What a mood changer this is!!!

Tonight was very much like my last post. I was dealing with two very irrational children while trying to put them to bed. Corky made his way to Scout Camp for the night and the girls were just out of their regular routine. Not to mention, they both skipped naps today and so both were just so tired!

It was a night full of sobs, tears, time-outs, and screaming. I was at my boiling point!

Finally after sending Emily to her bed for the 50th time, she finally stayed. I took a small walk across the street to get the mail and during that time I decided that chocolate cake would surely fix this. I wished so much I had one of those Warm Delight Desserts in my pantry. So I came straight to my computer and was on the hunt for a homemade version. Sure enough, I found the cake in a mug. After reading a few reviews, I felt pretty confident that I would make this work PLUS have some on hand for the next time!!!

Cake in a Mug

1 (18.25 ounce) packaged cake mix (I used triple chocolate cake)
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix (I only had the family size box....didn't care, used it anyway)
2 2/3 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder

1. Check your coffee mugs to make sure each one holds 1 1/2 cups water.

2. Place dry cake mix and dry pudding mix into a large bowl and blend well with a whisk. This will be about 4 to 4 1/2 cups of dry mix and will make 8 coffee cup cake mixes. Divide mix into 8 small plastic bags (about 1/2 cup each). Place mix into a corner of each bag and tie it there with a twist tie.

3. Make glaze mix: in a medium bowl, combine confectioners sugar with powdered cocoa. Divide into 8 small plastic bags and close bag with a twist tie. Attach each glaze mix to the cake mix bags with a twist tie. Place one of each bag into each cup.

{I am cheap and after adding the cake mix to the bag, tied it off real tight. Then added the glaze mix to the top of that before closing! It is a tight fit, next time I might consider not being such a cheapskate.}



4. Attach the following instructions to each cup: Generously spray inside of cup with cooking spray. (I skipped that part) Empty contents of cake mix packet in cup. Add 1 egg white (or a little less than an egg white, 1 tablespoon of oil, 1 tablespoon water to dry mix. Mix 15 seconds, carefully mixing in all dry mix. Microwave on full power for 2 minutes. While cake is cooking, place ingredients from Glaze mix into a very small container and add 1 1/2 teaspoon water. Mix well. When cake is done, pour glaze over cake in cup. Enjoy while warm.

This is nowhere near gourmet, but oh my goodness it was still good! It totally gave me my chocolate fix! Please try it. I liked it! :)

No Title

I am, at this very moment, literally cringing at the sound of my two children. They are fighting, and crying, and screaming...and it is taking everything I have for my head not to implode because of it. They play together most of the time pretty well. Today is not that day and I am pretty sure I am turning into that crazy-psycho mom. If it isn't Emily's whiny little voice because Gracey isn't taking her shoes off, it is Gracey being the world's biggest nark about Emily coloring on the table. I know I must discipline and stop it because I don't want it to be a habit....but just for today I wish I could say "Have at it, little one. If it keeps you quiet!!!"

Now my bossy 2 year old is saying "Mommy, make dinna!" Do you ever resort to the old elementary adage "You're not the boss of me!"?

You don't? Am I really the only one that stoops to that level with my young kids?

Children are a joy and a blessing! I really do believe that.

Taylor Swift Videos

Here are a couple of videos. I think I learned my lesson from the last concert I went to and took video. No more singing loudly into the camera. Just because you can't hear yourself and how awful you sound, doesn't mean that the camera can't!

"Our Song"


"Picture to Burn"


"Should've Said No"

Taylor Swift Concert (finally)

Let me just say this...AMAZING!!

I can't believe that this girl is only 19 years old. She put on such a great and exciting show! What is even more impressive is that she writes all her own songs. After the concert I thought to myself,

"Man, this girl gets around!"

But I don't really think that. She just has a talent of taking experiences and turning them into incredible stories with music! If I had the talent of that, I would have had plenty of things to write about by the time I was 19 also...but I will save those for another time and place.

Taylor Swift is incredibly likable and you can see how grateful she is to be doing what she loves. There were a couple of times that the crowd was cheering and you could tell that she was just taking it all in. As a mother of young girls, that just so happen to love Taylor Swift's songs, I appreciate how kind she is. I really hope that she can remain a good role model and not begin the whole scene of partying and making trouble. I don't like the idea of kids looking at celebrities like they are heroes, but I do appreciate that Taylor Swift encourages girls to be true to themselves, love their family, and to do what they love.

Okay, so onto the concert pictures and videos. As we pulled up to Mandalay Bay, we saw 7 diesel-trucks, along with the Taylor Swift tour bus. They didn't have any barriers, so we decided to go take a picture. Here are my friends Lara, Nichole, and myself standing to the side of it. Finally we got to our seats! Even though we were in the back of the venue, we were pleased to see that we could still see the stage pretty well. I don't think there could have been a bad seat in the house. Kellie Pickler came out and performed before Taylor Swift did and she was honestly better than I thought she would be. She sounded great and looked gorgeous! I was drooling over her hair the entire time. I wish my bangs were finally grown out, I would do my hair just like hers! Then here a a bunch of Taylor Swift. I wish my pictures would have turned out better but what can you do when all the lights are out and everything is moving around? About half way through the concert, she surprised everyone and started singing "Hey Stephen" in the very back of the venue in the aisle. It was pretty cool. The she made her way down the stairs, hugging, signing autographs, and taking pictures with fans. She finally got onto this little hidden rotating stage and sang a few songs with just her guitar. Then once again, she made her way through the crowd to the stage. She was seriously making the day of some of these super fans, fans like my sister! I love living so close to Las Vegas so that I could do things like this every now and then. These are also fun opportunities for me to see some of my family. This is the second concert this year that I was able to see my sister, Bailey. A few months ago, my brother and sister and their spouses met up with us for a concert. Its a great meeting point and something fun that we can do together every now and then!!

Dessert please!

This is what happens when Corky is craving a cake.

Then decides to bake a cake.

There was just no saving that cake.

Taylor Swift Concert Ticket!!

Hey folks! I am going to the Taylor Swift concert tomorrow night in Las Vegas. I have 1 extra ticket (last minute, I know....not my fault!) and it is up for the taking. I will be driving from Kingman right before the concert and my little sister, Bailey, will be driving from St. George. If you are in either of these towns, you can ride with us!

Call me, text me, message me on facebook, or send smoke signals...and I will give you all the details!

And if you need a refresher on who Taylor Swift is, click here, or here.


UPDATE!! Ticket Sold!!

Mother's Day Tea Party

Last week, in honor of Mother's Day AND being the end of the school year, all of the mothers and grandmothers were invited to join their child's preschool class for a tea party. I set up a babysitter for Emily and it was fun to spend that one on one time with Gracey. Especially to see what she has been up to at preschool. We had fun eating our plate full of cookies and crackers and drinking some lemonade together.



Gracey won an award for always having a smile on her face! That sounds about right for the most part.


Here is their last song they sang* to us moms.



*more like yelled, but cute all the same.

Dance Recital. Springtime Edition

Last Friday was Gracey's Spring Dance Recital and it was so adorable. I am just loving, and so is Gracey, the dance class that she has been attending. This family of dancers, do such a great job for these little ladies.

Gracey is a natural in front of an audience. She is always ready to put on a show. I hope she continues to be confident in her talents as she grows up and continues to develops them!

Hide and Seek

Thursday night I had a meeting at the church at 6:20, then Corky had Young Men's (or "yum yums" accordingly to Emily) at 7:00. The girls were already in their pajamas and so rather than Corky bringing them to church to make the swap, I just rushed home. It was still light outside but the girls were ready for bed. Gracey asked if I wanted to play hide and seek and I agreed.

We had a killer game of hide and seek between me and my girls.

Let me tell you the skills my girls have...when I am "it" and counting to ten, all I need to do is follow the loud pitter-patter of feet scurrying though the house. As soon as I hit 10, the next thing I hear from Emily is "Mom!!! Come find me!" As if her loud stomping wasn't enough of a give-away.

My next spot to look is at the very spot that I hid last....you can bet your sweet bippy that is where Gracey will be. Not the most original of hiders, but we are working on it.

As for me, I am a pro. I hide in the good spots and I let the girls find me, sometimes it takes up to 5 minutes before I give a "psssst" or a knock. When they do find me, have your earplugs ready! It's not like I jump out at them, threatening the life of their favorite baby doll, though you might think with all the screaming. I have to remind them that they found me.

It is quite funny!!

A few other pictures.

I forgot to add these in my "Disneyland" chronicles.

On Saturday, on our way into the park, Gracey and Emily were sure taken care of. This strapping young fella is named Tyler, and he is quite the lady's man. Gracey was eating it up also. You can see she is holding onto his arm that is around her.

Is it proper in our culture now days to betroth young ones?


This next picture is of Jacob (Tyler's little brother) and Emily. Their mom Kelly stayed with them while the rest of us were on a ride. She watched the two little ones as they struggled, then figured out how to get a drink from the water fountain. They were both too little to do it all by themselves, but they quickly figured out that if they hold the button for each other then they will get their drinks.

I think it is so cute. Problem solving at such a young age!


And lastly, here is Jacob and Emily later in the day. They were pooped!

Disneyland: Day 3

It was a great Mother's Day!! Corky asked me a while back what I wanted for my birthday. This trip was scheduled already and I told him that Disneyland is all I want for my birthday and for Mother's Day! I got exactly what I wanted!

Day 3 at the park was just Corky, Gracey, Em, and myself. We wish our friends could have been there with us, but we still had an excellent time. We saw characters, rode lots of rides and roller coasters, and bought some souvenirs.




The highlight of the day though was our special lunch! We reserved a lunch spot at "Ariel's Grotto" and it was so fun! All of the Disney Princesses came around to each table and took pictures and gave hugs. My girls were in heaven...or maybe I was for them. Bottom line, it was fun for everyone! Even Corky had a good time, although that could have been the food, which was so good.





We finished the day strong, making Gracey ride all the roller coasters that she was tall enough for. At the end of the roller coaster, Corky or I would ask

"Did you have fun?"

She would answer "Yes!"

"Do you want to go again?"

Her response was a quick, "no!




Disneyland was the best! We had a great time and created some really fun memories and lots of stories to talk about forever! It was really fun for us to go away and spend time together and take a break from the everyday life!

Disneyland: Day 2 (California Adventure!)

On this day, we spent most of the time at the California Adventure Theme Park. On this day, we mastered the art of using the "Fastpass" and "ParentSwap" to our advantage. I am pretty sure the only ride we had to wait in line for the entire time was for the Toy Story ride! (which, by the way was well worth the wait) We had a great time doing adult roller coaster and rides, along with all the fun things for little ones!

Our first stop of the day was at the Playhouse Disney show! My girls love everything about the morning Disney shows and it was so fun to watch them watch their favorite cartoons come to life!

Kelly and Maggie and also the kids watching the show!

Meeting some characters and enjoying a snack!

They just couldn't resist the little water fountains!

A Bug's Life portion of the park!"

After the Swensons left, we had a little bit of time to kill before we were meeting up with some other friends for dinner, so we decided to go and do the obligatory ride of "Its a Small World!"

Disneyland: Day 1

Thursday night we head out of town to L.A. By this time, our girls know that we are going to California and are going to visit some friends, but that is the extent of our explanation. Thursday night, we get to the place we are staying and hit the sack. Before doing that though, I ask Gracey, "Do you know where we are?"

Gracey says "Cafornia" (yes, I left the 'li' out on purpose because that is what it sounds like when she says it!)

I say, "what else is in California?"

G: "I don't know."

Then I tell her that we are going to Disneyland in the morning!

If you know Gracey well, you know she gets really excited and makes a funny noise that has kind of become a family joke. If I could describe it with letters, it would be "Eeeeeeeee" but coming from the depths of her throat and sounding like she was just punched in the stomach!

We had a lot of "EEEEEEEEE" going on!

Anyway, we went to bed, woke up early, and got a great start to a fun-filled day.

It was great day. We had a great time with the Swenson's and the Larson's! We have really missed them since getting out of the army and it was great to enjoy the weekend with all of them.

For now though, I will let the pictures do the talking.













This last shot is one I took while figuring out a setting on my camera. I am glad I took it because it shows our group! Corky and I have 2 kids, Swenson's have 3 kids, and the Larson's have 5. That is 10 kids, age 8 and younger. Let me tell you, for as big as the group was, the kids were so great!!! The older kids really helped with the younger ones and all had a great time. We had so much fun together!

Yippee for yards!!

It all started over a month ago when Corky and I started prepping our back yard with a sprinkling system. Lots of raking, digging, pushing, pulling, and all that other fun stuff that comes along with the lovely Arizona clay! FINALLY this weekend, we were able to have some sod brought down to us. Jared, my older brother, helped us out in a serious way. We had to order the grass from St. George because there aren't any sod farms close by, and the one we were going to go through in Las Vegas fell through. So Jared helped us by picking up our rental trailer, going to the sod farm to load the grass, then driving it all the way to Kingman. Since he was coming, my mom and step dad decided to follow as well to spend the weekend with us. We love having company, and even better, my mom got to play in a softball tournament with me on Saturday.



It was a great weekend! The weather was excellent and we kept busy. Between games we were home helping Corky lay the grass! The girls had a blast with Grandpa Ron, Uncle J, Sierra, and their dog. As you can sort of see in pictures, the girls were filthy!



Everyone was so worn out but it was so worth it.

We have made full use of our lawn the last 3 days. We have enjoyed picnics, running around, and spreading out blankets to read books. Most importantly, Corky and Gracey have been practicing their golf swing!

One year older and wiser, too!

Yesterday, Corky and my girls treated me to a great day. The girls actually slept in until about 7:15am and behaved rather well all morning. Minimal fights, lots of playing, and lots of cartoons. Of course, some duties of motherhood don't stop just because it one's birthday. Breakfast and lunch needed to be made and laundry needed to be done, but I didn't mind.

The only pictures that were taken were at dinnertime. I was in the mood for pizza and so Pizza Hut was my restaurant of choice (the deciding factor being the free coupons we had for the girls to get a free personal pizza). Let me tell you, after years of not having Pizza Hut, it was so good!

Emily and Gracey took turns taking pictures.*


The night ended with Corky, Gracey, and Emily going shopping for a few gifts. Corky said it was all Gracey's idea to get me make-up, so he let the girls loose in the make-up aisle. They each ended picking up some lip-gloss (they know me well) Gracey choosing a lemonade flavor and Emily choosing Strawberry Lip smackers. Who do you think has used it more today? It's okay, I can share.

Corky picked out a new crock-pot for me. I have been in desperate need of a new one. We were already outgrowing my tiny one that I received as a wedding gift, but we were making it work just fine until a few weeks ago when I totally ruined it. The food boiled over, scorching every bit of the electrical part of the crock pot. All the scotch pads in the world couldn't save it.

Thanks Corky, Gracey, and Emily for a great birthday!

*Do you notice my white face mask? I played softball all weekend was real good about applying sunblock except I didn't get high enough into my hairline! Happens every year!

The progression of a flower-picker!

This little lady is loving all the spring flowers that have been blooming lately. Thanks to the season, my dining table has been adorned with fresh flowers for almost 4 straight weeks. From my sweet husband picking me up some Easter Lilies (my favorite) a few weeks ago, to my visiting teacher bringing me a fresh bouquet from her garden, then to all the wildflowers and weeds that are most often brought in as a gift by a certain 4 year old....I love them all!

A few weeks ago I looked out the window to see Gracey beginning the process of gifting me with flowers. I hid on my mom's balcony with my camera to capture the sweetness of it all that morning.

The gathering of the flowers. Notice the pile on the ground? Apparently those ones weren't good enough.


Oh wait! There's a good one that can't be passed up!


The trek to the balcony, bouquet in tote!


The presentation!


And finally, the beautiful display. Perfect amount for an often neglected ice cream sundae dish!

Just because my blog feels lonely, it told me.

I don't have a lot to say, but I am sure this will still end up being long. I am a rambler. Anyone who knows me knows I can talk a lot. So let us just see where this goes.

We have a had a great time the past few weeks. We have managed to go to Phoenix, where Corky took the GMAT and we visited with his family in an all-too-short weekend. We also have gone to St. George where I had a great time with my family. As much fun as it is to get away, it is good to be home. I missed 3 Sundays of Primary in a row and was feeling very disconnected and was honestly missing the kids. It was a nice break and I felt re-energized, but I did miss them. For more reasons than 1, I know this calling is for ME right now. Anyone could do what I do as a Primary President, most people would probably do better. I am nothing extra-ordinary in my calling but I am reminded each week in the tiniest of ways that this calling was given to me, FOR me right now in my life. I am grateful. I am humbled. Most of all, I am really excited because for the first time since I have had this calling, I have had a full roster of teachers.

Corky and I joined a co-ed softball team recently and are having a lot of fun. I either play right field or second base, and I am not particularly excellent at either of them. It has been a really long time. Last night, playing right field, I was literally praying with each batter that the ball wouldn't come to me. My depth perception with pop flies is really, really rusty. My hitting though has been consistent and that is happy news. Our team won and Corky and I have a good time playing together. Times like these though is when I miss living closer to family. I am afraid our babysitters (or their parents) are going to get sick of us asking to babysit so often.

I have ice on my knee right now thanks to softball. A lot of people probably don't know or don't remember that about 4 years ago I had to have my knee completely redone. They had to break my my tibia and re-align my knee. It was a mess and extremely painful. Corky was in Iraq at the time and Gracey was a very active 8 month old. It was a blessing that it all happened at that time because I had so much help from my family. (Thank you Family!) Anyway, long jogs don't cause pain in my knee but I will tell you something....running those bases in a full on sprint and turning those corners does a number. I am pretty sure that my knee thinks it is 80 years old. It is incredibly stiff and painful.

As much as I would love to continue with my rambling (I wouldn't really) I will spare you all. Thanks for tuning into tiny bits of my life.

That "Dam" Traffic

Yesterday, my girls and I thought we would get a good start on the holiday weekend by going to St. George a day earlier than normal. We decided to go over the Hoover Dam since it is usually the fastest way to go, but only as long as you don't have traffic. I was sure that we were a day ahead of the holiday traffic, not to mention it was still early in the day, we would be fine.

The drive was nice and smooth. There were hardly any cars on the road....until 5 miles BEFORE the dam! All of the sudden we were at a complete stop. I was stressing because I had to pee, Gracey had to pee, and Emily has only been completely out of diapers for 5 days now. So we wait it out. Meanwhile, I am searching for diapers for my girls to pee in if we get desperate, even contemplating the use of an empty Tupperware bowl that I was returning to my mom!

Finally, after 40 minutes and moving only about 1,000 feet, I decide to turn around and backtracked 100 miles to Kingman. I didn't even go home. I immediately just took another route to get to Las Vegas. We did stop in Kingman to go to the restroom and to fill up the gas tank. (My girls were so patient!) I told Corky that there is nothing like filling the car up in Kingman.....and then filling the car up in Kingman only a few hours later!

So what should have been a 3 1/2-4 hour drive, turned in a 7 hour drive.

I will also report, Emily stayed dry the entire time. I stayed on top of that by stopping 3 different times, but I was so proud of her.

And my final comment/question - What in the world did we do as kids without portable DVD players? What a life saver!!!!!!

Those baby blues.

Sometimes I am crazy, busy, tired, non-creative, and boring. Those are a few words that I would use to describe how I feel some days.

Then sometimes happiness, love, humility, and gratefulness just don't seem good enough.

I love those moments that words just cannot describe.

Oops!

I will start by saying how much I really love conference. I love hearing the talks and reading them later on, and this weekend I am especially glad to finally have DVR because I can re-watch them.*

I am sure people can relate to this more than I really think. You know, trying to concentrate on these beloved leaders and drink up every last word they have to say, knowing someone will say something that is just for you. All while trying to play referee to the two little ones that seem to have a fight over everything they can get their hands on. Then you laugh (and roll your eyes) at yourself because while a church leader on TV is encouraging patience and love, you are screaming "BE QUIET!!!!! YOU'RE DRIVING ME CRAZY!" Yep, that was me. After the first session was over, which I am pretty sure I don't even remember who spoke, I got up and said to Corky sarcastically, "Well that was a good session!" He nicely reminded me that this is just our life right now. I gladly accept (on most days).

So for the 5th and final session of conference, we put the girls down for a nap. Corky and I were excited to have some quiet time to be able to finally focus and listen. Can you guess what happened?? Our quiet 2 hours of spirituality turned into a 2 hour nap. We both woke up during the final choir song and I couldn't believe that it was all over. Something about those General Authorities slow and soothing voices always does it. Apparently President Monson spoke because when I woke up, Gracey was sitting quietly and patiently at the table coloring and she told me that she had just watched him talk.

Of course, as soon as conference was over, both of my girls sat through and watched the entire movie of "The Other Side of Heaven" with us.

*So "re-watching" is probably not the right word. Truth be told, I will be watching some for the first time!