The Midnight Secrets of a Vampire Stalker

So, since I totally let the cat out of the bag about my secret Twilight obsession, I'm going to go ahead and show you all how crazy it really is!

Last night while IMing Jaqui at midnight (insomnia is genetic) she came up with a great secret plan to add adventure and excitement to Friday's release of Breaking Dawn. Here's how the conversation went (sort of):


Jaqui: Do you think you could do that?
Me: Sure
Jaqui: I could come over right now
Me: okay!!! That wil be great. My kids hair will look a little sad tomorrow when I can't get up. But come over now!
Jaqui: Mine too! I'm on my way!

Less than 2 minutes later Jaqui and Kaella were on my doorstep! Steve stirred a little, but I told him to keep sleeping... so he did. He had no idea that the rest went on at all.


We instantly got to work on the computer since Kaella had a great slogan for our secret plan! And I had a great Twilight font:


Since Jaqui's friend Mindi was in on this too, we spent a lot of giggly time try to get her attention while she was "at work". See here: http://rjmcdougal.blogspot.com/2008/07/mindi.html and here: http://rjmcdougal.blogspot.com/2008/07/mindi-check-your-email.html. This was after we sent her some emails. Finally, Jaqui sent her a text and pretty soon she was on board!

After driving her crazy with IM (they all say Kelli: even if Jaqui was speaking) and watching some favorite footage of the upcoming movie we decided to head out to finish our plan.

Here's what time it was when we pulled out of the neighborhood:

And here is where we ended up:

Because they are open
And this is what we bought:

For those of you who are still baffled as to why we are up in the wee hours of the morning at Wal-Mart it is because of this:
If you still can't understand that... well, then you obviously haven't been biten by a vampire!

PS If you are interested in knowing what our secret project is, just stick around.

32 Secrets

Over at my favorite digital scrapbook hangout Sweet Shoppe Designs (http://www.sweetshoppedesigns.com/), they challenged us to make a layout about truths about ourselves. We were to take our age and then share that many secrets or facts about ourselves on it. I have not got around to this yet. Partly because I love pictures too much to do a page that is mostly words. But I really do want to keep track of these things, so I thought why not on my blog. So here they are, 32 Secrets about me.

1-I am obsessed with pictures. Taking them, looking at them, sharing them
2-I hate to wear shoes
3- I hate to wear socks even more
4- Unless I'm running-- I love to run!
5- I grew up believing there are girl things and boy things (get your heads out of the gutter, people!)
6- Boys can do girl things (laundry, cooking etc), but girls could not do boy things (sports, handiwork etc)
7- I am fighting that
8- But I do expect the men in my life to still do all the boy things that I don't want to do
9- Hence, I have never mowed the lawn
10- I believe in the power of sisterhood
11- I have 2 biological sisters that I love dearly
12- And hundred of spiritual sisters
13- And a handful that I count as both
14- I have been a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for almost 15 years

15- I have a strong testimony
16- But sometimes my trials foster doubts
17- I met my husband over a pile of manure at the Salt Lake Temple
18- I married him at the same place... minus the manure
19- I have 4 exceptional daughters
20- And no sons
21- I hope to have 4 exceptional sons one day... even if you have to tack the phrase "in-law" at the end of 'em
22-I love to scrapbook!!!!!
23- I love the ease and cleanliness of digital scrapbooking. But like a recovering addict, I still miss the feel of paper
24- I love Cherry Coke
25- My house is often cluttered (by that I mean messy)
26- I am surprisingly okay with that
27- Dinner is my least favorite meal of the day... unless someone else makes it
28-I am a "closet" Twilight fan (actually kind of a big fan, but not as big as my sister)
29- I am still in the "closet" because I often put too much stock in what other people think of me
30- I suffer from depression
31- And I am often caught battling it
32- I hate laundry!!!!!!!!! With a passion!!!!!!!!

There you have! 32 things you may not have know about me!

Jaqui said I am supposed to tag people and she LOVES to be tagged so I tag her!!!! Have fun thinking of 33 things :P

The Secret Life of Single Child

At least during school hours....

I sent all 3 of my big kids off to school today! Emily and Sariah started yesterday and Nicole's first day was today!

I was so excited! All the stuff I was going to get done today! Ooops! Apparently I forgot about the Queen Bee! She is still here. So, my day was spent sitting in her room. Playing toys. Reading books. Laying on pillows. Getting stepped on. Being shut inside the room while she blocked the door! Sorry if anyone tried to call. Whenever the phone rang she would yell, "no! no! no get it!"

Ahhh.... the freedom of only having one child at home all day!


P.S. More on the first day of school and pictures to come soon. My boss has also ground me from the computer....

The Secret of Speed!

For the 24th of July, Steve's mom invited the family to go with her to Indian Springs. It is this beautiful location in the Manti National Forest. It's about 3 hours away and about 45 minutes of that is on a dirt road. It takes awhile to get there, but it is worth it! Steve's dad loved this location.



Here's the plan... everyone meet at Mother's house at 7am to load up and leave. So at 6 this morning we got up, dragged our kids out of bed, cleaned them up and got ready to go. We called just after 7 to say we were 5 minutes away. Then we get there. And waited. And waited. And waited.



We waited for over an hour just to finally receive a phone call from my sister-in-law informing us that they were leaving their house (20 minutes away), but still needed to stop at the store! An hour after it was time to leave. Yes an entire hour late! Can you say rude? 'Cause I can. Oh, and we have to stop at the store! Give me a break!



Thank goodness we had a 3 hour drive or I may have ruined every one's day by throwing the biggest fit you have ever seen! But I did manage to calm down! But seriously, an hour. By the time we actually left to get there it was 8:45.



Anyway, in much happier news, we had a great day riding the four wheelers! The girls really wanted to learn how to drive them. I was about Emy's age when my uncles taught me to ride 'em. So we gave it a try. Emily is remarkably good at it. She seemed to know exactly how to apply constant pressure to the gas, to slow a bit going down hills, speed up to make it up a hill, watch the blind corners and of course, go fast on the "straight-a-ways"! She was great! I was so impressed and felt pretty relaxed riding with her.



So I tried it with the others. It took Sariah a bit longer to understand the need for constant pressure on the gas. It was a little, no make that a lot, jerky at first. But she got it down.



Okay, this is great! Now I have the little one's: Nicole and my nieces Chayley and Cheyenne. And of course, they want to drive to . First up, Chayley (the littlest of the 5 year-old twins). She got in position, looked over her shoulder and announced, "I'm going fast!". Then she gunned it! Yeah, I'd say fast! I actually had to pry her finger from the gas and hold the brake when her turn was up. Now it is Cheyenne's turn. Did I mention they were twins? Because they did basically the same thing... except Cheyenne gave no warning! And again prying off her finger when her turn was up. I think these two have done this before. They were very confident. And fast.



So, finally we are to Nicole. When she got up for her turn Chayley says to her, "Nicole don't go fast!" What! Chayley is advising Nicole to go slow! It didn't work! She immediately hit the gas as far as it could go. And then she released it. And then she hit it. And released it! After a quick recovery from my whiplash, I had to actually hold her finger down to show her the need for constant pressure! And then like her cousins she was off like a little speed demon!



Grace, on the other hand was not a speed demon. Nice and slow. That's how she liked! And boy did she like it!
To help the girls pass the time between turns, Grandma made them play London Bridges. Just look how much fun they had, but when it was their turn again no game was going to keep them off the four wheelers.


So, for the bulk of the afternoon the theme was SPEED! Now if only we could get this family's need for speed to translate into arriving somewhere on time...Heck, I'll even be happy with 15-20 late.

More Scrappin' Secrets

Gracie chillin' out at the pool New baby Brynley
Sleepover at Jaqui's

The Secret Life of Girls

Today Jaqui took Kaella and Morgan to get haircuts while I watched Ellie and Anna. Right away Sariah and Ellie created a new game. I heard them in the bathroom talking about playing a game and the word "hair"! Umm... they are old enough to not cut their own hair right?

Yes! They are! Please don't be cutting your hair... please don't be cutting your hair.

Whew!

So what's this game?

And then they started to explain the rules to Nicole. You can make your hair look pretty or you can make your hair look ugly. But however it really looks you are suppose to say, "My hair is soooo hideous!" (be sure to add a Valley Girl accent to this)! So then the girls ran around the house saying, "Your hair is so pretty! My hair is hideous! Hid-e-ous!" The very ingenious name of this game is (drum roll, please) Hideous Hair. Creative, huh?

So while they are playing my mind is pondering. Are girls born with this innate ability to criticize themselves. To always look at others and see that they are pretty, smart, talented etc., but never see those things in herself. When our hair really looks pretty, why do we have to say it is hideous. Are we born this way?

Then Jaqui and Kaella came back. They got trapped at my house by the hail storm for awhile, but of course they needed to check out their new haircuts. Don't judge, you know you do it too! This is what I hear from the two of them...

Kaella: This haircut makes me look frumpy. I should have cut it shorter
Jaqui: No it doesn't! Your hair is sooo cute! I wish I were brave enough to get a cute short haircut. My hair is the frumpy looking one.
Kaella: No mom! Yours is so cute. But I will never be able to wear a polo shirt now because this haircut and shirt really make me look frumpy!
Jaqui: Kaella, don't be silly! Kelli, can I borrow a pair of scissors? They never get this part right. Boy, I wish I had been brave enough to cut my hair short like Kaella's

And on and on! And I am serious, this is the conversation. I am not being dramatic.

Meanwhile, I am laughing in my head! And then I told Jaqui of the new game, "My Hair is Hideous"! It was too funny!!! Really, it was hilarious!

But it did get me thinking... really are we born this way or did we learn it? Are the girls playing this game because they are born that way or because they hear me complain about my hair so frequently? And, if this is my fault. If this is a vicious cycle of womanhood: the need to degrade ourselves; to compare ourselves. Well, then how can I stop it? As a mother of four girls what can I do to change it? And how do I stop myself from saying things I have always said.... "I am so fat", "My hair is so ugly", "I can't do those amazing things that (you know who you are) does", "I'm a lousy mom", "I have no talents" and on and on. Was I born this way or did I learn it?

I'm an Aunt!... again!

I can't keep this one a secret! My beautiful new neice was born at 7:45 this morning. Here is the only picture we have so far:

Isn't she adorable!? I miss them so much! I really want to rush up to the hospital, hold little Brynley and take a million pictures of her. But I can't! I am stuck 13 hours away from them. These are the moments that you miss so much when your family lives far away. I will not even get a chance to meet this sweet baby until our Family Reunion in September :( But at least we have modern technology that can keep us connect! I am anxiously awaiting more photos of her. But I am sure I will be waiting a while. Afterall, no one can pull themselves away from such an adorable girl just to play on the computer!

The Secret to Turning Things Around

After a friend informed me that she was certain my back tire was going to fall off my van and volunteered to drive me home from a mechanic, I decided that the shaking my van had last night was not going away. So bright and early this morning we took it to the shop. Eight hours, 3 tires and 2 new brakes later we had our van back. And we were grateful that it was not more serious!

This is how my day started. It made for a very hard day with the girls when they learned that instead of swimming we would be sitting at home waiting. And waiting. And waiting. Because I really needed the van back today! It was a long and cranky day at my house.


But at 6pm it began to turn around. I left the house and my kids to take some pictures of my sister-in-law's family. I was a little nervous because she wanted a family picture with their horse, Babe. I have never tried to work with a horse! They don't listen as well... even worse than toddlers. And if you make them mad they might just step on all the children. So, yeah, I was nervous. But it went surprisingly well. There were a few set backs with Babe. The twins had to jump up once and we were a bit worried that Chloe was still on her back (Chloe was loving it!). The biggest set back with the horse was doing those pictures first. After Babe left, there were no more smiles from Chloe! All she wanted to do was ride the horse! lol

Here are some of my favorite shots:












I love the field we were in! It was beautiful! Especially with the sunlight shining in the girls wheat colored hair. It was so nice! Somethings I tried worked out really well. Some not so well. And somethings I wasn't able to even try because of poor sad kids, fat lips and a moody horse. That's why I only do this for family... they forgive me even if its not perfect.

One hundred-ninty-eight pictures later, I joined a few of my wonderful lady friends for dessert! We had a great time visiting and eating (two of my favorite things). By the time I got home I felt like I had lived two different days in one. One horrible expensive sit around do nothing but be cranky and make a mess around the house day. And one lovely sun setting wheat glowing talent building fantastic company day. Things really did turn around.

I Think They Grow-up in Secret

The other day, while we were eating lunch at the park, I watched Emily on the monkey bars. I was taken back a few years. I remember the summer before her Kindergarten year she really wanted to learn to cross the monkeybars by herself. We spent every day that summer working on it. For the longest time she could only cross a few at a time before falling. But everytime she fell she got back up, wiped her hands off (so they weren't slippery) and tried again. It was really slow going. About a week before school started I started to feel bad. I was preparing my pep talk about how hard she tried and that it was okay that she didn't get it down before Kindergarten. And then all of the sudden she was crossing the bars! All twenty-something of them! I was so proud of her! She had done it! When we went to meet her teacher we also took a tour of the playground. Imagine Emily's disappointment when she saw that the school monkeybars only had about eight bars! This girl could now do over twenty!

As I watched her now, four years later, I am amazed at how far she has come. I admire her determintation. And I love watching her find joy in the goal she met so long ago! She is really an amazing girl and I love her so much!

Here's a Secret: Note to Self

I have been using the phrase "note to self" a lot lately. There are so many things that I am hoping to improve on and everytime one comes up, I say, "Note to self...." The other day, Emily said to me, "Mom, if it is a note to self how come you say it out loud? Do we all really need to hear it?" Yes, honey, you do. Everything I say is vitally important! Hmmm... maybe I am using this phrase a little too often.

Secret Projects

Here are some of the projects I've been working on this week:

This is from Jamie's visit in June

Nicole's Favs at 6 Layout

Our walk on the Jordan River

Third place at the Utah Feis (fesh)

Wow! I've been busy this week.

The Secret Recipe

Yesterday, we had a few of the neighborhood girls over for a cooking lesson! It was a lot of fun, but perhaps too many hands. No one seemed to get as many "turns" as they wanted to until it was time to "decorate" the pizzas. Here are all the little chefs:

Here is what some of the pizzas looked like:

Some little ones loved to add too many toppings! Notice the large pineapple on Ellie's and that every square inch of Nicole's is covered with pepperoni! Funny thing is, when they were ready to eat it, they pulled all those toppings off to have cheese pizza.

Here is what it took to make pizza. First you knead it. Then flip it.












And of course you must "decorate" it!:

Secrets I Learned From a Book

***Warning! This post contains spoilers for The Alchemist. Do not read if you do not want to know the ending of the story***

Here are a few things I discovered about myself and life while reading this book.

First, I am way too much like the crystal merchant. I kind of like the idea of having a dream more than fulfilling that dream. In my normal everyday life that philosophy is okay. But upon reading it from a different perspective, it is kind of sad. He was afraid. Afraid that it wouldn't live up to his expectations. Afraid that he would then have nothing to look forward to. Afraid of change. He had the oppurtunity to fulfill his dream, but instead, chose to keep dreaming. And honestly, he did not seem very happy. So, I have decided to dust of some of my dreams and try to make them come true. I am not afraid of change. I am not afraid of failure. At least that is what I am telling myself.

Second, the boy's treasure was right were he was! He seriously could have dug around and found it. At the end he points this out and asks why he had to make such a long journey just to end up where he was in the first place. He is told, "If I had told you, you wouldn't have seen the Pyramids. They're beautiful aren't they?" It made me think about the trials in my life and the Pyramids that I have seen because of those trials. For some trials, I am still looking for a Pyramid (lol).

This also made me think about this life. Not just the trials, but life in general. Our true treasure is exactly where we started... back with Heavenly Father. And our lives are our chance to see the Pyramids, to find love, to learn patience and forgiveness. But in the end, if we can endure til then, we will find our treasure back where we began. So, like the boy, I am endevouring to live out my journey so as to receive my treasure. Right now I am currently polishing crystal (ie raising children). I am trying to improve upon my shop (home). Knowing that all the while this stage is temporary, but very important. One day, they will leave and I will begin the next stage of my journey. Since leaving Heavenly Father, I am in the desert now: "Once you get into the deseret there is no going back... And when you can't go back, you have to worry about the best way of moving forward".

Sorry, Jaqui, I know book group is tomorrow but I did keep these thoughts to myself for a long time! And to any of you who are intrested in more of my amazing insight (haha) show up at Jaqui's.

Secrets of a Party Crasher

Happy Fifth of July!

Here are my sweet, little, beautiful, wonderful, perfect all-American girls:

For our afternoon activity on the Fourth, we invited our friends to join us at the pool. Emily took the opportunity to perform a little service activity. She thought it would be nice to help Aaron prepare for his baptism on Saturday by helping him under the water a few hundred times. He was such a good sport about it. We were also lucky to run into some more friends at the pool were Emily (she was really in a service-y mood) encouraged Sydney to jump off the high dive with her. Here is Em on the high dive:

It was very windy so we didn't stay as long as we normally do. Plus, both Grace and Natalie seemed eager to get home to do this:

We then had a barbecue at my mom's. Where we basically invited my parents to host a barbecue, buy the food, cook the food and have us over! We brought chips! This was the beginning of our trend for the night called crash in on peoples fun!

Our next adventure in party crashing was at the oh so special and exclusive cul-de-sac by my sister. We brought a variety of ice cream treats to crash here. It was a lot of fun! The kids, some adults and some other klutzy people played kickball. Some of us party crashers merely watched. The children had fun playing with these:

And of course there were many fireworks to enjoy! Some people felt like this about them:

And others liked to run straight for them!

And others just ignored them to eat cheese balls!

And still others just liked riding bikes:

On our way home from leaving this fun adventure, we found yet another party to crash! At this point I am completely out of "stuff to bring to parties we crash", so of course I had to make it up to my new hostess by kidnapping her for some ice cream. Unfortunately, when we made it to our favorite ice cream shop, we found this:

Not like that stopped us! We just went to Sonic for slushies instead!

So here are some tips from an amateur party crasher:

• bring something so you don't feel guilty


• if you have nothing, kidnap the hostess and go for ice cream


• try to make friends with everyone, so they think you were invited

But if you want to crash a baptism, you will need an excuse like, "I used to be his primary teacher!" This is a surefire way to get yourself invited to the luncheon ;)