Get Your Posh On

I fell in love with Perfectly Posh the first time I used one of the products.  Now I sale it.  So of course I had to include a little bit of that on my blog.  If you like using face masks, you will understand the loveliness of this picture.  Oh how good it feels!!

Corn Hole

We have been spending all our extra time working on our remodel project.  So when we got an invitation to the Elders Quorum Party we went willingly.  It was a fiesta at the Bown's house. The food was delicious!  After dinner we played a little corn hole.  When we were playing for fun Brian let me be his partner. However, as soon as it turned into a competition I was kicked off his team and traded so he had a better partner.  Luckily for him, they went on to take first place.  And I got to just sit and watch. For the love of competition!?

Crazy Girls

Yes, my house is still in the construction stage.  So just kind of ignore that and check out these cute girls.  My neighbors are the best, they spend a lot of time at our house even in this mess.  Anyways their cute daughter, Hannah, had my niece, JaKayla, over for a late night.  They came over and wanted Kenzi to come and play with them.  She ended up doing all their hair in some crazy style and just having fun with them. I love it when my girls will play with younger girls.  It takes a special person to do that.  I am so grateful for such a great daughter, and great friends!

And really aren't these girls just adorable?  I sure love all of them!!

Fire, Fire!

Brian was on a transport  Friday night so I stayed up waiting for Kenzi to get home.  About midnight she came in and said, "The Bown's (our neighbor) truck and house are on fire!"  It turns out it was just his truck, but it almost got the house.  His siding was all melted.  It was so weird.  He had two guns and a bunch of bullets in the truck.  As the fire got hotter the bullets started popping.  It was like our own firework show.  I actually got hit with one of the casings.  Now it wasn't bad, so don't worry. I just got nicked.  But now I can officially say I have been shot right? 

My neighbors came and we helped get the fire out before the fire department got there.  It was a crazy night!  I had a really hard time going to sleep after.  The thoughts of what could have happened just made me sick.  So thankfully it wasn't any worse!

Debt

I have been thinking a lot lately about debt.  I am ready to be out from underneath it.  Brian and I talked last night and made a plan.  We figured we can have all our debt (minus the house) paid off in 3 years and possible sooner!  That is so exciting to me.  Anyway I wanted to share our journey with you.  We started by writing down all our debt.  We included the amount to pay off, the interest rate,  and the minimum monthly payment.  Next we talked about them a lot and decided what order we were going to pay them off in.  Now we just have to do it and then snowball the amount on to the next loan.  Here we go.  I will let you know how it goes for us!

Flag Day

One of the things I get to do as a young woman's leader is to help with putting flags out for every holiday.  Now I have to be honest  and tell you this is not my favorite thing.  Sometimes I feel like I am constantly hounding the girls to help with this.  However, I love to see the flags out along the streets.  I love the feeling of American pride I get when I see the flags waving.  I love being an American and showing how much I love this country.  I hope to pass that love along to my children, to my friends, and to my neighbors.  

"Proud To Be An American"

If tomorrow all the things were gone I'd worked for all my life,
And I had to start again with just my children and my wife.
I'd thank my lucky stars to be living here today,
‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom and they can't take that away.

And I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.
And I'd gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land God bless the U.S.A.

From the lakes of Minnesota, to the hills of Tennessee,
across the plains of Texas, from sea to shining sea,

From Detroit down to Houston and New York to LA,
Well, there's pride in every American heart,
and it's time to stand and say:

I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.
And I'd gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain't no doubt I love this land God bless the U.S.A.

Girls State Graduation

Yeah, we got to pick up this cutie finally!  It was super rainy and we were all drenched before we got to the building, but boy were we happy to see her.  Brian and I got there just barely in time.  They gave us the wrong address so it took us a little while to find it.  Sadly the graduation lasted 2 hours!!  It was way long and Kenzi was ready to just go home.

It's kind of funny being a parent.  Sometimes these lovely kids you get are so challenging that you wonder what you were thinking when you decided to have them.  Then other day, like this one, you are so grateful for the love and the light they bring into your lives.  Then you know why you choose to be  parent.

This experience was so good for Kenzi.  She fit right in with these girls and she had a blast!  She was elected as a Girls State Senator.  It was just fun to see her excel and be part of the group.

Isn't she a beautiful girl?  Love ya Kenzi!

Missing Child

Wanted:  my cute teenage girl to come back home.

As many headaches as this girl has given me, I sure have missed her cute personality this week.  She is at Girls State and loving it from the little I hear from her.  This is the picture she posted on Instagram saying, "Real life heroes! Thanks for your service! #vietnam."  What a cutie!!

Girls Camp

I have been in my wards young woman program for about 6 years now.  One of my very most favorite parts is going to girls camp.  I love the chance we get to laugh and play and just get to know the great girls in our ward, but mostly I love to watch how to spirit touches each of these beautiful girls sometime over the few days they are camping.  This year I only got to go up one day, however it was an amazing day!  I love these girls!  They are all amazing!!

One of our favorite things to do is to sit in a circle and play all kinds of crazy games.  Sometimes I think the priesthood leaders think we are a little crazy but boy do we laugh!!

This year the bishop had us play a kick ball game except we couldn't kick the ball, we had to hit it with open hands.  We all had a great time and somehow we ended up tied, or at least that's what the bishop said.

Every evening we meet all together with the stake and any missing items are claimed and those who lost the item need to do the squirrelly dance.  Our bishop was to good to participate.  The girls love to see these men being silly right along with the rest of us. 

And last but probably best is that I get to spend time with my own daughter at camp.  Sheridan is such a trouper.  She does most things without complaining, even going on the fourth year hike.  I love you Sher!!  

All in all my message would be that if you haven't had the opportunity to go to girls camp as a leader, you should find a way to do so.  It is such a great experience!!

Missionary

Even though I have a separate blog for my missionary son I wanted to include him here today.  We, as parents, didn't think Jordan would go on a mission.  He was always adamant that he wasn't going. We told him that we would support whatever he did and then we prayed that our Heavenly Father would guide him to do what was right for Jordan.  No one was more surprised than us when he made the decision to go on a mission.  Now here he is out in the mission field, loving it.  He loves sharing the gospel with others.  He tells me often that he knows this is where he is suppose to be and that he is grateful that he choose this path.  When asked what is the greatest thing he has experienced so far he says that it is the change in him.  So even though I know he is helping others, he is also helping himself grow to know our Heavenly Father.  I am so grateful and pleased to watch him grow into a man.  Yes, I miss him daily but I wouldn't want him to be anywhere else.

Ouch!

Well this weekend I was working in flip flops on the house.  Yeah I know it's not the best choice but it's what I do.  Anyway, as you can see I got hurt.  My toenail folded back and it hurt!!  I managed to get into my bedroom and lay down so Brian could doctor it up.  Somehow I passed out and ended up on the floor but it got all bandaged up.  Then I had to wear flip flops the rest of the time because shoes hurt too bad. And wouldn't you know I hit it again and it bleed even more.  Dang toes anyway!!

Baseball

My youngest son decided to play baseball this year.  I have to be honest, it's kind of hard watching the little league games after you have seen high school games especially when your son doesn't love playing.  However, it is still great to watch your kids try something new.  My favorite part about watching Bryson is that he just can't stand still.  He is always being silly and goofing around in the outfield.  I sure do love him and his quirky fun personality.

Tearing Down the Walls

So my house is a disaster right now but my kids have all been really great at helping getting it to the disaster stage.  After we took down all the cabinets it was time to take out the walls.  My girls weren't afraid the get in and help their dad with this project.  Kenzi even invited Conner over to help.  It was quite a bit of work but it was fun.  We all laughed and joked and make the time go by quickly.

After we got the kitchen side down it was time to tear down our lovely graffiti wall.  Again the girls were great at helping with this.  By now we all knew what we were doing and it went a lot quicker with a lot less mess.

I was amazed at the difference in my home.  It makes this room so much lighter and open.  I am getting really excited to see the finished product.

Graffiti

Here is our graffiti wall right before we tore it down.  I have to say I was surprised by how many people were excited to draw on it.  However, I was more surprised at how protective my kids were of it.  They got really upset when someone outside of the family drew on it and really upset if someone drew over something they had drawn.  Who knew that drawing on the wall would bring as much fun as this has to us?  In fact we were all a little sad to have it gone.