Just another day in Paradise...

Guess what I did yesterday....

Well I laid on this private beach all day long:

watched a dozen dolphins splash through the waves, (can you see them in the picture?)

and we may or may not have posed on a rock singing a tune from "The Little Mermaid". teehee.

The sun is shining and we are off to do a little shopping! I don't want to leave you all out of the fun, so let's do a little giveaway. I'll send one of you a little something from our shopping trip today. :) It will most likely be some funky jewlery or something small, because I have to pack light on the trip back. Hope you all have a perfect day!

♥ list part 2...

I have a few more things I've been thinking about that I should add to my I ♥ list.... have you tried the Quaker mini delights Chocolatey Drizzle? They are so good and they make them in the cute little 90 calorie packs!

I'm also loving the show True Beauty right now... I am hoping either the Idaho guy wins or the cute pageant girl.

Well for my EXCITING news!!! Angie & Neal are PREGNANT too! They actually told us a while ago, but I had to keep it a secret for a while! EEEK! So both of my cute sisters are due within a week of each other!!!! :) SO FUN! I am so happy for them. We need some more little ones running around! They are going to be great parents! I'm headed to the Sunshine State to visit Angie & Neal at the end of the week! I can't wait! Don't worry I'll soak up some sunshine for all of you! :) Have a perfect week!!!

I am a very basic seamstress. I really want to try to make one of these Charm quilts though! I am loving the Moda fabric, I am trying to choose between these two packs...

I may or may not be obsessed with cute little hair bows for the girl.... I saw this and knew I had to make it! I wish I could give credit to the blog I got it from, but since our computer problems, I lost all my favorite links! Sorry! All it is a picture frame painted and ribbons hot glued to it. It's helped us organize the mess of bows we have! ♥ it!

Have you seen the commercials for the Snuggies?

Well my cute & very creative/talented Aunt Delores, showed us how to make our own! Zach will love that I posted this picture of him! They are very silly looking, (that's why I let him pose for the picture and not me, hey, he's cute no matter what!) wink wink. ;) But they def. should be on my ♥ list! They are so yummy, soft and perfect for snuggling! We seriously pull them out every single night! Zach especially likes to wear his while playing the X-box.

I ♥...

Okay so in honor of Valentines Day tomorrow, I wanted to make a list of the things I am LOVING right now.... so lets get started!

{these are in no particular order}

My new red and white polka dot hot pads

Windex Antibacterial Multi Surface cleaner. It smells SO fresh and I LOVE that it is killing all those germs while leaving my house smelling lovely!

Also I won these at our Bunco Party on New Years Eve. The Ikea Cheese Grater. SO perfect! I absolutely LOVE them!

Okay I have had a sonicare toothbrush for a while now, I really like it, but I have only used it a dozen or so times, because I have to push so hard while brushing my teeth to make them feel clean, I'm sure it's better for me but I am so in LOVE with the Colgate 360 toothbrushes. It's got the little gum/tongue massager on the back of the brush head, just try it and I'm betting you won't ever use another tooth brush. It's like a little mouth massage every time you brush!

I'm also LOVING Tim Myers music. Listen HERE. Particularly the songs Brand New Day (think Target commercial) & also The Lucky Ones oh and A Beautiful world... okay it's ALL my fave right now!

These flats from American Eagle, I just got them a few weeks ago! Can't wait to wear them!! Speaking of American Eagle... have you seen their new kids shop?! It's called 77kids. Check it out HERE..... ADORABLE!!! Also my new bag from yes... can you believe it...WALMART!! Also on my list Big & Sexy Hair spray... spray and play. LOVE it! I can't believe I didn't add it to my hair products post!

On a sort of silly side note... want to know how to type a ♥ ? I just learned this while spending time with my cute little sister in law! All you do is hold down the alt, push the three while still holding alt, then let go of both at the same time. You may need to use the 3x3 keypad on the side of the keyboard. Fun right?! I was pretty excited about it anyway.... ♥♥♥♥♥....
And... my candle warmer that Ambergave me for Christmas.... LOVE it!

Also LOVING another Ballards Design Print: One more... these DARLING Daisy Garden Wilton Baking Cups! I'm in the mood for Spring and these were too cute to pass up! They will make darling cupcakes!!
I hate to keep you all in suspense, but I have MORE exciting news. I can't let the cat out of the bag just yet.... but soon! Hope you all have a perfect Valentines Day!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Birthday's, New Babies, & a few laughs...

It is my little sister Krystal's birthday today, not only is it her birthday, but my brother-in- law Jordan's birthday too! Krystal and Jordan are so cute together and have been dating/liking each other since 7th grade! Isn't it crazy that they share the same birthday. Krystal is the kindest person I know. She never talks bad about anyone. She forgives easily and is so much fun to be around! Jordan is easy going. He is an amazing basketball player and my kids adore him! We love having him as part of our family! They just surprised us all on Sunday and told us they are pregnant! SOOOO excited for them! They will be great parents!! She is due in September! EEEK! You should all go check out Braxton's birth mom Shanna's blog. Particularly THIS POST. She has put together an amazing video for Braxton. LOVE it!

No word on my pictures yet. Grrr. I thought I'd hear today, no such luck. I think I'm going to start uploading my pictures to photobucket or something on line so I'm never in this situation again. I thought I was safe since we had the external hard drive. Hope you all learn that lesson through me. haha. Another lesson I learned today... well a lesson I had to learn twice... DON"T WASH YOUR HUSBANDS PANTS without checking the pockets first... How many times to I need to remember this?! For the second time we have had to replace Zach's phone, because I washed it. I'm glad we decided to get insurance on his phone. He wasn't super happy with me. Sorry Sweet heart!

I stole this from Christal's Blog {I've been doing that alot lately it seems} I just love her blog and thought this was so stinkin' funny!! I needed that laugh today Thanks Christal!

We get to spend a few days with these two cute girls! Zach's little sisters are so much fun! We love them to pieces!

I'm excited to tell you all about some new things that I am LOVING right now... so stay tuned!

We can get a little crazy... me and Megan aren't embarassed to show you our true colors. ;) Enjoy! We got a good laugh anyway. We did these using Iphoto. Using the FishEye Lens.

Finding Joy Now...

We are having an amazing lesson in Young Women's Sunday. The title is Finding Joy Now. It goes along perfectly with President Monson's talk from last November General conference. To read the whole talk you can go HERE. I have just found so many awesome quotes and information & I wanted to share some of it. With the world in turmoil, it can become difficult to Find Joy in our lives.

• What do you see in the mirror? • Is the person you see in the mirror happy? Why? • Are you the person you want to be? • What would you like to change about the person you see? • What are the talents and blessings of the person you see?

what brings you Happiness? What brings you Joy? Are they the same thing?

Eating a cupcake makes me happy and climbing into bed with freshly shaved legs and clean sheets does too, but my family & the gospel bring me true joy. Make sense?

So many people seem to have a negative outlook on life. Especially with all the problems in this world and economy today…What can I do to avoid this and help others look at things in a positive way?

I think there are many many ways that we can all be happier and more content with our lives, however two ways stand out to me.

One... BE GRATEFUL.

"It's not getting what you want, it's wanting what you've got!"

Two... SERVE OTHERS.

Generally speaking, the most miserable people I know are those who are obsessed with themselves; the happiest people I know are those who lose themselves in the service of others. ~Gordon B. Hinckley ----------------------------- Miserable people think about their height, their weight, their hair, their car, their clothes, their nose. They live in a world of their own. They say things like, "But enough about me...what do you think about me?" They run their own 24-7 self-service station. Happy people know that the key to being happy is making others so. They see every new day as another opportunity to make the world a better place by making a difference to others. Miserable people think of others only when comparing themselves to them. And when they compare themselves to others, they become either vain or bitter, or more miserable. ~John Bytheway ------------------------

MAKE SOMEONE'S DAY Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest accomplishment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

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Did you know that February 9-17 is World Kindness Week? I challenge each of you to get out there and do some good!

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"We frequently find that the influence of good women is underrated. It is an influence that is often subtle but yet has tremendous consequences. One woman can make a great difference for a whole nation." James E. Faust

:: “Happiness does not depend on what happens outside of you but on what happens inside of you.” Harold B. Lee

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"Life is to be Enjoyed, not just Endured!"

Update...

Well I'm taking in our external hard drive tomorrow to see if they can get all the files off of it. :) Crossing my fingers and saying a few prayers! :) I did however take some precautions... I staged Braxton's first birthday, so just in case I don't get the pictures back, at least I have some of his 1st birthday to scrapbook! :) Funny thing is some of these turned out better than his actual birthday, so lucky me! I got the idea for the cute cupcakes HERE, and although Nutter Butter's would have been much cuter for the ears, with all the Salmonella/peanut butter hype, I didn't dare use them! haha.

I seriously can't believe that our little guy is one! He is such a joy to us. His laugh is so contagious and one of the best parts of my day. We had two parties for him and lots of fun!

Thanks everyone who made it perfect! We love our little Monkey!

Pushing my Buttons...

Wow, it's already been a week. I'm actually in a really bad mood today. Our internet hasn't been working for about a week now. We had our provider come out and check everything out yesterday. Turns out there wasn't anything wrong with our internet connection, it's our computer. Our little Braxton has started pushing any button that he can find, including the computer on/off button right when I'm in the middle of things. Well turns out that's not so great for your computer to just be shut off in the middle of something. lol. So we had to re-boot the whole computer. Good news is the internet is working. Bad news is I don't know if any of my pictures or digital scrapbooking kits got backed up. We just finished up with Braxton's 1st birthday and I had just caught up our family album (digitally) and hadn't printed anything out yet. I'm just sick. I hope that we can restore everything... but until then I guess I'll just make the best of it. At least I'm up and running right? Grrr.

So not even a picture to go with my gloomy post... I have around 400 blog posts to check out, on bloglines. You guys are sure to put me in a better mood! :) We also have Recipe Group tonight, so that should life my mood a little! :) Check out the Cookin' Mama's blog this week as we post our newest recipes.

Hopefully I'll have some birthday pics etc. to share soon!!!! :)