Mini Vacation

We haven't been away on vacation for a really long time.  Everyone in our family together in the same place at the same time.  So this Easter weekend we left for Orlando.  Our first stop was the Temple, where we joined members of our branch and spent a few hours feeling the love and peace that comes from serving there.   And since we are Harry Potter fans/geeks in this family (the kids say speak for yourself mom) and we haven't been to the Harry Potter World at Universal, that was our final destination.  I'm not a huge fan of theme parks, because of the long lines, the humidity and crappy food.  Not to mention It's usually super crowded on a holiday weekend.  But to our surprise it was  practically deserted....YES!  The longest we waited in line was 25 minuets.  And it was overcast most of the day so it wasn't hot....can I get another YES!!!  Harry Potter World was amazing, I ogled over all the authentic details and the frozen butter beer was to die for.   Taylor and I are feeling really brave and maybe a little macho because we road The Dragon Challenge Ride (formerly known as the Dueling Dragons.)  Yes Gabby you read that right we went on a scary roller coaster!  So now you will want to "theme park vacation" with us and we'll be fun this time.  Thomas was a trooper and went on every ride that he was tall enough to go on.  Can I just say that it's so much funner to go when your kids are older.  No Whining!  I'll be leaving for Utah in 3 weeks and then it's summer.  With all the summer camps, to many to list, this was our only opportunity to get away, and man did we need it!

All I can say is  "Mischief Managed!"

Dancing Feet

Amanda is sixteen...almost seventeen and loves to dance.  This year she went to the JROTC Ball with a big group of her friends (boys and girls) and they were all stag.   She just left to go to a 5 stake LDS Prom with a big group of her friends...stag again.  On one hand I want her to get some dating experience...but on the other hand I'm glad she's just enjoying herself and is in no real hurry to jump into the dating scene.  She has a good head on her shoulders and I keep teasing her to hold out until collage where she will have a wide selection to choose from.  I've got my fingers crossed which is good, because Mike tells me not to hold my breath on this one.

She is beautiful inside and out.  Hopefully I can keep her away from the boys until she's thirty!!!

Additions...

My kids say I'm obsessed.  But the truth is it's just part of the creative process.  Tinkering.  I NEED to move things around or add to the existing design.  If you don't like change it's not for you.  I on the other hand can't get enough!

I replaced my chest with my sofa back table and added the baskets to fill the space underneath it.  

I found this wire cage at Homegoods on the sale isle for 9 bucks.  I touched it up with bronze paint and bent some of the wires and filled the selves with old stuff.  It's my favorite change to this table scape.

I also added 6 pics with frames to Mikes office wall.  I love sprawling gallery walls!

And last but not least I wall papered the inside of my clock, where the pendulum swings or would swing if she worked.

It's a creative and monetary challenge to keep things from feeling to static around these parts.  But if you buy quality and what you love you can rework and rearrange to your "obsessive" hearts content.

County Fair...

Some times you have to break down and go....

Even if you're afraid of carnival folk!

 

 

We all enjoyed ourselves.  Thomas loved the rides...me not so much!  If I get roped in again next year, I'm spending most all of my time at the petting zoo. 

Amanda Recognized...

The day has finally arrived!  Amanda has set goals and accomplished all that was required to earn her Young Womanhood Recognition.  It's no easy task to complete this achievement, so in this house we are really proud of her.  This program though faith based, is similar to earning an Eagle award from The Boy Scouts of America.  It requires a lot of time, effort and service.  This program focuses on these eight values, Faith--Divine Nature--Individual Worth--Knowledge--Choice and Accountability--Good Works--Integrity--and Virtue.  Amanda is an amazing young women who is generous and so kind!  We love our "baby cakes!"

It was a special event.  My favorite part was the slide show of pictures that her father made, it showcased the many faces and stages of Amanda...priceless.  The only bummer for her was not being able to share this night with her Grandma Sant who was recovering from the flu:(.....

My Fitness Hero...

My sister Gariella Reeve placed 4th in the NCP body building competition last Saturday March 19th!  I couldn't be happier for her than I am right now.  I know how hard she has worked for this goal.  What this picture doesn't tell you is that through her journey she has overcome obesity, loosing a whopping 138.8lbs!  She is the person that motivated me to loose my (post pregnancy-post anti depression medication) weight!  Through her constant encouragement and understanding I lost 85lbs to bring me back into the range of a healthy weight for my body.  So even though I am no where near her level of fitness I have somewhat of an idea of what it takes to stay focused and not give up on yourself...when really you just want to devour the whole birthday cake in front of you!!!  Gabby has always been interested in fitness and nutrition and is an avid researcher on the subject.  What is special about her is her ability to learn new information and then apply it to her situation.  Did I mention she has the will power of NO one I've ever know.  I know that weight is a touchy subject for a lot of people and can be a real source of pain in their lives, it was for me.  But Gabby was the one person who helped me get over my sensitivity about being heavy...we were both FAT during the same time in our lives.  I remember sitting by her at dinner both of us "pigging out" and laughing at ourselves.  She said "I don't know what happened to me.  I woke up this morning, stuck in this fat suit and dammit if I cant find the zipper...and I see you have the same problem."  We laughed for hours about our "situation."  she taught me to love myself in spite of my weight and when she started her journey...well I kinda tagged along.  She was always generous to share what she was doing or eating with me and others.  She really understands the concept of sacrifice...giving up something good for something better.  And we are both believers in "you are what you eat."  Don't get me wrong I am a foodie and it's the one thing in life that I have a love/ hate relationship with.  But Gabby Is the one person that has taught me the value of good whole foods and eating as clean as you can.  We all have to eat, but not all food is created equal.   One thing that I've always admired about her is that she doesn't stay stagnant in one place for to long and that she tries new things.

Always pushing herself along to meet her goals.  Gabby you ROCK!!!

Perspective...

On Sunday we lost our family dog Sophie.  We had two dogs Sophie and Evey, and on a normal day they are restricted from going onto the sidewalk and beyond.  We have an underground electric fence and battery operated collars, that work rather effectively. Unfortunately we had our lawn airated and the line was punctured  in several places.  The lawn service said that they would fix the line but all we got was a game of phone tag.  So Mike attempted to fix the line himself, but when the sprinklers would go on it would short out.  our neighbor works for a cable company and has a tool that can tell you where the breaks in the line are.  So he came over on Friday and they dug up all the areas in the line that were damaged.  They weren't able to finish the job and We had church obligations on Saturday and Sunday (Stake Conference) so the fence would have to wait until Monday.  Sadly that was a day to late for Sophie.  After church we were outside in the backyard enjoying the weather and we didn't notice that she had ran around to the front of the house.  She ran into the road to cross it, so she could greet a neighbor walking her dog and was hit by a car.   Sophie managed to run back around the house to where we were.  The neighbor that was walking her dog and the poor lady that hit her also came running to the backyard.  They told us what had happened.   Sophie was in shock so Mike put her in her dog bed so she would be comfortable.  It was really sad to see her so distressed  and scared.  We couldn't see any obvious wounds but we knew that the car had gone right over her, so her injuries were internal.  Our greatest concern was that she was suffering so Mike called our vet to see where we could take her on a Sunday.  While we were waiting for the service to call back we gathered around her as a family to say a prayer.  It was simple but heart felt.  Mike asked the Lord to comfort her and if it was her time to leave her earthly home, that she could be released so she wouldn't have to suffer any longer.  And when he finished his prayer she was gone.  Losing a beloved pet this way was a sad thing for our family.  But experience is the best teacher and sometimes we need to be taught how fragile life really is and to be reminded not to take the simple things for granted. Amongst the sadness and loss the greatest lesson our family learned was that the Lord really does answer prayers and he really is aware of even a sparrow in the tree.

We had Sophie for eight years, she was loved and will be missed.