Girls Night

I guess I can't really think of a time that I don't enjoy "girls night"! I always look forward to getting together with my friends even if it is just going to dinner alone without the kids. It is so nice sometimes to not have to wipe any mouths, clean up spilled drinks or share my food that always looks better then theirs. This month we decided to go out to Outback for dinner. I really wanted to go there because I haven't had a "bloomin onion" for years, I always want to order one but Greg hates them and says that they make me stink!! So Girls night was the perfect opportunity to fill the craving.

I have such good friends.

A friend is someone who likes you. Someone with whom you can really be yourself. One who appreciates the good in you , overlooks the bad in you and brings out the best in you.

With a friend, you can share a laugh,a secret, a viewpoint, a success, or a disappointment--as well as a complete assortment of problems, large and small -Kingsley-


My friends make me want to be a better person, My friends make me feel good when I am with them, my friends are such good examples to me, of many things I hope to become. My friends make me feel safe. I hope I can be as good of a friend to them, as they are to me!

Reservation Complete

I did it, I really did it!! I have been looking for airfare to Germany for the last couple of weeks. Greg and I have been tossing around the idea of going to see Miranda and Ian in Germany. And on Monday I was searching all my regular Cheap tickets sites and I found a great deal. And if you know me, you know I can't pass up a great deal. So I did it, I actually pushed the purchase button.

When we first decided to go to Germany Greg said he didn't care what we went to see. Greg is a little bit of a stressful traveler (I really considered getting separate seats on the plane, but then I decided I needed him to sleep on) But now that we actually bought tickets, he is doing alot of searching on the Internet. We borrowed a European Atlas from a friend and have been studying it every night. I even broke out my old scrapbook from when I traveled to Europe in 1999. I had a few laughs, but was reminded of how great is is to travel the world. I am so excited to share this new adventure with Greg. I am sure we will have a few stressful moments but I can't wait!!


I told Greg he needed to have a list of things he "had to see". Of coarse my list is getting longer everyday. On my list of Must see's right now is Venice, I love Venice and who could travel to Europe and not see such a amazing place. (Cross my fingers on this one) Also, Castles, Greg could take some amazing pictures. And how could I leave Europe without visiting a concentration camp again. This was one of the best, worst, things I did 10 years ago when I went to Germany the first time, But I believe everyone should experience it. So my list is growing and we have a few months to research and add to our lists. If anyone has any suggestions please share. We will be there for 15 days and we are going to pack them as full as we can!! Miranda and Ian I hope you really are up for two weeks with us!!

Sunday Spirit

Each Sunday when we come home from Church we ask Matayia what she learned. She used to answer "I don't know" We told her that was not an acceptable answer. If she didn't know what she learned, she must of not listened to her teacher, she assured us that she listens to her teacher and never answers with "I don't know" anymore. But I got thinking, what did I learn today?? So I am starting my new "Sunday Spirit" posts, somewhere for me to share what I learned each week at church and how I feel about it. I a not always so good at sharing my testimony in a public forum, but that doesn't mean that I don't have one. Hopefully I can express it well here. I came across this quote while preparing my lesson this week and I really loved it, It really made me think....

"May I add a word of caution to those of us who live in large wards and stakes. We have to be careful that the center of our testimony is not located in the social dimension of the Church community or the wonderful activities, programs, and organizations of our wards and stakes. All of these things are important and valuable to have—but they are not enough. Even friendship is not enough." By President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, 0ct 2008

Hopefully this is not still why I go to church, I say "still" because I know, at some points of my life this was why I went to church.

My lesson today was on "Following the example of Jesus Christ" My favorite quote was by President Hunter He said "We should at every opportunity ask ourselves, "what would Jesus do?" And then be more courageous to act upon the answer." This really got me thinking, I don't think the hard part is deciding what Jesus would do. The hard part is having the courage to act upon it. Courage is something that is constantly changing in my life, sometimes I have alot of it and other times I am really lacking in my courage bucket. So I am actively trying to fill my courage bucket so I can be more courageous in following Jesus's example.

Our new President

This week Matayia told us that she watched a movie about President Obama in school. After a few questions we figured she was talking about the inauguration. She replied, "I don't really know what it was, it was something on the web" I think it is great that the kids get to watch such a great moment in history in school. But what I wonder is what Matayia's teacher told them about President Obama. Every night since that day, Matayia has been sure to bless President Obama in her prayers. She also blesses him in our dinner prayers. Last night in her prayer she said " Please bless President Obama that he can teach us the things we need to know" This is usually what she says about President Monson, so it struck me a little funny. If there is ever a prayer said in our house without blessing President Obama, Kaitlyn is sure to correct us when we are done saying "you forgot to bless the President" So President Obama, we are definitely doing our part to help you out. If anyone needs God's help right now it is you, I would really hate to have your job!!

Matayia Ski, not Wii Ski

This year was interesting skiing with Matayia. I sometimes have a hard time figuring her out. She says that she likes to ski and that she wants to go, but when we get her there she just wants to go home. It is not uncommon for her to be heard saying "do we have to ski down again??" She says that she is not tired and that nothing is hurting, but has just had enough. We finally had a talk with her and told her we would not be mad if she didn't like skiing, it would be OK with us. She tried to convince us that she wants to ski. I then decided that Matayia is more like me then I thought. The girl has no competitive drive, especially when it comes to skiing. She has no need to conquer the mountain, or even ski a run that she already skied. So I guess we will continue to ski with Matayia as long as she "wants" to go. I am grateful that I don't have to worry about Matayia doing some crazy wild ski tricks on the slopes. Maybe its not a bad thing to just want to take it easy on skis!!

Ski Trip 2009

One more year of a great Ski trip,I can't think of anything that could of been better this weekend. The Anderson Boys would of wished for 2 feet of powder. But Greg and I both know powder days are hard on our marriage. I like to stick to the groomed. The house was great, the food was great and the company was wonderful. Thanks Curtis and Marsha for providing such a great memory builder. Below are some of the random pictures form the weekend. The sledding was really fun, halfway through the afternoon on Sunday Curtis decided to take the little girls sledding in the backyard. As the rest of us watched him out the window. We watched him help the little girls up the hill, he loaded them in the sled and sent them down. What you can't see in the pictures is how close they were to the house. As soon as we saw him send them down the hill we ran to stop a collision. Needless to say we all ended up outside to help to make sure no one hit the house. Thanks again for the wonderful weekend!!! We hope this can continue on for many years to come.

Toothless Two

It is a little hard to tell from the picture but Matayia and Jacie have matching holes. Holes where there teeth are missing!! They think this is pretty cool!! What cute little cousin friends!

Games Galore....

I think Jenny has really turned up the game playing in the Anderson family. The ski trip would not be complete without a few games. This year we enjoyed a little Apple to Apple (for Kids) I think this was Matayias favorite game, she was really good at it too.


Kaitlyn and Bryn enjoyed just spreading all the cards they could find all over the table. But hey whatever makes them happy. They seemed to be playing their own little game here but I couldn't quite figure out how to play. We just sat and watched them laugh and have a good time together.

But I would have to say that the highlight of the game playing this weekend had to of been the tootsie roll game. For those who don't know how to play the tootsie roll game. You tie a string on one end of the tootsie roll and hold the string while someone else rolls the dice when they get a 1 they try to capture as many tootsie rolls under a pan lid before you pull it away. The game started with the kids....



But soon the kids lost interest and the game moved on to the adults....



We had alot of fun playing this simple little game. Some of us had better reaction time then others, I won't name any names but if you notice in the picture, Marsha didn't capture any tootsie rolls!! Thanks again guys for playing one of my favorite childhood family games!!

Hot Tub Anyone??

So last weekend we were lucky enough to get to spend the whole weekend with the Anderson family. Every year (as long as I have been in the family) we have gone on a family ski trip. The Anderson family is passionate about skiing, I have noticed that the passion has died a little the last couple of years but we still love to get together to Ski. This year, for the 6th year we have gone up to Eden and Skied Powder Mountain. We all seen to enjoy it there so we keep going back. This year Val and Jenny were both pregnant so they were nice enough to watch little Kaitlyn while Me Greg and Matayia skied. The ski trip is not limited to skiing. As much as we like to Ski I think we have just as much fun at the house being with each other.


This year we were lucky enough to have a hot tub in the backyard, and boy did the girls love that. The weather was perfect for a little dip in the hot tub, the only problem was keeping the girls in the hot tub. We dared them to do a snow angel in the snow and we were surprised when they both did. Kaitlyn did it first, but Matayia couldn't be showed up by her little sister. So after a little talking she did one too. Then they saw how fun it was to touch the snow, so Kaitlyn continued to crawl in and out and in and out.


The fun didn't end with the hot tub, but as far as my kids were concerned they could of lived in the hot tub.

What do you get....

What do you get when you get one 9 year old boy, two, 6 year old girls, one, 4 year old girl, two 3 year old girls, and two, 2 year old girls together??


A little bit of chaos, alot of noise, and tons and tons of fun!!! Thanks for the fun weekend Grandma and Grandpa!!

Be Thou an Example....

Right now I am lucky enough to be in the young women's in my ward. Most of the time I feel lucky to be in the young women's. This makes me feel young, I have to constantly remind myself that I am not 16 anymore (that's a good thing I think) I love the girls in my class, I have such a diverse class and I love everything they teach me. Often when I tell people that I have the Laurels they respond "I'm sorry, or that's too bad" but I don't feel that way at all, I can't imagine being anywhere else. I get a kick out of their bad attitudes, I probably deserve them. I am sure I wasn't a pleasure to be with when I was 16 either. Right now we have 13 girls in our class, our room on Sunday gets a little crowded, but I am so glad when they are all there. I've got Amanda, Cassie, Lacey W. Paige, Marsha, Leslie, Lacey F. Katie, Maddie, Brittany, Allie, Cambri, and our newest one Gentry. I will be so sad when they move on to Relief Society. I look forward to each one of them every week, I worry about them (some more than others)and think of them often. Some of them remind me of myself when I was their age. I then look at others and wish I would of had the courage they do. Maybe that is why I get to serve them now, Maybe a second chance.


"The Mutual theme for 2009 is 'Be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity' (1 Timothy 4:12) Before this year I didn't even know there was such a thing as a mutual theme ,I obviously wasn't paying attention. Last years theme was 'Be steadfast and immovable, always abounding in good works' (Mosiah 5:15) Now that I think of it I did hear this quite often I just didn't know it was a actual theme for the year. It thought it was just a great scripture.

I have been thinking alot about what this this new mutual theme means to me. How does this apply to me, and how can it help me to be a better person. I then started to wonder what kind of example I am, not only to my young women girls but to my two little girls? What kind of example am I to my husband, to my neighbors, to my friends, and to all the people I come in contact with? I know what kind of example I want to be, but as we all know, wanting to be something and being something are often two different things. I want to be a good example of word and conversation. I really want to be a good example of Charity. How can I become a better example of spirit and Faith, because I want to be a good example of both. And Purity, I want to be a good example of purity. I once had one of my young women girls ask me why I didn't bear my testimony at camp. I looked at her and replied, I bear my testimony everyday, because of how I live, the things I say and how I act. I hope my testimony is in line with how I act, I hope this year that I can focus more on what kind of example I am, and the example I really want to be.

Cute Cute Dancing Girls

Dance, Dance, Dance

We have spent our last couple of days enjoying a little dance, dance, dance, dance, dance. Thursday we had the dress rehearsal, this year Matayia's dance studio did "Dream" I was not familiar with this story or the music. But I will have to say that I really enjoyed it. The only thing that I did not enjoy, was that the rehearsal and performances were all in Provo, so that meant three trips to Provo in three days. The recital was at the Covey center for the arts, and it was really nice. This time Matayia was a bird, and a star, she looked so cute. At first I wasn't quite sure about the bird costume, but the girls just loved putting on the wings and acting like birds. (what do I know) Friday night Grandma and Grandpa Anderson came to watch Matayia. Matayia did so good, I was so proud of her for not crying.(we have had problems with that in the past) After the performance we went to Red Robin to get a little dinner to celebrate my birhtday.



Saturday night Grandma and Grandpa Wall came to watch Matayia dance. It was so nice that both of Matayia's Grandparents came to watch her, she was so excited to see both of them. Dance has been so great for Matayia, I just love going to her recitals and watching her perform, each recital brings something new. Matayia has really grown up and I am so proud of her.

Happy Birthday to me!!

I thought about not even mentioning that I have turned one year older (and wiser too)
But, then decided that I am proud to be thirty!! Yes, that's right the big 30 for me this year. Matayia asked me if I felt any older, nope I don't. But thirty just sounds so adult like. I guess I need to start acting like an adult now. The day was great, about 2:30 in the afternoon, I jumped in the shower, when I got out I scurried back into my nice warm bed, and layed there with Kaitlyn. I thought to myself, now this is the life. I got some great presents, but my favorite, has to be the Wii Fit. All and All I had a great Birthday, so Happy Birthday to me!!

Church Basketball

I decided that I wanted to try a little church basketball. It has been a few years since I have really played a game of basketball. I've played a few games of "horse" or "lightning", here and there but nothing serious. That is exactly it I don't want anything serious, I think somewhere in my old age I lost my competitive edge, and can't figure out why anyone wants one. So one would ask why church ball?? Church ball is known for, an activity hosted in the church for us to loose our cool at, right?!? I was hoping this could maybe be something different.

So I ventured over to the church about 9:30 last night, secretly hoping that no one was there. But when I opened the gym door and peered in, sure enough there were sweating women inside. So I changed my shoes and joined in. (the sweating) I was glad to find women who had maybe lost some of their competive edges over the years, or maybe they have just learned how to keep it under control. I am not saying there were no fouls or blood, but they were always followed by laughter, and a helping hand up off the floor. Thanks ladies for the fun night, I can't even remember your names. But hopefully I will learn them as I join you for our weekly sweat session!

What goes up...

Must come Down :(

Too Big!!

I think her PJ pants are a little to big, come to think of it so are the panties!



I just couldn't resist taking a picture of this, it was hard to hold the camera still I was laughing so hard. Kaitlyn was trying so hard to retrieve her balloon from the ceiling. But was hindered by her pants, and panties falling off!! (she insists on wearing the panties and PJ's even though they are way too big!)

Tag Complete

Not alot to say about this cute cute cute little Eli. He is the reason we have stopped with two kids, How can we even compete with him? He sure is growing up fast!! We miss little Peli!!!

I tag.... Nicole, Candace, Elsha, and Carolyn

1) Choose the 4th Picture Folder on your Computer.
2) Choose the 4th Picture.
3) Explain the Picture.
4) Tag 4 More People to do the Same.

Birthday Girl

Princess Cake

I may not be able to sew aprons or pillowcases. But I can make a great Princess cake!! Kaitlyn and Matayia were so impressed!!

Kaitlyn turns 3

Kaitlyn's Birthday started real early this morning. I heard the pitter patter of little feet running into my bedroom this morning I rolled over in bed and looked the clock it said 6:13, and anyone who know me knows that is way too early for me. Once she reached the side of me bed, she began asking if her Princess cake was done yet? She wanted to see her princess cake, I just wanted her to go back to bed, I wasn't ready to get up yet. I told her it was still sleepy time, go back and get in her bed, to which she replied, "mom can you lay with me?" So I ventured into her room and crawled in bed with her, she fell back to sleep in minutes but of coarse I had a little harder time going back to sleep.

Matayia went back to school today after a great long Christmas break. Kaitlyn really missed having someone to play with all day. But what really bothered her was that she had to wait until Matayia got home from school to open her presents. I kept asking her all day what she wanted to do for her birthday and all she really wanted to do was watch cartoons. When Greg came home for lunch Kaitlyn tried to convince him that she should open her presents before Matayia came home from school. But she developed some patience by waiting all the way till after dinner to really open her presents.


Matayia came home and was so excited to decorate the house for Kaitlyn. and once Kaitlyn woke up from her nap the party could begin. Maybe not quite yet, Greg signed us up to clean the church tonight. You would think the girls would be upset about this but it was quite the opposite. When Matayia found out we were going to clean the church she said... "Kaitlyn is so lucky, she gets to clean the church on her birthday!!" So we went to the church and did our part, the girls thought it was just part of the party, they love to clean the church. (weird, I know) So when we got home we ate dinner (Alfredo pasta bake) opened presents, and then ate cake!!

I can't believe that my little Kaitlyn has turned three!! Life goes by so quickly, Kaitlyn brings alot of fun times to our family. We love her so much!! Happy Birthday Kaitlyn!!

Salad Anyone??

Tonight for dinner I decided that I was going to make Matayia and Kaitlyn try lettuce. Call me a bad mom, but I don't really push vegetables with my kids. (I hate most vegetables) But I thought that Matayia and maybe even Kaitlyn would really like a good salad. So it was Greg's job to make the salads, and boy, I should have him help with dinner every night. We each got our own bowl, he added, cheddar cheese, a little Feta cheese, peas, (only for him) cubed ham, sunflower seeds, and of coarse croutons. Come on who really likes a salad without croutons?!? But the ranch dressing really makes the salad.

The salad tasting went well, Kaitlyn finished her whole bowl first which surprised me. Matayia took a few bites and even said that she liked it. But I still wasn't sold. As we were cleaning up dinner and she was still trying to finish her salad she said. "I changed my mind mom, I like everything in this salad, but I don't really like the lettuce!" Well at least I am tried to be a good mom!

Easy Bake, What ya gonna make!!

When I was little my grandma had an easy bake oven just like this picture. (but it was green) Everytime that I went to my grandmas house I remember baking with the easy bake oven. (thanks Debbi for sharing your toy with us for all those years) Grandma was always so patient with us while we made a mess. She would always make us some frosting to frost our cakes and of coarse we would then cover our cakes with lots and lots of sprinkles!! Boy this was fun, and the fun never wore off. It seems like I still used the easy bake oven as a teenager. (I am not sure that is true!!) I still remember the bowl grandma used to mix the batter and the little plates we used to eat our cakes on. When we were done I remember getting (yes I said GETTING) to was our dishes in Grandmas sink. We thought washing dishes at grandmas house was so fun. I think grandma knew how to make everything fun. What great memories.



This year Matayia asked Santa for an easy bake oven. I didn't know how I felt about this at first, I had always secretly hoped that my mom would get one at her house so that my girls could have easy bake oven memories with their Grandma. But I am now happy to be the one making memories with my girls. And so the baking began. As we mixed the batter it made me think of grandma. We then pushed the cakes in their little metal dishes in the oven, and it made me think of grandma. The cakes have to cook for ten minutes and my girls were so inpatient, it once again made me think of grandma and her great patient. (I am sure I was inpatient also) While we waited for the cakes to cool I got some frosting out of the fridge, unlike Grandma, I am too lazy to make mine I will just buy it. We then frosted our cakes and yes they sorta fell apart just as I remembered. But that was OK with me then and it was OK with my girls now. And then came the fun part, the sprinkles, I let my girls go to town with the sprinkles, and once again thought of grandma, she taught me through the years, don't sweat the small stuff, does it really matter if they use all the sprinkles on just one cake?? After all they are the ones that get to eat the cake!!



And then the eating began, As I watched my girls enjoying the cakes they had made themselves, I remembered the good ole days when I simple little cake covered with way too many sprinkles put such a big smile on my face!! But the fun didn't end there, of coarse we had to wash our dishes in the sink to make the experience complete. And just like I did when I was little they had a great time washing their dishes. And now the Easy bake oven experience was complete. I hope as the years pass I can create as many good memories with my two sweet little girls as my grandma did for me.

Happy New Year!!

Is anyone else's toy closet throwing up? Maybe it is time that we get rid of a couple of toys!! I am feeling a little bit of a toy overlaod!!!