Be~YOU~tiful

Was my last post really over 3 years ago?! Time is flying...

I ran into Michelle (which was SO so fun) and then felt guilty for not updating! 

So FIRST is a message that I think every woman -- young and old -- needs to listen to. 

Be~YOU~tiful

Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful

(Mother/Daughter Evening for Young Women's)

Here is my presentation:

http://prezi.com/j6rfiko8lvb0/beyoutiful-be-your-own-kind-of-beautiful/

Happy Valentine's Day

We are still alive and kicking! I'm so behind on blogging - where does the time go??

I took a few shots of the girls on Valentine's Day --

Evie is getting so big!

6 month check up:

height - 80%

weight - 75%

Smiling - all the time

I loved this shot of the two of them! If you look close, Kya lost her first tooth (lost as in "wiggled" out). It's been VERY exciting - until we lost the tooth (as in - can't find it now). So we're going to have to write a note to the tooth fairy...

The girls are so cute together. There is a distinct bond they share and it's been fascinating to watch from a mother's perspective. I can't tell you how much I love having girls! I'm so cheesy - we all have matching colors we wear and coordinating outfits. I'm living it up because this will only be cool for another year!

Baby Bunny

I have these emotional snapshots of every place we've lived (a little Mitch Album for ya).

For instance, Calgary: the snow swirling and dusting the freeway.

Texas: Pitch, pitch black sky above an absolutely flat and endless prairie with lightning striking constantly-almost like fireworks--in the distance.

Well, here, it's the ski resort lights along the ridge of the mountains behind our house. At night the resort just glows as you walk out the house and it seriously calls to you!
We took Kya skiing for the first time and she was brilliant! Look at this form! I literally had to pull her off the mountain at 9:30 at night -- she was loving it.

I hadn't been in 5 years. The last time I went, Kya was 6 months old, and I felt so guilty leaving her for such a long day (she was very collicky). I happened to walk by someone in our group at the wrong time (losing their temper at the end of the day) and as I walked by, they laid into me and literally said I was a lazy mother and wife. I had just moved back to Utah with my 6 month old to go back to school while my husband was working out of state. So you can imagine how much that comment stung. I never went skiing again.
And now, I was excited to strap on my skiis (I really missed my skiis) and go with my kidd-o.

I can't tell you how proud I was of her! I didn't realize Hal was taking this shot - this is probably how my face looked skiing with her the entire time. She is so cute! Our little pink marshmallow!

So it was a huge win...in a lot of ways!

A little Wii-Off

A little late in posting, but we pulled the projector outside and had a friendly little neighborhood "Wii-Off" with all the kids.

It was really fun. Seriously cold (Winter in Idaho) and then we watched Bolt on our garage door with all our neighbors.

Here it is with a flash - and before three more families showed up.

It was so cute to see this huge row of dozens of kids. And then I looked at my baby and realized somehow she had become blond without me realizing. I knew this day would come. I'd lose my little brunette...

Still adorable.

And did I mention I cut bangs?

And yes, we're all blinded--haha

Mardi Gras!

Every year we hold a MARDI GRAS party!

(The funny part is that every year there are entirely different people there!)

It was a blast - masks, wigs, balloon popping, battle of the sexes, and of course...

the chocolate fountain.

May I direct your attention to the perfect flow of chocolate. We're perfecting it!! haha! Always, always so good.

Evelyn's Blessing

I love baby blessings.

It was such chaos the weekend of the blessing (for several reasons ;-)

but it ended up being a fantastic day. Thanks to all who took the time to come.

Phyllis said it well when she told Joyce that only she could pull off putting a room in chaos into a Sacrament meeting in 10 minutes! The food was fantastic!!

(My cute sister-in-law and niece did a beautiful violin number)

A few shots...

We were glad Dan and Addie could make it

Here is the after-party at midnight hanging out with Dallen. Hal wanted proof to Marilee that they finished getting the floors in (just barely) to the new sunroom.

So how in the world did I escape getting any shots of me and my sisters-in-law and nieces? There were almost 40 of us there!

Do you guys have any other pictures?

I'll have to find my memory card of Christmas pictures but I love my inlaws. Some of my favorite people -- they can get me laughing harder than ever (even in the middle of crises).

Quotable quotes:

"That brazen hussy!"

"Oh man, and this is only the first day of the new year? We'd better drink to that!"

Pretty darn cute

Ok, confession time, the Christmas cards ended up being a printing nightmare, and then I was still somehow 20 short (still trying to figure that one out) so keep checking your mailbox!

I was so sad we didn't get a good family photo to send out, though.

So I packed the girls up--after I sent out cards--and finally got some cute shots of them together.

2 out of the 4 of us isn't bad??

(Especially when they're the two cute ones)

These two are so cute together...

It hurts to have hair!

My babies have hair, lots of it. The funniest part is that Evie pulls and screams, which makes her clench, pull, and then scream harder. A vicious cycle! It's terribly funny to watch and yet you feel so bad! Here is our kiddo in action:

We've been filling our time with:

Killer Jenga games-

this was our favorite (courtesy of the Hills)

Bounce, bounce, and more bounce houses with cousins and friends!



Yes, this is how we caught Kya sleeping. So did she fall out or is she just that angelic and fell asleep while praying??


First time ice-skating! She did great!
Her motto:
"When the going gets tough,
Kya gets DANG tough!"

Not complete without princess tea parties!

Today was a GREAT day! I was genuinely, truly, absolutely excited when I saw the temperature was back up to 19 degrees!! WAHOOOOO!!! We've landed in the coldest winter in 18 years. At least we're out of the single digits!

Here is our girls' band.

ROCK ON!

But more realistically, here is what's really been filling up every last second of my time

What is one tenth of

one hundredth of

one thousandth?

or

Are there unique solutions for VC firms to survive in a "2 and 20" world?

.

Will Dubai actually peel off assets or how will they survive?

.

Did you know that the most "wildly popular class" right now at Stanford Business School is "Work & Family" - teaching techniques for two incredibly bright people to juggle success, careers, family, etc.

For example: highly educated women who leave the labor force for two yrs earn an average of 18% less than if they had continued working.

.

Meanwhile top companies have hired Shawn Achor (teaches "Positive Psychology" at Harvard) aka "Dr. Happy" to help moost morale because employees were so emotionally drained. (Sound familiar with any of you or your companies right now???)

Stat:

Teams whose managers had positive attitudes had less turnover, fewer sick days, and higher productivity. -Michelle Conlin

.

agh! I could go on and on (my old Cali book club babes will just roll their eyes and laugh at my "geekiness") - but someone in the next room is crying for attention.

G'night!

ps - zhu zhu pets are in stock at shopko.com right now

Once and a while...

...I'm touched by a message that crosses my path.

Today, these two crossed my path and I enjoyed thinking about it so I'm passing it along.

(you'll have to pause the side music)

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This first video reminds me of Devin's presentations. If we could grab every teen/tween and tell them how wonderful they are, we could change lives.

With the world screaming so loud in their ears,

if only they could hear this message enough to stand tall amidst it all.

.

If He who made them loves them so fully,

then how is it the world can say they're not good enough?

I liked this last one. You have to at least watch the first half and see how it makes you want to jump up and help serve become more like Christ.

Isn't it amazing how music can be so powerful?

LOOOVE it!!

Happy Friday!!

I Heart...

Are you IN?!

I came across this challenge and I loved the idea! So for the month of November (currently on day 4) we are doing random acts of kindness where she challenges you to follow through on thoughts and seek out ways to give and then record it. Not limited to financial ways, but any ways - she says to think of your talents.

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We have been on the receiving end of SO MUCH kindness and generosity over the last 6 months that I can't possibly describe how much I've been touched. We felt like it was time to start paying it back.

.

.

Here are others' talents:

Do you know someone hit with a tragedy?

Click Here to learn more about Ryan's Lions

I love the idea of Ryan's Lions and passing compassion forward.

The idea is to continue passing the lion on, once you feel strong enough, to those who need the comfort, love, or empathy through their trials or tragedies. When words are hard...

I heart my Toms Shoes! (My sister ROCKS)

(except mine have a cool orange triangle)

I love people that blog their talents!!

Sites like http://www.shesaved.com/ (coupon tips - I actually bought a new Wii for $125 using her tips)

or I loved OhBrooke's blogging tips on changing your blog's fonts around!

I heart creative and crafty people! I wish I had time to list all the ideas I love!

What do you heart?

(We are doing a "Favorite Things" party next month and I love hearing about everyone's favorite tips or personal items!)

So seriously, what do you love???

Happy Halloween!

Looove Halloween around here!

Hal spent the week in DC and flew back just in time to celebrate with us.

This is pink butterfly "Idaho-cold" style!

Her face makeup was so cute; too bad it didn't show up.
I loved making Evie's little ladybug costume!
This is the first time I've attempted "making" one - wahooo!!
(I can do no-sew!)
Ah, random: it made me think of an announcement printed in church today:
"Attention Sewers!" - I had to read it a few times to realize it meant sew-ers. I kept thinking about the water lines they just shut off this week!
~~Insert slap on forehead~~
Hal and Kya went to a wild street for trick-or-treating with some friends while I stayed with the angry ladybug. This is pretty much what we looked like for two hours handing out candy...

She's steam ROLLING!

How can you not love this little face?

Kya made a funny when she saw her in the red sweater:

"Oh, mom, now we can call her Little Red Whiting Hood!"

2 months old

So I was showing Hal how cute her little tummy time is getting and then she started going NUTS!! I couldn't believe it -
So I'm sorry about the lighting - but this is hilarious! You have to watch.
I swear, the hair must make her tippy...

Trick or TREATS!

Here are a few super easy Halloween recipes that I love!
Some are really fast so it's great to do with kids!

These first ones are from my cousin, Amy - how cute are these?

The Perfect Pumpkin Roll

This recipe was posted on My Kitchen Cafe.
Cake:
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 eggs
2/3 cup mashed pumpkin
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 15 X 10-inch jelly roll pan.
Cut wax paper to fit the bottom of the pan and leave an inch overhang on each of the short ends of the pan.
Lightly grease the wax paper and sides of the jelly roll pan.

Mix the sugar, flour, salt, soda, cinnamon, eggs and pumpkin in a large bowl.
Once mixed, pour mixture over the waxed paper. Sprinkle the walnuts, if using, on top of the mixture. Bake for 14-15 minutes until edges pull away from the sides of the pan and center is done.

Lay a large dishtowel on the counter top (it is best to use a dishtowel without any texture - a tea towel or similar towel works best). Spread a thick dusting of powdered sugar all over the towel. When the cake comes out of the oven, turn the pan upside down on the powdered sugar-laden towel so the wax paper is on the top. Gently peel off the wax paper, being careful not to tear the roll. Starting at one of the short ends, roll the pumpkin cake up with the towel to cool. While the roll is cooling, mix the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar together until it is light and creamy. Once the roll is cool, unroll and with an offset spatula, carefully spread filling in an even layer over the cake. Roll it up without the towel and place in the refrigerator (covered with plastic wrap or wax paper) for about an hour before serving.


Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins!
Found this recipe HERE at Bake350!
We'll be making these tomorrow!!



Bucket o' Goodies!!


I love those little 50 cent buckets at Target and this year I just did rub-on stickers. Filled them with treats and we started attempting these easy chocolate stick guys.

Ya, I know they look a little weird, but it was really fun.

SOOOOO fun to do with kids!

Hardly any mess!

Takes 5 minutes!

WIN- WIN!

Just buy those melting chocolates (usually at Michael's or even WalMart) and just melt them, stick them in a frosting bag or ziplock bag (cut the corner) and draw out your shapes! They harden pretty quickly or you can stick them on a cookie sheet in your fridge.

3 Reasons You Know You Are Loved

How you know that you are loved.
(By Hal a guest poster)

1st - You get to "borrow" from the budget, the cash you earned and saved, craiglisting stuff from the house. Money that was set aside for "something else", to get an early B-day gift (2 months early) for a tablesaw.

2nd - You get to shirk all fatherly duties for a day of high impact flyfishing. That included motorcycling for miles on backwoods logger trails, bushwacking .5 miles down a steep ridge to get to the river, and coming home right on time 3 hours late.

The Foot Trail: once on the River

The Hole: Kings Chair - Named by Jon my brother in law, as a place where kings would fish based on the size and yeild of the catch. The chair is to the front and right of Jon.

Hal's River Monster! (sort of)
3rd - On the same day sitting down to a romantic night with Jess to watch the pre-recorded BYU v. SDSU game.
I had a good weekend.

I love you Jess

It's Fall!!

In the spirit of Thanksgiving (posted below) we were so grateful everyone is feeling better (thank you for all the kind posts and emails) so we attempted family pictures. "Attempted." But a few turned out cute:

I could not get any to turn out well of Kya - so here she is with her eyes shut...but looking adorable.

This is the only shot that was decent of all of us. Kya walks up and says,

"Oh Mom, I look so cute in this one! Wo- Evie, you look terrible."

Gotta love her brutal honesty.

Classic moment: Hal really struggled figuring out the timer right as Evie spit-up all down me at the same moment Kya jumped up screaming "Poop!" after she realized she sat on a wet lawn that had just been aerated.

It was funny, although it probably fails to even compete with some of your family photo sessions (especially you guys with a handful of chitlens)!

This gets trickier the more you have!!

And we only have two!