shameless plug...

For anyone who reads this, is in the St. George area, and likes Stampin Up products, my mom is hosting a pary tomorrow night (Wednesday). I am a demonstrator for the company and am LOVING it. Stampin up features products and supplies for cardmaking, scrapbooking, and other crafts. I am also doing another workshop Thursday night in St. George and if you would like the information for that, I would be happy to pass it on. The projects that we will be doing are really cute, really simple, but lots of fun to do. Let me know and I will email you all the information (i.e. time, address)

Nothing big... just a fun one.

Today has been so fun. My sister, Bailey, and her friend Skyler are here for a visit. Tomorrow we are going to go to Universal Studios and will hang out there for the weekend. I will be MIA in the blogging world for a few days. (like I post a lot anyway) Meanwhile, here are few recent pictures of me and my girls.

Gracey, she is my tomboy with a purse! Anywhere we go, she has to make sure she has her barbie cell phone with her but she will gladly put it aside to dig in the dirt, climb a rock-wall, or throw a rock.

Emily is my cuddle-bug. She is such a sweet little thing and we can already tell she will be a sensitive one. If she hears Gracey cry (or whine) she gets that cute little "shelf" that makes you want to just buy her a car right then and there.

Doesn't that big grin just make your heart melt? I am not talking about mine....Emily's, duh! Just kidding!
(By the way, the sepia tone does wonders for covering up ginormous pimples on the chin!)

Heather's "healthy snack"

Well yesterday I made that Avalanche Bark that Heather B. so graciously posted. Ummmm....its almost gone. Actually it WILL be gone tonight!! That stuff is amazing and totally easy!! I am cutting and pasting it just in case anyone who didn't read Heather's post is now reading mine. You seriously have to make it! I will be making another batch this Friday to have while my sister is visiting!

Avalanche Bark from Rocky Mtn.
Chocolate FactoryServes/Makes:2 4"x4" hunks

Ingredients:
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1-3/4 cups white chocolate chips
1 cup Rice Crispies cereal
1/2 cup (slightly packed) mini marshmallows
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (frozen)

PreparationIn double boiler (or metal bowl over a sauce pan filled 1/4 about full of water) over medium-high heat, add white chocolate chips and peanut butter. Constantly stir with wire wisk until completely melted. Remove from heat (and remove off bottom boiling water). Set aside and let cool for about 5 minutes.

Transfer mixture to a mixing bowl. Fold in all of the rice crispies. Let cool till it barely feels warm (if you add the marshmallows and semi-sweet chocolate chips when it's too warm, they will melt and that's not what you want). It will take a while to cool, but do not cool it down in the refridgerator or it will set up.

While you wait, line a 4"x8.5" loaf pan with plastic wrap. You may even want to lightly spray the plastic with cooking spray first for easier removal. When the mixture is cooled, fold in marshmallows first then the semi-sweet chips (just fold to distribute, don't over work the mixture).

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan, fold the excess plastic wrap over top and gently press the mixture so it's even in the pan. The harder you press, the denser the bark will be.Put it in the fridge to set it up. It will take about 20 to 30 minutes to completely set up.When set, remove from pan and cut into desired size pieces.

Heavenly........

And that's the army life...

Today is kind of bum-city around here. Won't last long and it is already feeling better, but today I had to say goodbye to a close friend, probably my closest friend here at Fort Irwin. We went to church together and that is how we met, but our husbands knew each other before that through their work. She was the first person to greet me on my first Sunday and we have been close since. We had a lot in common. Sports, crafts, tv shows, activities, etc. Our kids are the same ages and got along great as well and she was the first person that I would ask for a last minute play-date, babysitting, or girl talk and chit chat. I held it together long enough to give hugs and watch her drive away, but it hit me hard after she left that as excited as I am for her to be leaving Fort Irwin, saying goodbye can be pretty sad.

Then I got to thinking, in the army we are saying goodbye ALL THE TIME! If it isn't our friends who are moving away from us, it is us moving away from our friends. I know that if it wasn't Jessica leaving today, it would be me saying goodbye in less than a year. I will say goodbye to some more friends here in the next few months and then it will be my turn to leave. I will finally be the one starting fresh in a new place. I know when I move away from here it will be real emotional. I had a glimpse of that today. Fort Irwin has become my home. I love my house, I love my ward, I love my callings and all the friends I have made here through church and the community. However, because its the army I know I won't be here forever. Next year when we choose to get out of the army or stay in, it will be exciting. We have so many things to look forward to as a family and I know that wherever I go I will make good friends and I will be with Corky and my girls and will be able to call it home, wherever it may be.

Get comfortable for this one

Its been a couple of weeks, I know! Our family has been really busy and sadly I haven't been able to blog about it all until now. Which of course means its going to be a looooooong one with LOTS of pictures.

Beaver Mountain

My girls and I headed up to Utah a couple of weeks ago so that we could go to our family cabin on Beaver Mountain. My mom, stepdad, and ALL of my siblings were there (except for Markie and we totally missed her) and then a few of my sisters friends too. It was a packed cabin but it was nice and cozy! A little background on the cabin. My great-grandpa purchased this property on Beaver Mountain back in the 1930's. He built the cabin, the man made lake (Corky says its a pond...but I say lake!) and it has been shared and passed down in the family since then. It is one of, if not my favorite places to be in this whole wide world! So here is a collage of all the fun pictures there with explanations to follow.

From Left to right, first row (like your reading a book!)

1- Gracey and Grandpa Ron watching humming birds

2- Don't ask....I guess I am just making a disgusting face because Bailey is jealous of my tan skin compared to hers.

3- A little better

4- Fishing down by the lake

5- Somebody *cough* (Grandma) snuck Emily some chocolate.

6- I am pretty sure the funny face is not from the chocolate....if it is, she is not my daughter.

7- Jessica (dallas's friend), Dallas, Bailey, Zander (bailey's friend), Skyler (Bailey's friend), and Gracey. They were all getting ready to take the annual plunge into the 42 degree lake. Even Gracey went in, with the help of Grandma Joyce jumping in with her.

8- Emily examining the marshmallow

9- Emily now eating the marshmallow.

10- Grandma and Emily

11- Gracey fishing with her Barbie fishing pole. She would cast and immediately say "I got one!"

12- Me and my favorite 2 year old.

13- Taking the path back to the cabin.

14- Emily taking the traditional baby bath in the sink. I bathed in that sink, and my mom bathed in that sink.

15- Gracey clearly being a big help. I am sure Emily really appreciated it.

16- Emily finally catching her breath.

17- Bailey blowing out her birthday candles...okay, they were matches....we forgot the candles.

18- Just packing up, making sure we aren't forgetting ANYTHING!

Now on to the St. George trip

So then we spent some time in St. George while we waited for Corky to join us on the the 4th of July. We swam a lot and just hung out. It was lots of fun. Gracey, Emily, and I met up with Jessica and her cute kids, Brynlee and Crew. We went to Blue Bunny for some ice cream and holy cow...there was ice cream everywhere! Check out these pictures of Brynnlee and Gracey. (I wish I would have taken a picture of Jessica too...I forgot to mention this to her but she had some great earrings on!)

Then the next day I met up with Val, Pam, Abby, and Pam's sister in law. We went to Pasta Factory and it was so much fun. I love getting together with my friends and just chit chatting. Sadly I didn't take any pictures...and I even had my camera with me! Dang.

Then the 4th of July came rolling around and we were happy that Corky could finally come up. We swam all day then we went to my aunt's house that is on the black hill. She has a beautiful view of the city and we were lucky enough to crash her house to get a great view of the fireworks show.

Picture 1- Just chillin with my mama.

2- Swimming

3- and again

4- Gracey getting a sparkler

5- Gracey liking her sparkler

6- Watching fireworks in the comfort of Corky's arms.

7- Showing some love

8- Me, Gracey, and Corky

9-Grandpa Ron, Grandma Joyce, and Emily

Also during the trip we went to a couple of movies. We saw Ratatouille and Transformers. I really enjoyed Ratatouille but I must say that Transformers was AWESOME!!!! No joke! The graphics were amazing and it wasn't just a movie about robots beating each other up. It had a great story and lots and lots of humor! I was laughing a lot more than I expected. Also, I have always had a little crush on Shia Labeouf ever since he was in Even Stevens!!

fun fact: The Black Hawk helicopter that is shown in the movie is in Corky's unit. The pilot of the helicopter that says "We've got the boy" is actually the pilot of the helicopter. He thought he was pretty neat stuff after filming for the movie! :) I don't blame him though, I would too!

Corky and I took Gracey to see Cinderella out at the Tuachan amphitheater. I am a dork and thought that it would be just like the movie with all the songs that she knows and I was excited to see how they would portray Gus Gus!! Nope, it wasn't like the movie at all but that didn't stop Gracey from loving it! Neither did the 104 degree weather that we had to sit in to watch the play. It really was a fun play and of course, we got pictures afterwards

And that is the conclusion of our trip to Utah. We all had a really good time and are excited that we get to go on vacation again in only a few weeks. One thing I forgot to mention though was that Abby cut my hair last week. No length was taken off but she thinned the heck out of it and it feels great! It is seriously the most favorite haircut I have ever had. Thanks Abs!!!