Ariel?

So I got a new "do" today (thanks Mom)! Just thought I'd share in case I meet any of you on the street and you don't recognize me. My girls think I resemble Ariel now. When Haven saw my hair, her eyes lit up and she said, "wow Mom, you look beautiful!" There nothing like a new look to give yourself a little pick me up.

December Stamp Camp Projects

Here are the projects we did at my stamp camp a few weeks ago. I thought it would be fun to post pictures so that those of you who live too far away to come, or your schedules just wouldn't allow it, could copy them if you so desired (and so you'd see what you missed out on, haha).







I received the new Winter/Spring Stampin' Up! catalog on Monday! And what a pleasant surprise it was. I'm really excited to plan my January stamp camp using some new stamps and accessories! I'll keep you posted of the date for my next camp. Happy stamping!

A few reasons for the lack of posts lately...

I dusted off my flute and played a number with the high school band and other band alumni! Fun and nerve racking.

We took another trip to Ensign Ranch to celebrate Christmas with my dad's side of the family. This picture is of all the great grandchildren waiting for the OK to open their gifts from Grandma Great!

A little trip to the tree farm to get a tree, take two! We kind of killed our first one. The girls are feeding Randolf, the phony-baloney-pony-who-thinks-he's-a-reindeer!

My little Christmas card elves! Thank goodness for extra hands.

The girls were watching the Charlie and Lola Christmas Special while they worked on the Christmas cards. They actually sing away in a manger in this cartoon! Notice the slightly crooked, beautiful new tree, with ornaments on the top two-thirds only (thank you Asher), topped with Angel Moroni (who seems to be besty friends with all the spiders in our tree)!

We only had one quality control issue, as Haven attempted to use the stamp book label as a stamp.

The girls cuddled up with our new quilt from Aunt Becky watching the Charlie and Lola Christmas Special yet again.

Gotta Love Blog Tag

Thanks to a friend and fellow blogger - Alisha- I have been "tagged". So here it goes...

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

10 years ago (in 1997)...

1. I had decided I was going to marry Michael Lemme! I just had to figure out how to make him fall madly in love with me and recognize his fate.
2. I was working at Baskin Robins, where I could get free treats to deliver to the window of the said boy in number 1.
3. I graduated from Oak Harbor High School.
4. I made the pilgrimage to BYU. Where the said boy in number 1, kissed me within the first week we were there.
5. My first BYU "report card" had the lowest GPA I had ever received (I'm sure it was Michael's fault) and I was positive my parents were going to kill me. Good thing they lived 1000 miles away!


5 things on my to-do list today:

1. Make a cool paper chain for my Christmas tree with awesome Stampin' Up paper, my tree needs a little umph! Especially since Asher keeps plucking ornaments from the tree an hurling them across the room.
2. Do dishes, yuck.
3. Get Christmas cards ready.
4. Finish the extra cards from my stamp camp today.
5. There's always laundry, pretty exciting.


5 snacks I enjoy:

1. Apples and peanut butter, and I don't skimp on the peanut butter.
2. Anything chocolate and peanut butter. I really shouldn't keep any of it around the house.
3. Bananas with peanut butter (do you see a pattern here?)
4. Cookies...I'm not to picky in this department, but sugar cookies are particularly dangerous.
5. Anything you can dip in Ranch.


5 things I would do if I were a billionaire:

1. I would love to eliminate financial burdens of people who are dealing with a terminally ill family members.
2. Build another Ronald McDonald House. Most of my patients had to live in the RMH for a year or two while their child was receiving treatment for cancer, because their home was in Alaska, Montana, Eastern WA etc.
3. Build my dream house! One that is big enough to hold/sleep all of my extended family, with a huge, SAFE, playroom where you can throw the children.
4. Be financially independent.
5. TRAVEL!


3 of my bad habits:

1. Procrastination. It's a problem I've had forever. I've just come to the conclusion that I work better under pressure.
2. Eating poorly. I love sweets and dislike vegetables. That pretty much sums it up.
3. I hate to floss, much to my husband's dismay. However, I made a commitment to floss everyday for the rest of my life if he bought me a jogging stroller. I think I've done pretty good at keeping my end of the bargain...he's only threatened to get rid of my stroller a few times.


5 places I have lived:

1. Selah, WA
2. Oak Harbor, WA
3. Provo, UT
4. Issaquah, WA
5. Back to Oak Harbor, home sweet home.


5 jobs I have had:

1. Preschool swim teacher
2. "Activity Support" at BYU, aka set up and clean up for events in the field house. Mike and I got a job together there. We often got paid to watch volleyball and gymnastics and we still keep in touch with our bosses there. They are hoping our kids will come work from them in a few years!
3. MTC Bookstore cashier and stocker. Oh the sweet, innocent and naive missionaries. They were always good for a laugh.
4. RN on the Med/Surg unit at Primary Children's in Salt Lake, peds/picu at Utah Valley, and Hem/Onc at Seattle Childrens. I only miss these jobs a teeny, tiny bit.
5. Stampin' Up Demonstrator. This "job" is purely for pleasure.

5 things people don't know about me:

1. I'm obsessed with keeping Barbie hair looking nice. As soon as my girls open a Barbie, I say, "why don't we put at pony in her hair."
2. I like to dip cheetos in miracle whip (or stick them on a sandwich that has miracle whip on it).
3. I think I could mix sour cream, grated cheese and olives and eat it with a spoon.
4. I heart the "Deadliest Catch" as seen on the Discovery Channel.
5. I'm obsessed with getting the best possible deal on anything, thanks a lot Mom, J/K.

I tag Catherine, Emilee, Karissa, Sarah B., Brittany and the Laurels

Drawing for adorable quilt patterns

I found this drawing through a friends blog. You should checkout the adorable quilt patterns that you can win by simply leaving a comment listing your top 3 favorite patterns.

"A special evening filled with romance and entertainment."

So last week I received and invitation that stated the following...

Dearest President and Family:

Today is not a holiday
It isn't even your birthday
But I still thought I'd like to send
A special message to my friend
You make me laugh and make me smile
You ease my troubles for a while
When clouds are thick and skies are gray
You put some sunshine in my day
You're really thoughtful sweet and kind
I know I've only told you once or twice
That I think you are very nice
But someone who's as great as you
Should be told more often than I do
And so I send these words with love
Why did I send them?...just because

You are cordially invited to attend a special evening filled with romance and entertainment.
For Young Women Leaders and their families.

My Laurels had asked permission to "take charge" of the activity tonight and told me that it was a surprise so I couldn't be in the know. When I asked them to make sure they asked the other leaders if they needed assistance, they told me they were not privy to the information either, so I kind of had a clue what they were up to. However, I never imagined it would be as amazing as it was. Here is how the night went down. We showed up to the church to find a table set with china and crystal, with just enough place settings for all the leaders and their spouses. A few of the YW greeted us at the door and whisked our children off to the nursery where they fed them macaroni and cheese, and dirt cups for dessert. Since it's my birthday, I had a special seat at the head of the table, with the classic "you are special" red plate and a very large birthday hat to wear (which matched my birthday princess sash that was delivered to my door this morning). They served us a delicious dinner, complete with sparkling cider! The YW were all dressed in their Sunday best and did a fantastic job serving us. Then for our entertainment, Jenna (one of my laurels) had asked all of the husbands to take a few minutes to share a few words about how fantastic their wives are. Then they presented us with gifts: custom mugs they painted for us, with hot chocolate and marshmallows! It's really such an honor to serve these YW and so touching to think about all the time and effort that was put into an evening we thoroughly enjoyed.

Thanks Jenna, Sarah, Allison, Kayla, Brie, Cailey, Janavieve, Catherine, Shannon, Bailey, Keri and Alexi (and the rest of you who were behind the scenes), tonight was fabulous!

The gang

The birthday girl in her special seat, wearing her special attire.

My amazing board (minus one adviser who couldn't make it)

Leaders with some of the YW who made it all happen.

Oh, and I had my very own designated parking spot for the evening (they really thought of everything)!

Fun at Ensign Ranch

So here are some snippets from our little Christmas getaway last weekend. We went to Ensign Ranch in Cle Elum, WA. We started the tradition last year and already have dates for next year. We love it. Even though we all live within a couple miles of each other, we never get to spend a full weekend together. I felt like it was a great start to December and the Christmas season! For other funny pictures of our time at Ensign Ranch, checkout my sister, Sarah's, blog!

Grandma playing foosball with all of my kids.

Asher opening his new fire truck from grandma and grandpa. He couldn't even wait for us to get the bag off before he climbed in!

The stay puff camo man

Along for the ride!

Mike and Asher and Halle race on their sleds. Checkout the clouds that dropped a foot of snow our last night at the lodge!

At the starting line of the fire truck drag race!

The aftermath!