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!!!

Let's get together...

Hello friends! Me and my girls (Corky will join us on the 4th of July) are hanging out in St. Gizzle all week next week! Let's get together for lunch, dinner, or just playtime at the park or something. I will be in Beaver all weekend so will be away from the computer but lets all plan on seeing each other at some point! Agreed? We are super duper flexible!

I come to my blog everyday so I can link to other friends accounts. I suppose its time for a new blog because Jack Bauer's face pains me now when I see him. The poor poor *not ugly at all and freaking tough as nails* man! (we obviously finished season 1)

Anyway, here are some photos that are sure to make me smile when I come to my blog. (its all about me, right?)

I finally started giving Emily rice cereal. I know, I know...she is almost 6 months but what's the hurry right? The second collage is just some happenings over the past few weeks. We are obviously enjoying our summer at the pool, in the house, and tending to my beloved tomato plants that I have to grow in pots! We ate our first grape tomatoes tonight with dinner. Delish!

Wasting time but totally entertaining!

Corky and I finally borrowed the first season of "24" from my friend and we have spent more time watching this than we should. It is addicting! We are at about 6:00pm in the season and can't wait for it to be over with!! Quoting Corky yesterday when he came home for lunch and popped the DVD in he said "The sooner we get this overwith, the sooner we can have our lives back!"

So true!! I love the show and totally love Jack, but I can't wait for it to stop comsuming my mind!

Happy Anniversary!

Today is our 4 year anniversary! I remember when we were dating and engaged and time couldn't go any slower. Time has flown since then. Can I just say how much I love him??? Seriously! Except for that crappy year he spent in Iraq, I have loved every part of being married to him. Of course I still loved being married to him while he was gone, I just missed him so so so much! He shows me every single day how a husband should treat his wife. I am so grateful that my girls will see him as an example and hopefully look for nothing less when the time comes for them to find their husband.

Reasons I love Corky:

*Instead of watching TV when he has free time, he plays his guitar so that he can be better at singing songs to his little girls or with them.

* He helps me stay in good spiritual habits that I easily can fall out of. (prayer, scriptures study, FHE)

*He cleans the kitchen EVERY DAY after dinner! He is truly "the man!"

* Even though I am not "scared" of spiders, big ones (black widows) give me that creepy, crawley feeling....so he kills the spiders for me!

* He pretends not to care when I switch back and forth between Jay Leno and David Letterman because I never can decide who I like better. He prefers Dave.

* He likes to dance and is pretty dang good too.

* He does his best to serve and magnify his church callings.

* I love how he lights up when he sees one/both of his daughters!

* He has great study habits and discipline.

* He is very social and easy to get along with or feel comfortable with.

* He tries to talk "gangsta" and it makes me laugh.

* Most everything he does makes me laugh.

* He is becoming a pretty good golfer. (sounds kind of superficial but I think its great because he has been practicing and working hard and so its exciting)

* He isn't shy.

*He thinks BEFORE he talks.

* He will massage my gross, ugly feet anytime I ask him too.

* He hates his job, but you wouldn't know it when he comes home. He is always in a happy mood.

* He helps me see logic through emotions.

*Listens to me rant and rave, even when he doesn't agree.

* He is rarely wrong, but when he is...he is the first to admit it. (I totally admire, because I have a hard time with that)

*He is competitive in everything, from any kind of sport to board game....especially dominoes.

* He shares with me my obsession for LOST and understands (or humors me) my obsession with THE OFFICE. He is my very own "Jim Halpert"!

* He is very consistent with our kids and their rules and schedules.

* He loves the gospel and tries each day to be a good example of it.

And I know I have said this before already but

* He is just SO FUNNY! I am always laughing at his jokes and goofines.

The list could go on and on and I know that as soon as I post this, more reasons will pop into my head that just HAVE TO be on the list. It is truly neverending.

Corky, if you're reading this, I hope you know that you are the best, most favorite thing that has happened to me and for me!

Too much to catch up on!

I know you are dying to hear how my life is right now!! Just kidding! :) I am just reporting that I am alive and well and will play catch up in the blogging community hopefully this weekend! Later, Skaters!

What's the trick?

For 4 years now, since Corky and I have been married, I have owned a large round brush. For 4 years now I have been trying to figure it out! I admit that I don't use it very often so I can't say I have really practiced, but every time I try to use it I get totally frustrated. I have friends who don't go a day without using theirs. They can't imagine life without it. I just don't get it. I always have an excuse for not using it. Here are a some examples.

1- My hair is too long (which is not the case any more)

2- My hair is too short (again, which is not the case anymore)

3- I get too hot using it. The blow dryer seems to blow right in my face making me sweat and making me feel like I need another shower or some strong face astringent.

4- I can't get my hair to wrap around it.

5- Loose hair wraps around, getting tangled in the handle.

6- Its just faster to blow dry my hair all the way and either flat iron or curl it.

7- My arms get SOOOO TIRED! Isn't that pathetic?? I swear, I work out. My arms aren't all that wimpy but using a round brush to blow dry my hair completely kills my arms.

8- My hair is too thick and I have way too much of it.

9- My hair is too wavy (although I hear a round brush can help with that...but I don't know how to do it)

10- I don't get that "Just left the salon" look that everyone else seems to always get so I just don't try.

Excuses, excuses!!!

Anybody got any tips besides just chucking my brush out the window? It has been taking up space under my bathroom sink for 4 years now and I don't intend on keeping for another 4 years unless I can really figure out how to use it! By the way, my brush is the pink one on the right!

Its finally summer!

Gracey and I played in the sprinklers for the first time EVER yesterday. She wasn't too sure about it at first but once she saw me jumping over the sprinkler, she joined right it. Though Corky didn't think we needed it, I insisted to him last weekend that we get her the cute little "Dora the Explorer" sprinkler. She really liked it but was just as happy with the regular sprinkler head. I could have saved ourselves 10 bucks!! I should have known though. We didn't have any fancy shmancy sprinkler head when we played in them and we still loved them! Oh well. Lesson learned. Emily just sat on the sidelines this time and observed. She is good at that!

and just for fun...Here is Emily eating her toes today! She had to get shots this morning and so she hasn't been a happy camper this afternoon. At least she found comfort in sucking on her feet! I wish I was still that flexible.

The final verdict...straight!

Okay, it is only taking me 4 days to finally get my pictures on the computer!


We had a way fun time at our banquet! At least I did. Its fun to get all dressed up every now and again. Corky isn't a girl, so he doesn't understand! :) Because of time restraints and that fact that my mom wanted me to wear straight hair, I went with straight hair. We had a great dinner and great entertainment. When I mean entertainment, I don't mean a live band, comedian, or anything else like that. I mean, being the only ones sober in a room full of people who didn't put a limit on their wine intake. The drunker some people got, the less I tried to hide the fact that I was laughing AT THEM! Some people are ridiculous.


Thanks to my little sister, Bailey for letting me wear one of her prom dresses. I took my usual velvety black dress to wear as back up but I was really hoping that one of my sisters dresses would work for me. I have worn my black dress to every formal event for the past 4+ years. Even though it is only worn once a year at the most, it is still refreshing to change it up. Nothing about Corky's uniform changes, except for rank or awards, and so it will be nice to not have us looking the exact same year after year.


You can tell in the picture that I was in desperate need of some powder on my forehead and my posture could definitely be better....but at least its a picture. I hardly ever can get a picture of Corky in his uniform. There's usually a bribe or something involved.

A little help...

Hey Folks! Got a quick question....Tomorrow night I am attending some formal banquet with Corky and I don't know what to do with my hair. My hair is shorter than normal (at least that's my excuse for not knowing what to do with it) so I don't have many choices. Should I wear it straight? Or should I wear it with a little bit of curl? I straighten my hair on a daily basis, so that is normal for me....but I think the curl may make me look to teenagerish??





Will you all still be my friend after that curly haired picture, please? I took that about 5 minutes ago...and I feel dumber trying to be all cute for a picture than if I just make a stupid face.

Nice and Sweet

Well, wouldn't you know that the week I create my blogging account I become incredibly busy...which makes me look like a slacker in the blogging world. Not too much to update on though.

My birthday was last Friday and I had a great day! It started off first thing in the morning. Corky took care of the girls and I slept in until 9:00am! It was awesome! When I came downstairs I saw a big organizing bin and some shelves for all my craft junk! Corky had gotten up early that morning and gotten into my craft box...which literally was just a big box with everything thrown in it...he organized EVERYTHING I have into these shelves. He did a great job. Like my dad said later that day on the phone when I told him about it "Corky is a brave man!" It was great! Now I can see exactly where everything is and just pull it out as I need it, rather than pulling everything out just to find one tiny thing.

That night Corky and I went to dinner. We went to the only sit down restaurant here at Ft. Irwin and the food has never tasted better! Dinner always tastes a little better when you aren't having to worry about food being thrown or dropped, like it is normally with the kiddos. Anyway, it was our first night hiring a babysitter and so that was exciting too. When we go visit family in Utah, we usually always take an evening out and leave the kids with family but we don't get that opportunity a lot here. Notice the picture of Gracey in front of the television? She is sitting in Emily's infant bumbo sitter just watching Cinderella. She is a goof!

After dinner we came home and had a humble little birthday party for me. Corky wants me to make sure that I let everybody know that I requested to make my own cake. About a week before I told him not to plan on making me one or ordering one. I love baking cakes and don't always get the chance to because I don't want to eat the entire thing. I made a super tasty coconut cake that adds 5 pounds to your body weight with each piece. It was SOOO GOOOD! Gracey and Corky sang "Happy Birthday" and before the song was even finished, Gracey blew out my candles! I told you she is a goof! It will be interesting as Emily gets older and won't want Gracey's help to blow out the candles on her birthday. Oh boy...can't wait for those days!

I say that I have been busy but it is full of mom, wife, and church duties so nothing that I think will interest most! Life is fun but I hope to take a few minutes every few days to get on here to catch up with everyone else and to update on us Whipples! Until then...enjoy the pictures!

Jumping on the Bandwagon!

For the last month or so (or 3 or 4!) I have been a blog stalker! I have had a ton of fun browsing some old and closest friends blogs and so I figure if I just make my own I won't feel so much like a "peeping tom". I am so excited to be back in touch with so many people who I figured I would never cross paths with again.

Very brief summary on us Whipples:

I moved out to Connecticut to be a nanny and I met a super cute cadet from West Point Military Academy that was fresh off his mission. We dated for just under 2 years before finally tying the knot. We had a summer long honeymoon because he didn't have to report to his training for 6 weeks after he graduated. We moved to Virginia for 4 months and then it was off to California. We were expecting our first baby, Gracey, in November 2004 only to have Corky leave for a year long deployment 2 weeks later. He came home safely in November of 2005. We had another cute baby girl in December 2006. Her name is Emily. We are once again living in The Middle of Nowhere, California but I personally am loving it. As long as there is a park, pool, and grocery store....I am fine and dandy!

How brief was that?