Happy Birthday Ashley

Ashley is another year older and it is hard to believe.  She turned NINE on Saturday, March 28, 2009, yikes!  Gone are the days when I would take the time to make a cute themed cake.  We love Costco cakes and birthday parties are the only time we have enough people over to not have too many left overs.  Don't tell the kids, but I just threw out the last couple of pieces because I think 5 days is too long to hang onto cake.

She had a fun group of girls over for a High School Musical Party.  It was a combination of girls from our old ward, new ward, school and cousins.  And several girls fell into more than one category, confusing!

They started out playing musical chairs on the back porch (sorry neighbors!  Hope you weren't trying to nap)

Then there was the High School Musical DVD game.

This is brother being mad he isn't a part of the game.  It is hard being the only boy at the party.

And the much anticipated cake and ice cream.  I love Glena's look on her face.  She is in Ashley's 3rd Grade class but is also a second cousin once removed (or some kind of relation like that)  The tags the girls are wearing are the backstage passes they got as invites for the party (thanks Mark!)

I think fun was had by all.

Ashley is our sweet, sweet child.  Very tenderhearted and always looks out for the underdog.  In a few years I think she will be a real heart breaker to a few boys.  She is smart and always gets a straight A report card.  She is the middle child and often gets overlooked because she is so quiet.  But get her one on one and she will talk your ear off.  We are so glad she is part of our family!

Happy Birthday Ashley!

Samba, Anyone?

Last year and this year Jessica has been on the Elementary School Ballroom Team at her school.  She has Loved it!  They just had their year end concert.  They got to do a dress rehearsal at the school and then a performance for the parents that night.  She puts a lot of time and effort into Ballroom.  She stays after school 2 days a week and doesn't get home until after 5pm on those days.  They wait for the first hour for the first year group to practice.  Jessica is always good about getting her homework done while she waits.  Then the second year group gets to practice after that.

Here is a picture of both the first and second year teams.  The kids with black shirts are the second year.  As you can see there are twice as many girls as boys.  So the boys get to dance with two girls each.  They usually change partners half way through the dance.

They have multiple dances and multiple outfit changes.  They always look so cute.  Here the girls are watching as a couple from the High School perform.  They have learned the Cha Cha, Foxtrot, Swing and her current favorite is the Samba.


And if you want to see how cute they are, here is the video.  It is amazing to see the difference and improvement as she is in the class longer.

Dance away Jess!

My Pampered Chef Team

Last Friday (okay, I'm post dating this because I'm behind as always) we had the opportunity for a Sales Trainer from the Pampered Chef Home Office to come to Salt Lake for a regional training.  It was great!  I have met and worked with Karin Logston since she joined the company a few years ago and have really liked her.  The training was really good, but the best part was my Team!  I had five gals in my downline attend.

Back row: Tacy, Lisa, Stephanie

Front row: Christine, Angela, Cheri

One of the best parts of my job are the people I get to work with.  These five gals took an entire day out of their busy schedules.  And all of us had very supportive husbands which many took the day off work to make it so their wives could get a refill in their lives.  We had a great time together and had a fun time going out to lunch together.

We even got Lisa to go up and be the spokes person for our table during one of the activities.

The last couple of months have been the best sales I've ever seen in my 10 1/2 years in the business.  I know we are supposed to be in a recession, but people are cooking, literally, and need to tools to do it.  January was my personal best for my own sales with $6826 for the month.  February was my entire downline's best month ever.  As an entire Team we sold $18,706.  And just when I thought it could not keep coming . . . March was my First Line's best month ever.  Just my direct Team sold $14,895.  Way to go Team!  Thanks for always supporting me!

B, B & Beyond Warning

I must admit, it has been awhile since I've visited Bed, Bath & Beyond.  But this week I decided to be a big girl and go buy my own table cloths instead of borrowing my Mom's, again.  So Tuesday John and I went off for a quick trip in and out of the store.  I knew the exact kind I wanted (because I have been borrowing my Mom's for years now) so I figured it would not take long.  We barely made it in the store when John discovered his MOST favorite thing . . . INFOMERCIALS  You would think with our Tivo that he would not view the commercials, but I guess he gets lazy and doesn't click the skip button.  So Saturday mornings he gets his fill of infomercials.  The problem being he BeLieVes every single one of them.  What I did not know is not only does this lovely store carry almost everything available from "As seen on TV" but they actually have TVs positioned through out the store showing the actual infomercial.  Just getting to the table cloth section was painful.  He is convinced we need some great mop for hardwood floors.  I tried to explain that our tile floors did not need this mop, but he would not go for it.  By the end of our visit he commented "Wow, that guy sells a lot of things."  Don't even start John talking about The Shark if you have some place to go.  I'm proud to say we did get out of there with only the table cloths I was after.

There is Hope

There is hope . . . There is hope that summer will really come.  I enjoy all seasons, but summer is definitely my favorite.  I guess it is the Californian coming out in me.  And the first thought of summer is swimming.  You should have heard the squeals and yells when the kids found out I picked up the Scera Outdoor Pool Summer Punch Pass this week.  What does that mean???  That means we WILL be going to the pool to spend lazy afternoons splashing and relaxing.  And this year I remembered to pick up the punch pass while it was still at a discounted price.  Anyone want to join us?

One goal I have for this summer is to document our yard.  I thought of it several times last year, but never did it.  We have an incredibly beautiful yard that blooms all spring, summer and fall.  I can say this because it does this without any help from me.  Before we purchased our home a crew of professionals maintained our yard for the nice elderly lady that lived her.  Trust me when I saw Mark and I DO NOT equal the crew of professionals.  Our goal at the end of the year is to have everything still alive.  We achieved it last year, so here is hoping for this year too.

Yesterday was the first of what will be many hours spent working in the yard.  And I only did it because they are now picking up our green waste trash and dang it all, if I'm paying for it we had better use it.  So I filled up the can with the leftovers from Fall.  And while cleaning out the flower bed found this . . .

 

Our very first bloom of the year.  It is so small and delicate, but brings so much hope for what is to come.  I am no gardener despite the Horticulture class I took in High School from Mr. Whetten.  All I remember from that is you are not supposed to water your lawns at night because the water will sit and rot the grass.  So forgive me if I can't tell you the name of every cute flower.  All I need to know is that they are pretty and how to keep them alive.  And it is questionable whether I even know that.

Well today when I went to take the picture of our first flower, right next to it I found this . . .

 

Another sign that Spring is coming.

John's Quotes of the Month

John has wanted to take karate for a loooong time.  He has brought it up a lot lately.  So I finally broke down and signed him up for a 4 week class at the Rec Center to see how it goes.  His first class was this week and they talked about self defense and how to protect yourself.  This is what transpired in the 30 minutes after his class.

In the parking lot . . . "Mom, let me show you what we learned!  If someone tries to take you then you kick them, hit them in the face and if they grab your arm you twist both ways."   And of course he is "demoing" these steps.

"Okay Mom, try and take me."  Which I proceed to play along.  At the end of his demo he then yells at the top of his lungs "She's not my Mom."  Because of course that is what his teacher told him to do.  We jump in the car and I explain that if we are in public he is not to yell that if it is really me or the Police will come and take me away.

On the drive home . . . "I am the most likely one of our family to be taken."

"Really John how come?"

"Because I'm the cutest." (very frustrated with me that he had to explain this.)


Sometimes this little man just cracks me up.