come out to easily, and she wasn't very happy about it.
In case you are wondering, the lipgloss did not come out easily! I washed, and scrubbed, and used every kind of shampoo possible and she still had pink hair! It had this thick greasy film that just would not come out. After a few days, and trying lots of different things, it finally has worn off and isn't pink anymore.

All I can say is it is a DANG good thing that she is so cute!

Oh ya, I keep forgetting about this, but here are the after pics of my kitchen cabinets. As you can see, after a few hours of scrubbing, most of the marker came off. You can't really see it very well in the picture, but there is very little evidence left of the black marker, and if you didn't know it was there, you'd never even notice it!

{ What a Special Lady...}

I am using the same post as Mo because I would have written almost exactly the same thing as her. Great minds think a lot :)

Monday morning my sweet Great-Grandma Neva passed away. I'm feeling guilty for all the times I drove past Spanish Fork and didn't stop. I'm feeling happy for her to get be with my Grandpa again. I'm feeling grateful that she loved us as her own, and for the wonderful memories of her that I will cherish. There are many words I can think of that describe Grandma Neva, but the one that stands out is SPUNKY! That woman could run circles around me up until a few years ago, and I don't think anyone walked as fast as she did. She made the most beautiful Christmas gifts for us when we were younger, but the wrapping was almost as beautiful. Even as a child I remember not wanting to open my gift because it was always SO perfect. I feel so privileged to have had her in my life and will truly miss her.

Neva Mower Sanderson Johnson
(February 12, 1920 - September 29, 2008)

Our beloved grandmother, mother, and friend, Neva Mower Sanderson Johnson, passed away peacefully September 29, 2008Neva was born February 12, 1920 in Oak Creek, Utah to Francis Marion Mower and Martha Terry. She married Ted Sanderson on August 9, 1939 and was later divorced. She married R. Dean Johnson on October 27, 1974 and was later sealed to him on December 22, 2001.Our grandma loved to crochet, garden, and bake pies for birthdays. She loved to camp and fish, she was a wonderful dancer, and made beautiful quilts. Grandma was the best Kismet player. We always got to see the happy dance when she got a Kismet. Grandma loved spending time with her grandkids. She was very dedicated to her roses and was rewarded for her efforts by receiving the Beautiful Yard Award in Spanish Fork. Grandma stayed active with her gardening and yard work and continued walking right up until the day of her death. Grandma never let her hair fade from its vibrant red color and always reminded us of her bent and crooked fingers–they were working hands.Grandma is now rejoicing in Heaven with her silver haired sweetheart and her beautiful little boy.She is survived by her son, Bryant (Colleen) Sanderson, of Santaquin; daughters, Charlene (Doug) Allan, of Mapleton; Paulette (Larry) LeDuc, of Provo; and Gwen (Keith) Barney, of Salem; 21 grandchildren; 45 great grandchildren; and 33 great great grandchildren.We love you Grandma and look forward to doing the happy dance with you again.Funeral services will be held on Thursday, October 2, 2008 at 11:00 a.m at the LDS Church at 310 E. Center Street, Spanish Fork, Utah. Family and friends may call on Wednesday evening, October 1, 2008 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. at Walker Mortuary, 187 South Main Street, Spanish Fork or on Thursday morning at the church from 9:45-10:45 a.m. prior to services.

My Budding Little Artist

This morning when I woke up, I thought to myself, today is going to be a good day. That is what I get for thinking! I got Tylie out of bed and she was just playing in her room and watching her new Barbie movie... or so I THOUGHT! She was very quiet about what she was doing, so I had no clue. And of course she is very fast when she is doing something she knows she shouldn't be doing. So when she came into my bedroom and I saw a little bit of BLACK PERMANENT MARKER on her arms I instantly head to the kitchen to where she had a chair pushed up to the counters, and had climbed up on the counter and found a black sharpie off of the top of the fridge. So this is what I came upon...

Yes, these are my kitchen cabinets!!! And the last picture is my wood floor!!!

So you can guess what I was doing ALL morning long, trying to figure which kind of cleaner takes permanent marker off wood. I scrubbed, and scrubbed, and scrubbed. Much to my surprise, if you scrub hard enough and use enough different cleaners, it does lighten considerably. It still isn't all the way off, but I think the rest may just have to stay because it doesn't want to seem to come any cleaner. So, pray for Tylie that she doesn't do anything else today that she isn't supposed to because I don't know if I could handle anymore today!!!