{another freeze}

Just when we thought it wasn't going to be cold anymore, we woke up to this.  Church was cancelled so I guess we will just take it easy at home.  I had no idea this was in the forecast either.  We were ready for church when Amelia called and asked if we were going.  There were a few families that drove to church so they decided to have sacrament for them but most didn't make it.  Lynda was half way there when she couldn't go any further because the road was blocked because of an accident.

{Paige got asked to prom}

Today Paige walked into her room to find a big surprise.  She got asked to prom but by who?

Before she could find out she had to pop every balloon and find pieces of paper that had to be put back together like a puzzle.

It was Dorian!  He did a very good job too.  Paige answered him back by sending a pizza to his house with the word yes spelled out in pepperoni's.  Thanks Paige for letting me take pictures of this fun day.

{what have we been up too..}

Where does the time go?  We have been in our new house for 2 1/2 months already and I have only blogged a few times.  Sorry friends I am going to try harder.  Once school starts I will have more time to do the things I love like blogging.  Since I haven't blogged in a while I am going to do a mish mash of updates.

One thing that Texas does differently than California is that the kids have to bring their own school supplies.  I really think its a great idea.  It helps the schools use the money they would have used to buy all of this stuff for other things.  California should take a hint.  The teachers in each grade get together and create a list of supplies.  Each school is different as well.

For instance Cole needed ear buds while the girls needed red pens.  Kaidee is super excited for school to start.  I am still loving having them all home and not having to deal with homework and all the other craziness.

Yesterday I took Chloe and Kaidee to their new school to register them.  We were there for 5 hours it was crazy!  I'm thankful I won't have to do that again.  Kaidee will be in 6th grade and Chloe will be in 7th.  School out here are so different then in California.  They talked to the girls about the dress code and how they are very strict I love that.  Their other school had a dress code but it wasn't enforced.  They are not allowed to wear short shorts, no tank tops, no color of any kind in their hair, no holes in jeans, no leggings by themselves and if you wear them your skirt has to be to your knees.  They can wear sandals with no backs.

They are not allowed to bring backpacks to school because they won't have textbooks.  They each get a netbook which looks like a laptop computer.  They do all of their homework and schoolwork on it.  They can bring the small square string back packs though.  They can choose to have a locker if they want but they don't have too.

Chloe and Kaidee are both taking pre ap Science, Texas history, and world geography.  All 6th graders have to take a fine art their choices are band, orchestra, or choir.  Kaidee chose choir.  Chloe is taking a lifestyle class which teaches sewing, cooking, home finances, etc.  She will also be playing on the school soccer team which only 7th and 8th graders are allowed to play sports.

Chase is doing much better.  We had a rough couple of weeks but he has started making friends.  Its nice having so much youth in our new ward.  Lynda and I have been hosting game nights for the kids and their friends which has been a lot of fun.  He has been working out with the high school soccer team as well as playing golf on the course behind our house.

Garrett was able to come visit us for a week and it was so nice having all the family back together again.  He is working at in n out and doing very well.  He just made employee of the month and he's only been working for three months.

I gave my first talk in church this past Sunday.  I was asked to speak on Sustaining our prophet.  I will post my talk later.  I get so nervous when I have to speak but when its done it feels so good.  I am the mia maid advisor which means I teach the 14 and 15 year old girls on sunday.  I am really loving this calling and my girls are so fun.

The house is coming along slowly.  I am still waiting to hang things because we are getting our house painted in the beginning of the new year.  I hate flat paint and its everywhere, enough said about that.  I love having all the space and the kids really like it too.

Texas has been really good to us.  The people are great, the weather is not that bad, the ward is big, friends are being made, I am cooking more, (because the grocery store isn't as close and neither is fast food) We love it here.

{life...}

Beauty and the Beast is over.
I took the rental costumes back yesterday
I just have some napkins and aprons to wash
and then I will officially be done.

I was looking forward to being less busy
but in reality it doesn't feel like it.
We have soccer, golf, school projects, homework,
soccer, wedding plans, my cousins wedding
bridal showers, friends having babies, homework,
soccer games, soccer board meetings
all just this week.

I am sad  because my house
has still not recuperated.
I think that its just too overwhelming
when I look at it and I don't know where
to begin.  It's very hard for me
to say that. I usually have lots of
energy but I feel wiped out!

And this little girl is no help at all.
Every morning I get her dressed
and do her hair.  But every day she
changes her clothes about 5 different times.
( and that's a good day)
Sometimes it's more like 10.
When I leave the room I come back to
a new outfit.  Here she is in pajamas at 4:30pm.
She really is just like Kaidee!

On a good note our avocado tree
is covered in blossoms.
I can't wait to eat some oh and share some too!

{pomegranates}

Look at what our neighbor brought us.  It's a huge plate/bowl of pomegranate seeds.  I know how much work that must have been so I appreciate it that much more.

{getting to know me}

I have been in a blog funk lately as you can tell by my lack of posting so I thought I would do something a little different.   This idea came from Sydney's blog.  It's called the 30 day challenge.  For the next 30 days you will be getting to know a little more about me.


1. A picture of yourself with 10 facts.
2. A picture of you and the person you have been closest with the longest.
3. A picture of a person you'd love to trade places with for a day.
4. A picture of one of your favorite nights.
5. A picture of the cast from your favorite show.
6. A picture of one of your favorite memories.
7. A picture of your most treasured item.
8. A picture that makes you laugh.
9. A picture of the person who has gotten you through the most.
10. A picture of the person you do the craziest things with.
11. A picture of something you hate.
12. A picture of something you love.
13. A picture of your favorite band(s) or artist(s).
14. A picture of someone you could never imagine your life without.
15. A picture of something you want to do before you die.
16. A picture of someone who inspires you.
17. A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life.
18. A picture of your biggest insecurity.
19. A picture and a letter.
20. A picture of somewhere you'd love to travel.
21. A picture of your favorite foods.
22. A picture of something you wish you were better at.
23. A picture of your favorite book.
24. A picture of something you wish you could change.
25. A picture of your favorite day.
26. A picture of your favorite drinks.
27. A picture of yourself and a family member.
28. A picture of something you're afraid of.
29. A picture that can always make you smile.
30. A picture of something that means a lot to you.

{big news for a small town}

Well it finally happened.  Our little town has a brand new grocery store and its not just any grocery store its the 75 anniversary edition.  Which means its a green store.  Darian, Cole, Paisley and I went to the Grand Opening with just about the entire city.  There was our local high school band which played songs then led us in the Star Spangled Banner.

This has been a long time coming.  We now have a full service bakery and deli, fresh seafood, soup bar, salad bar, and a full service Chase Bank.

Here is Cole in front of Stater Bros.

I love the new produce department it has fruit that I have never even heard of.

Stater Bros. always has this old truck at all of there events.  Cole was not very happy when I made him stand in front for a picture.

The crowds were crazy but it was worth it just to say that we were there the day it opened.

{i am alive}

My life is really crazy right now and I am trying to get a grasp on it all.  Between soccer, the kids starting school, and planning our schools Fall Ball, blogging has taken a back seat.  Things are still busy but I am starting to get into a routine.

I am excited to show you this before picture.  Paisley and Cole are so used to the camera that when I pull it out they immediately pose.  I didn't mind if they were in this picture.

I can't wait to show it too you when I am done.  I am also excited to be posting about our schools Fall Ball and all the fun things that we are making for it.  So stay tuned....I promise I will be around more often.

{instagram}

Instagram is an app for your iphone that allows you to take pictures and do fun things with them and then share them with friends.  I am pretty new to this so I don't know a lot about it.  I do love that I don't always have to bring the "big"camera out and I can still get some fun pictures.

Kodi at the waterpark.

Kaidee is always taking self portraits.  I wonder if she knows that I am saving them all for her wedding reception slide show?

New school shoes.

Racko and camping they go perfect together.

Paisley's first camping trip.  She loved eating marshmallows but didn't have the patience to have them roasted.

Trips to eat with the family at Babe's in Texas.  If you are ever near Fort Worth you must eat at Babe's.

We went to this restaurant where you can order fresh cotton candy in any flavor.  While we were waiting for our cotton candy I saw noticed that on the chalkboard it said "we are not In n Out."  Guess they don't like that In n Out is now in Texas and it was the biggest grand opening in In n Out history.

{mail love}

I don't know about you,

but I love getting things in the mail.

This week I got two packages.

The first was from Home by Heidi.

I won her giveaway last week.

I love it when I win something.

Oh and if you haven't seen her blog,

make sure you do.

It is one of my favorites!

My second package was my twine.

Aren't these colors fun.

I can't wait to wrap up gifts,

to give to my friends and family.

I am already excited about Christmas presents.

Plain brown paper with red and green twine, Perfect!

{What are you doing this Friday?}

I will be watching these two tie the knot. I still remember watching Princess Diana's wedding. That beautiful train is still stuck in my head. Will you be watching it?

{my new favorite store}

My sister took me to this store called Sam Moon here in Texas. It is an accessory store and its the size of a grocery store. The best thing are the prices. The store carries purses, bows, wallets, jewelry, hair things, hats, sunglasses, etc. I found these headbands that are used for babies and I got 3 dozen for $8.50. Which makes them under $.25 a piece.

I also purchased these bags for the girls Easter baskets they were $11.99 each. The girls can use them for overnight bags later. Everyone knows how much I love bows and I bought these for $12.00 each. Which makes each bow $1. You can't even make them for that price. I wish we had one of these stores in California.

{cupcakes}

A few night ago we went to our R.S. birthday party.
Part of the fun was a cupcake contest.
Here are the winning cupcakes can you tell what flavor they are?

Here is my friend Tasha.
She is the creative mind behind all of this.
See the little hat she is wearing.
She made them on headbands for everyone.
She also made the cute decorations you see behind her.

Here are all of the cupcakes.
We have some creative women in our ward.


The winning cupcakes were sugar free!
They were made with meatloaf.
And the frosting was mashed potato's.
They were so good.

My mom made them.
I won for most colorful.

{children's books for sale}

I went through and cleaned out our children's books and got rid of duplicates and books that my children no longer read. I would love for them to go to good homes where children can enjoy them. There is a big variety from chapter books all the way down to preschool books. Please let me know if you are interested.

{a beautiful view}

The past few days have been so beautiful here. Not to mention its been in the 80's. I took this picture from our city park. I went to walk the track. Cole rode his bike* and Paisley enjoyed being pushed around in the stroller.

* I took Cole's bike for him to ride but when we got to the park he was having a difficult time staying on the bike. We discovered that his handle bars were loose and everytime he went to turn so did the handle bars. He ended up playing at the park which he loved.

{oranges}

Our oranges are finally ripe and they are so good!

{3 more days}

v>

{bread class}

Tonight was our relief society activity at church. (relief society is the oldest women's organization and it just happens to be part of my church.) We get together to learn new things on the first Wednesday of every month. This month was all about bread. I am new to bread making and I am loving everything I can make just from a simple bread dough recipe. We learned how to make cinnamon rolls, pizza dough, and different kinds of wheat bread.

{a future photograper}

Chloe got a camera for Christmas and has begun taking pictures. Here is one she snapped of Elder Hall who was eating dinner at Nan's house. He is one of our most favorite missionaries.

{1 week}

I can't believe its been one week since my last post. I have been busy with so many fun things.

• We spent Monday at the beach, ate at Cafe Rio, and I got a hair cut.
• On Darian's days off which are every couple of days we have been Christmas shopping. I am happy to say we are half way done, yay! I love Christmas but I hate crowds especially with kids so I like to get my shopping done early so that I can enjoy the holidays.
• Soccer is coming to a close so I have been busy with all-star picks and end of the season stuff.
• Tomorrow I am going to the girls school to help with the pumpkin walk and then I will be in Kaidee's class making wooden pumpkins.
• Paisley has been sick and has been wanting a lot of attention and loves. Its hard to get things done when you have a sick baby. She has started something new too. Screaming. I am not liking it either especially out in public. I hope its just a phase.