Sweet Surprises

I'm a little late posting this but I just had to tell you about my Sunday. I woke up soooo tired, and I was sort of dreading the day- church by myself, sunday rules- so no friends to keep the kids busy and I was desperately missing Manuel. The kids were missing him too- it's just not the same when he's out of town.

Anyway, we made breakfast and then I asked the boys to play and be good so I could shower and get ready for church. Typically this request would be ignored and my entire shower I would be refereeing (sp) arguments and so on. To my surprise my shower was pleasant and quiet. Can you beleive it- I still can't. They were in their room playing and being so sweet and kind to each other- So started my fabulous little surprises. They all got dressed and brushed teeth without to much stress.

Then as I'm leaving for church my sweet hubby calls and says he is coming home- just for 2 days- but I'll take whatever I can get. He had some projects get rescheduled so he decided to head home. Such a FABULOUS surprise.

At church I was sitting in nursery, wondering why on earth this is where I should be, feeling isolated and out of place when Sister Hughes comes in and says I'm here so that someone can go to Relief Society today, since I was the only not holding a crying child they told me to go ahead and go. What a blessing, I so needed a break and some spiritual food! The lesson was just what I needed to hear titled "Good, Better, Best" from a conference talk in October by Dallin H. Oaks. Small I know, but a little surprise for my soul.

After dinner, Manuel took the kids to visit Mari and I had a little bit of time to myself. I was so grateful that a day that I was not looking forward to ended up to be SO SWEET!!!!

Scrap Happy

For those of you who know me well, you know that I love to scrapbook... Now that we are in our new house I have a space that I can work on them and really nobody interrupts me. So when my sister Breeann emailed me and asked me if I wanted to BRAVE the Scrapbook Expo with her, I was really excited. Yesterday we braved the crazy, obsessed scrapaholics with all their luggage looking rolling carts in tow. We purposely got there a little after it opened to avoid all the crazed women who show up at midnight before the show even opens. We probably only made it through 3/4 of the show but judging by the photo below our husbands are more than happy that we missed some of the stores. I must say there are some serious bargains to be had and I did plenty of damage! Thanks Bree for the invite, it was really fun!

These are one of my favorite finds, I'm so excited to use them. They are puzzle pieces, some with chipboard letters in and some are small pieces with patterns printed on them. They came in a packet wth matching paper and some extra embellishments and ribbon for only $4.00!!!! I also found velvet paper and tons of cute embellishments. I was so excited that last night I couldn't sleep so I scrapbooked until 1:00 am. A little tired today but it was worth it!

So excited...

Yeah- the weather is so Gorgeous today. The kids have been playing outside and it is so FABULOUS to just sit on the deck and watch the kids enjoy the yard! We are really enjoying the surprises that we have been finding in our new yard. There are lots of flowers that have bloomed that are so much fun. Avery discovered some new flowers outside yesterday and came and found me to show me "Avery's flowers". There are a few trees that are just starting to bloom and I can't wait to see the whole tree in bloom! It is really rejuvenating to see everything waking up from the winter, this year I have enjoyed it more than ever!
A few things happening this week:
* Eli went to see the allergist on Friday and we found out he is allergic to TONS of stuff outside, we knew he had issues but I had no idea there were so many things affecting him. Obviously the cats, dogs and horses were really reactive, but the outside stuff was alos really high. Soooo... he will start allergy shots this week. It will take a while but hopefully the boy will see some marked improvement in his breathing, sneezing and congestion.
* It is Spring Break- no more waking up early, driving back and forth etc. etc.
We are going to RELAX and ride bikes in the canyon, we actually have some nice weather through the week. One day we are going to the Aquarium and one day we are going to visit the Clark Planetarium.
* I found a fun cookbook that I have wanted for a while, it is Angel Shannon's "Stick of Butter" cookbook. She is frequently on Good Things Utah and I like how easy she makes everything look. So when I started looking through her cookbook I was super excited. I have wanted a new cookbook- tired of my current ones- and loved some of her recipes. So if the kids will cooperate and let me try some new recipes we should have a fun week. I don't get to bake new things much and I truly miss the creative time I used to spend in the kitchen. So we'll see how much I can actually get done this week!

Enjoy your week and get out there and enjoy the sunshine with your family or make some yummy treats with the ninos!!!!!

Boys and Birthdays

I forgot to enter a little something about Alex and Eli since they both just had birthdays.

Alex is 10 now and quickly getting much taller. I think this will be the year that he actually gets taller than me. Alex is a fun kid and definitely the practical joker in the family. He has really seemed to grow since we moved here. He is loving the big yard, he can go and play ball when he's upset with his brothers, he has made some good friends- Maddie and J.T., and his cousins are so close now that they often walk over to play (that is really fun) he is actually so busy all the time. We decided not to do big birthday parties this year so we just had dinner here at home- Alex's favorite- Navajo Tacos and instead of traditional birthday cake he requested Strawberry Shortcake! He got a new bike and a new outfit this year and Maddie and J.T. and Christian and Rodrigo came over to eat cake with us. We love you, Alex- Thanks for all the times that you make us laugh.

Eli is 7 now, I can;t believe he will be getting baptized next year. He has also really sprouted up this year, I noticed all his winter pants are getting too short for him. He has changed a lot the past year, looking more like a bigger boy this year. With that he's also started acting a bit more like a bigger boy- he still has his super sweet side but he's also gotten a little stubborn side now.

Eli also got a new bike and few toys for his birthday, he wanted Indy and a few of his friends to come over for cake but it was family night and it was also snowing so we decided to keep it a family birthday party with Christian and Rodrigo here, Daira was also here from Ohio so she and Abuelita joined us for dinner- Eli requested Hamburgers (yes we were grilling in the snow, BRRRR) and had a Spiderman cake and chocolate/vanilla swirl ice cream. We love you, Eli- Thanks for all your help and your hugs are the best.

Thanks Grandpa Randy for the Toys R Us gift cards and Thanks Grandma Barbara for the Target gift cards!!!

No pictures till I find the camera

I've decided that I need a camera with a GPS locator on it... We are always losing it!!! Maybe I am always losing it, I have too many things to juggle, the video camera, the digital camera- for emailing pics and then my trusty old camera that I still love to use because it takes pictures fast!

So since the digital camera has taken a vacation- I am using only my old camera for the moment.
I am sad that it's gone, but you know everything happens for a reason- Let's see the first thought that comes to my head is ummmm... Chelsea needs a new digital camera- can I request one that doesn't have what seems to feel like a 30 second delay after I push the button! Yay!!!

After I develop the pics on the old school camera I'll get a disc with them and then I can upload photos of the kids and whatever we have missed. No worries, the kids should all look about the same as the last pictures!

Let me know if any of you have a great digital camera!!
Bye