New Haircut. ;)

I love & hate getting my hair cut. I worry for ages over the style....then I get it done....then I love it.....then I try to make it look as good as it did the first day......grrrr......then I hate it because I can't figure it out.....then I love it when it just finds its own lazy style. So here is my new do. I will post pictures of it on me for real....soon.

Christmas is coming

We are so excited right now. We have about a foot of snow/ice. so the girls love to go out and play in it. Christmas is coming. I am loving the excitement and telling of stories and traditions and memories. I will miss being away from home but we are now making our own home and traditions and establishing the christmas spirit of the Houser house. I am happy to be blessed with a loving family. There are so many things that I had on my Christmas list this year and slowly one by one I have eliminated them, for I see that christmas is for the children...for them to smile and laugh, and for them to learn about giving and about the true meaning of Christmas. I don't mind living in humble circumstances...because humble as it may be, we are still able to help someone in an even humbler place in their lives. Blessed am I.

I love you all. Merry Christmas.

love this girl

All is well at our house. We are so happy for our friends the Markhams. If you have a chance go to their link. They have been trying to adopt a baby for many years...they have shed many a tear over their losses. We are so happy that they could provide such a wonderful home to such a beautiful baby boy. Hurray for Melba and Sammie. :)

Sydney has quite the list this year....Barbie Dream House....the pink convertible and of course more Polly Pockets with a Blue car....and .....and.....and......

I don't know how many times I have said....we will see if Santa can find it. :)

Rowyn is probably going to get the short end of the stick though. She loves to play with Sydney...so they will probably get the same stuff or just get everything together. Maybe some clothes. Anyhoo. Life is good....and when it's not.....love gets me through.

finally Halloween

Finally....I have pictures from Halloween. Now I am warning you....don't laugh at me. Sydney made me dress up. she begged and begged until I finally said yes. She was so happy to have the family be all Peter Pan characters. So as you can see I was Peter Pan...Sydney was Wendy...Rowyn was Tink....and Abby our little baby sitter was Tiger Lily and Last but not least Mark was Captain Hook. We all had a blast and ate tons of candy.

The pumpkins were my favorite part of Halloween this year. We really had fun doing them.

and Rowyn loves toasted Pumpkin seeds...I didn't realize how many she was eating because we were carving pumpkins....but the next day I couldn't believe how many were in her diaper...it was insane. yikes. :)

We love Halloween at the Houser house.

life

Life is good. We made a new friend this week. Turns out that Mark has been needing some male bonding time and as friends are usually busy he has been deprived and sucked dry by our two beautiful girls. So when a new guy came to our ward that was a movie camera specialist working on the movie being filmed in this area...(Unstoppable) he jumped at the chance to make a friend with similar interests. Little did he know that Nino...(german) needed Mark just as much as he needed Nino. It has been fun watching them. Mark has been enjoying going on set once in a while and watching filming. He also got to meet a fabulous Cinemaphotographer....Zuckerman. And Nino is a great friend for Mark...I believe they will be friends for eternity.
I know the Lord is mindful of us...bringing people into our lives when we need them.

The girls are growing so fast....Rowyn is talking so much and sooo fast. :) We really can't understand 70% of it, but she keeps us laughing. Sydney is so excited for her big girl bike. Daddy put training wheels on it and she has been rideing it in the house cause it is so cold here.

Halloween was a blast...Sydney had the say in everything. She decided she wanted to be Wendy...so Rowyn had to be Tink....Mom Had to be Peter Pan...and Dad HAD to be Hook. It was a blast and we all got a great workout walking up and down the gynormous hills of Bellefonte, the most beautiful Victorian Town ever. Life has been very good to us. We are blessed. I will be posting pictures soon. Mark bought me a small camera to play with...His are so stinking big and complicated so I usually leave the picture taking to him....Now I have my own little camera that I can whip out whenever I want to and get pictures. Yay....that means more cute posts. :) Tell then.

heart broken

I don't know if many of you know Abby Davis Maile. She and Mark grew up together in State College PA. She later went to Ricks and then married Naki who played Football for BYU. They eventually moved to Utah, and live in Orem. They have 6 of the most vivacious and beautiful Girls I have ever seen. I randomly got to know Abby when she saw my blog and inquired if I was Mark Houser's Wife. She is a very sweet sincerely wonderful mom and woman.....that is why I am so heart broken for her right now. Abby's husband Naki passed away very unexpectedly last friday. I am sorry to her and her beautiful family. At these times I realize the greatest gift God can give us is the chance to seal on earth what can be forever in heaven. Eternal Families are the most important thing in this life. Our family sends our love to the Maile family. Abby's blog is in with my links. Please go and they have a site set up for those who want to donate or just send them their prayers and love.

We will forever keep you in our prayers Abby and girls.

broken hearted.

made my day

This conversation made my day today.

Sydney: Hi Mom I missed you

Me: Hey baby, what did you learn in preschool.

Sydney: Oh Oh Oh we learned about Dinosaurs and how they all died because they stinked.

Me: Cause they what??

Sydney: Cause they xstinked.

Me: lol lol lol lol. That is so awesome. yes the dinosaurs are Extinct.


I love you Sydney. Thanks for making my day.

nothing new

I wish I had something exciting to post. Our lives tend to be slow lately. Sydney is growing up. whimper whimper. I know they have to grow up but boy it is hard letting them. She has brought me so much joy. What a blessing she is. Rowyn is wonderful too but she is a hurricane...always moving and fun and lovable. The two of them are still adjusting and getting to know each other. I think in time they will be best friends.

We got Snow here last week. Snow in early Oct. No...it isn't supposed to snow until at least Halloween. Right. Nope we got several inches of snow and sleet. It was crazy...power was out for 14 hours in some parts of PA. Sydney was so excited for the snow. I started getting ready for Christmas. I got my lights out. I love decorating for Christmas. I won't be going to UT for Christmas so I think I will go all out so I have more distractions for my homesick self. I miss Utah. Never thought I would miss Beaver so much. :)

Pre-school

Our first few days of preschool have been fun. Sydney really loves having something fun to look forward to. She has enjoyed learning and is a very fast learner. She is only one of 2 girls...she has been complaining a bit about a boy who doesn't share and is a little too aggressive. Oh well, We can't shelter her forever. We have been trying to teach her to talk to the teacher and tell her her feelings. I think it is good prepareation for school and not being afraid to stand up to rude kids. Any suggestions?? All is good and extremely wet in PA this month. 90% humidity and thunder storms every day this week. My hair is crazy from all of this humidity. Half of it decided it wants to be curly while the other half is limp and lifeless. needless to say we are all wearing ponytails at our house. Life is good and all is well.

:)

Worked my tushie off this past week pulled of a super sweet baby shower for a friend here at work. I started by making some Mashmallow fondant and making the baby butt first...then the next day I made the cake. It was a super yummy quadruple chocolate ding dong cake. It was so so so so yummy....but.... the super gooey chocolate ganache that I put on as Icing didn't like the white fondant that I tried to put on the top. I learned a special lesson that day. Fondant doesn't go over gooey iceings, only greasy butter creams. So I went to the store and bought a pre-made sheet cake and put my little baby on top. Here is the final results. Still so cute but not all homemade. I am now focusing on makeing a really good cake. I think I will then focus on makeing it cute. Good lessons. The best part....we got to eat the super yummy quadruple chocolate ding dong cake. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. No losses here.

We miss the horses.

Not much new. Life has been throwing us some obstacles. Mark did not get the job we were hoping for in Cedar City...but our home needs a lot of work before we will be able to sell it and we feel that perhaps the Lord has given us this time to prepare. In the mean time we are having Yard Sales to get rid of excess and are taking on big projects....even painting the house... we will see if that happens before it gets to cold.

Life is good though. Mark's back is beginning to feel better and the house is recovering from the hurricane Rowyn that hits it on a daily basis. Sydney is wonderful as usual and Life Moves On.

Hurricane Rowyn moves in on a few unsuspecting ducks.

good things are coming our way

I love these mountains.

As life moves forward after our amazing trip to Utah...I have realized how much of my heart is there. It is like I am only living day to day with half of my heart when I am here in PA. I do things Half-heartedly....I don't really devote any time to friends and rarely spend much time focusing on extended family. I feel that I have just been coasting by as far as serving others especially outside of the church realm.

When we were out west I felt invigorated. I felt it was where I functioned the best as a wife as a friend as member. I am not saying I am a terrible person here....I just feel that I have been unhappy here. Not miserably, just unknowingly going from day to day. I love my family...when I am home and with them...my cup overfloweth. When I am away from them, I am a bit lost and in a daze.

I am secretly praying daily that Utah will be the place for us. Mark is working toward this as well. All I know is that change is coming and we are trying to prepare for it.

My heart yearns to be near the people who add to my selfworth and whom I can be myself with. I miss my dear friends....you all know who you are. Thank you for being true friends. Hopefully we will see you again soon. :)

Enough of that....here are some great pictures from our trip. We had such a wonderful time.

amazing vacation (few pictures)

We went to Utah from the 5th of Aug to the 18th of Aug. We had such a good time that I forgot to take very many pictures of us. We have plenty of the mountains. Luckily Mark is my full time professional photographer. It is almost like having the paparazzi following us around when we vacation. He usually gets amazing pictures. I will have to post more as I get them from him.

I will document the amazing vacation....mostly so I can come back and relive it when I am so sick of work.

Day 1 Aug 5th

We woke up at 4 stinkin am to get to the airport. Sydney and Rowyn were such troopers and actually pretty happy to get on the plane. Crazy rearranged flight schedule. State College to Detroit.....Detroit to Chicago.....and Chicago to SLC. We lived....that is all that I really want to say about it. Lets just say the last leg of the trip was a bit frustrating and I will encourage all mothers to rock their second child to sleep every night to get them to fall asleep in your arms regularly. We thought it was so great that Rowyn...unlike Sydney....would let you put her right in her crib and fall asleep without any snuggling or rocking. Now Rowyn will not fall asleep anywhere but a comfy crib. I rock and rock and rock....and she fights and fights and fights. oh well. We made it to SLC and my wonderful Sister Cheryl picked us up.

We went to Cafe Rio to pick up some yumminess and straight to her house for relaxing.

Day 2 Aug6th we traveled to Midway Utah to stay in a huge house that my parents rented for 4 days. All my sisters and all of their families were there. It was a blast. We spent the afternoon getting relaxed and unpacking. Then we went to Park City where we rode all of the rides. My cousins loved the slide....Sydney and I loved the Coaster that takes you to the top of the mountain and lets you just sail to the bottom. (we almost touched a fawn that was inches from the track) I loved the bungy jumpers where I relived the acrobats we did in Peter Pan.

Day 3 Aug 7th Four Wheeling. Fun Fun Fun. We spent hours up in the mountains in Park City Four wheeling all over the mountains. My father and I had a water fight and it ended with us both being drenched in a stream. lol. Then home for dinner and relaxing and swimming.

Day 4 Aug 8th we Went out on the boat at Deer Creek. It was very windy and we didn't stay too long. I got to catch up with my best friend from High School, Monica. She has a lot going on with her hubby's new job and moving to CA. She has 3 beautiful daughters and it was so great to see our girls playing together. I have missed her. I wish her the best of luck with everything. Soon it was time to go. We traveled the rest of the evening and returned to Beaver.

Staying at the Homestead in Midway was the funnest time we spent with my family.

Day 5 Aug 9th was a special day for Mark and the girls and I to go to St. George to our best friends Baby blessing. Lelah Riley Scott. We had a blast with the Scotts. They are such a happy family and we always feel so at home with them and their family. The blessing was beautiful.

Day 6 Aug 10th we went to the splash pad in St. George. It was uber hot and super fun. The girls loved it. They ran and ran and ran. Rowyn had a blast trying to catch the kids and playing in the water. We also got to see some old friends Mike and Emily Malliard. Mark lived with Mike in College and eventually baptized him and then did the blessing to make him and elder and then we both attended the sealing where Mark was a witness. It was great to see them.

Then we went to Cafe Rio (I know.... again) we took it home and ate with Josh and Jalee....Then we went to Cedar City. We had Dinner with our old friends Dennis and Karen and their daughter Michelle. Boy we miss them.

Day 7 Aug 11th. This was our Cedar City Day. We spent the whole day applying for jobs and visiting old friends. Then home to Beaver

Day 8 Aug12th Teeth time. My wonderful father and personal dentist checked out teeth. Sydney did awesome with one small cavity. Rowyn's teeth are great no odd balls. Mark had a perfect score with no cavities and kudos for flossing. I did not get a perfect score....2 cavities and I need to floss or I will have a lot more. oh well. I walked around looking goofy for the rest of the day...only half of my face would smile. My good friend Shandra came by this evening and we caught up on each other's lives. She has a beautiful girl sydney's age. They tried to out do each other all night.

Day 9 Aug 13th More Four Wheeling in the Beaver Mountains. Some of the tallest Mountains in Utah are in Beaver. We rode the ATVs as far as we could and then we hiked. Our two favorite peaks are Baldy and Belnap, they are both around 12,500 ft above sea level. It was beautiful and we kept missing the rain. What a blessed day.

Day 10 Aug 14th My Cheryl and her family came to visit again. We had a nice dinner and relaxed.

Day 11 Aug 15th Mark and Martin went fly fishing and Cheryl and I went Yard Sale-ing. Then Mark and I got tickets for a play in Cedar. We went to Secret Garden. It was great to see it again. Mark and I were both a part of this production when we were in College. He was Dicken...and I was a stage Manager, and back up singer. It was so much fun. We dated and some of our best memories come from spending time together during this and other productions. Seeing it again brought back wonderful memories. Although the Dicken was not even close to as good as Mark was (voice and all) and the Martha was no where near as good as Melinda was. We enjoyed it overall. Mark overheard a girl tell her friend that she had seen the same show years ago when the college did it and the Dicken was tons better. It made him feel 10 ft tall. :)

Day 12 Aug 16th. Sunday.....Church..... Dinner.....Relax. Then Mark Took Family pictures for my Sister Debbie and her family. They were super cute. Then we relaxed with my Uncle Dale and Aunt Louise.

Day 13 Aug 17th. We went to Lehi to stay with my sister. Big family barbeque and then a big family photo. I will post it soon. Then a lot of tears as we all said goodbye for another 2 years. LOTS and LOTS of tears. I am pretty sure all of us are praying that Mark and I will move back to the west soon. :)

Day 14 Aug 18th. Wake up at stinkin 4:15 AM. Get to the airport....my bag is 3 lbs too heavy. Boo. All those extra clothes we got at DI. We don't have a DI in PA so Mark and I always end up looking and buying and then having more than we took. boo. Oh well...I took a few things out and ta da!!! Grumpy airline workers. Sydney flew like an angel. Rowyn was a crazy drunken fool since I tried giving her benadryl and it made her a drunk. it was pretty funny. Overall it was a nice trip with only one layover in Detroit. We landed just minutes before a crazy crazy wind and rainstorm hit. We were lucky to have missed it. We missed our little home and Sydney missed her big girl room. What a great trip with amazing memories made.

Fourth fun

Fourth of July

We had a great time for the fourth. The girls got to hang with the cousins. I really think sydney has a crush on all of the boy cousins. so funny. Rowyn loves being outside. but all and all it was a great day and the fireworks are always amazing. Penn State sports the title of 4th best display in the nation. Not bad.

Penn State football gear. Syd could hardly stand. Mark is wearing the helmet used in leatherheads. a bit small....ya think....:)

NOPE

I thought I would let all of you know that we will be staying here in good old PA for a little longer. We had our sights set on a few jobs out west....but the Lord must need us here because we are staying. Oh well. My parents will be a little sad, but I know that if it were supposed to happen it certainly would have. I think Mark is even more disappointed than I am.
I guess that is all for now. I will report if we hear anything new.

he's home

He's Home He's Home He's Home!!!!

I don't know about any of you but I hate to spend time away from my Husband or family. Mark has been in CA for a week and boy am I happy he is coming home today. I don't know how all of you single mothers or fathers do it, with out help that is. You never really realize all they do until they are gone. He was missed.

So CA is not much of an option for a moving destination as of now. But we won't rule it out completely...just not now. 2nd option is still on the Table...St. George is still working out their hiring process and will not be calling for a bit. We are hoping and I think my parents have worn holes in their knees praying that we will get it. I must admit I am hoping for St. George too. So keep us in your prayers. I would love to be near my Utah family and friends again. I miss you all so very much. So hear is to hopeing.

New new new. I love having new stuff to share. We are well. Mark has an interview in CA on the 19th....so we will see. It is out of our hands at this point. Rowyn had her First Birthday and we all had a blast. And Sydney is getting to be such a big girl and getting ready for Pre-school.

getting big

Memorial Day

Memorial Day Celebration in Boalsburg, Home of the very first Memorial Celebration. They have a really cool reinactment of a civil war battle. Costumes/and cannons and all. The kids love it.

She loves her Daddy.

cake anyone. Rowyn wasn't sure about Sydney gettting that close to her cake. That is Sydney's Finger about to swipe a bit of Rowyn's Icing. LOL

What is new??

I haven't blogged in ages simply because nothing has really seemed to be monumentally new. Except for now. We have been smoothly sailing along these past few years working and running Mark's business and me working as a chemist and moving up in my job. Church is busy too, we both have callings, Mark is young mens pres. and I am the sec. in RS. The girls love it here. Sydney is so beautiful and loves to dance and sing around the house. I love it when she tells me she wants to show me a play she has been rehearsing all day. I really want to get her into gymnastics so she will learn about her balance. She is always always tripping and stumbling over her feet. She is a trooper though and hardly ever cries over her scraps and bruises. But she cries at the drop of a hat when it comes to dramatics. Boy can she put on a show. Rowyn is at that amazing age of copy cat. She does everything you tell her to do. She watches like a hawk and loves to imitate her daddy. She loves her daddy. So here we are just getting used to life in the Moist North East......and boom......all of these opportunities pop up for us to move west. Sooooooo I don't know when, and I don't know how, but I know somethings starting right now.....can you tell my daughter loves the Little Mermaid??? Something is in the works. We don't know when or exactly where but there are so many different options right now that we pretty much feel inedibly that we will be in Utah or California by the end of the year. So yay for the Lord's hand in our lives. I think my parents have been praying so hard for this that I can give them credit for convincing the Lord that we should be there. :) I will keep this updated as we find out more.

Sooo much Too Much

So lately there has been a lot of buzz around our house about trying to find a job out west and moving and selling our home and it is a little too much. There is no definite on anything right now. We have some really big hopes and some really great opportunities on the horizon but I don't want to get all crazy about it yet. I feel like if I do I will go crazy. I still have the craziness of everyday life looming over me...I can't take on the craziness of thinking of moving and selling and adjusting until I know it is a definite thing. Then I will jump up and down and get all excited about it (for sure). For now, I am just mellow and working and keeping involved in the present.

I have been thinking a lot about being in plays this week. This is the week that the Utah Shakespearean Festival brings in all of its summer actors and Cedar City comes alive with acting and atomosphere. I can almost hear the sound of sets being built. I didn't realize how much I have missed that rush of being an actor and beginning something new. Maybe, someday I will get a chance to do it again. :)


Here is to high hopes for the future.

Isn't she gorgeous!!! My wonderful friend Jalee had her baby. I am so proud of her. She was in labor for over 36 hours and this baby is beautiful. I kept thinking....why does this baby look so perfect and my babies all look like I hit them around for a day or so before they were born. Oh well, some people have all the luck. Beautiful baby Lelah Riley Scott. Now the sleepless nights begin. I love you Jalee. :)

DAD

So.....my biggest fear, living so far away from my parents, is that something will happen and I won't be able to get there fast enough or I won't be able to do anything to help. So when I recieved a call that my Dad had been taken to Cedar for emergency surgery, I just crumbled. I love my dad. We have one of those great relationships where I was practically his shadow growing up. He is such an inspiration to me. Well... He is ok. He strained his body so much working in the yard that he tore a hole in his retina. They were able to save his eyesight....if all goes well. They had to weld it back together with a laser. Crazy stuff. I am so happy that he will be able to "see" my daughter when we go in August. He has never seen Rowyn yet. Not in real life anyway. So I am thankful today for the blessing of sight and all of our senses that we have been blessed with.

Love you dad.

giveaway

there is another give away on princess hair. http://hair4myprincess.blogspot.com/

I love this girl. :)


Saturday and Sunday were wonderful days at the Houser House. We are doing some renovations to the Bathroom and Windows. The windows especially since the big wind storm we had blew one of our upstairs windows out. The baby's room was quite chilly and we were alarmed to se the window completely shattered. So now Rowyn has a Cardboard window till we can get it replaced. Silly weather. Everything else is good though. Mark is working hard to get this place in order.





My favorite thing about the weekend though...was Sydney and her enthusiam for Conference. She sat so reverently doing her coloring and or painting, then when the prophet spoke she would shout things out like, "Thats our Prophet" or, "He said Jesus Loves us" and "He is a great Man, he is my prophet." It was such a faith building experience for our family to see her excitement for the gospel and our Prophet. She listened and would repeat things as the speakers said them. It kept me alert too, as I am known to sleep through a few talks here and there. She didn't even fall asleep during any of the sessions. What a wonderful weekend. Sometimes I wish every Sunday could be Conference.

So yesterday...my daughter Syd tells me that she has a sister missing from the dinner table. "What did you say" was my reply. She declared that she had another sister that needed to sit at the dinner table with us. That she was her very good friend. So Mark and I looked at each other and just smiled. Maybe....we will see. It always makes you rethink things when kids come up with stuff like that. It may not be anything at all but a few prayers and I think Mark and I will know how to feel about it. I wouldn't mind have one more. :) Kids are such a blessing.

New topic....I have a first birthday for Rowyn coming up in a few months and I am looking for ideas for a cake and or Party. Anyone got any good ones?? Let me know. I haven't even got a theme in mind so give me all your best ideas. The winner may get a prize. :)

awesome give away.

There is an awesome Give away over at "The Story of a Princess and her Hair" http://hair4myprincess.blogspot.com/ I have a link to it on the side bar as well. She is giving a 20 dollar certificate to the coolest Hair accesory place called Flowerz in Her Hair http://flowerzinherhair.com/ go enter. :) I have been having way too much fun with hair lately. Oh well.....It is all Monica's Fault...... Thanks Moe.

blogger blues

So I have been sad lately because I haven't received many comments. I know you are all out there, and Like me you read and run. I rarely leave comments. But just this once I would like everyone who reads this to leave me a comment so that I can gauge on how many people I am getting in touch with. especially Family. I want to see if my family is actually reading this blog....that is the main reason I have it....to keep them updated on the kids and everything. I love the friends that keep in touch on this blog. It is fun to get everyone's feedback. So thanks to all of you who care enough to see how we are. We don't have the most interesting lives but we love it. Hope you are all having a wonderful day. :) And as Mark always says, no matter what time of the year.....Merry Christmas.

finally

Here are the latest pictures of Sydney on her 4th birthday. We had a Princess Royal Tea Party. It was so much fun. I made the cake all by myself. (Sydney helped) it was so much fun. I used Fondant for the first time and truly enjoyed it. I am making another one for a little girl with leukaemia this month. she has always wanted a princess party.

So a friend of mine is doing this pay it forward thing. This is how it works..... The first 3 people to leave a comment on this will receive a special giveaway from me during this year - and you all know how I love to cook. :) So it will be a surprise, When and what will be a surprise. There's a small catch...You knew there would be didn't you? Post this on your blog then come back and leave a comment, telling me you're in. Fun, huh? Remember, only the first 3 comments receive the gift.

Sorry this took so long for me to post Mel. :)

While we are waiting

While we are waiting for pictures of Cakes and princesses and Short Hair I thought I would post a few pictures that I do have. This is Mark's newest Family Pictures. What a great group. The last time we were all together was Christmas.

Mark's Dad always plays Santa for the Church Christmas Party. I think Sydney is catching on...but not quite Positive that it is Pappy.

And last of all...My littel 4 year old monkey. This was her birthday and grandma gave her the cutest little monkey PJs. (can you tell I love to do her hair?) I will miss the long hair.

Chop Chop Chop,

For the last 4 weeks I have had to listen to Sydney whine every time I put her shirts on because she has gotten her hair stuck in the sleeves. Whine every time I brush or wash her hair because it is so long and it takes forever to wash it and get the tangles out. Whine every time her sister crawls up to her and pulls her hair. Sooooooo We chopped it off. betweeb 5 & 6 inches of beautiful long blonde hair gone. She is so so so happy. She loves her new bob and has not missed her long hair one bit. In fact she says she sleeps so much better without her hair. :) She looks older and that scares me. I, once again, will post a picture when my busy honey gets his stuff together. We have been more busy than I think we have ever been these past few months. Life has really been crazy. I think I need to take over at least one of our many digital cameras and call it mine.

Now it is just my turn to chop chop chop my hair off. When time allows! I will post. :)

Holy Shnikies. I have bruises all over me. We had our first Fencing Tournament last night.

I did ok. Mark totally rocked it though and got 2nd place. I am so proud of him. On the down side...He lunged so hard on one of his advances that he shoved his toenail into the front of his shoe and it broke. He took his shoe off and it was completely black an blue. He will probably lose it. I guess that is the price for fame. I'm sorry I lost but I am overjoyed that I still have my big toenail. lol. I am going to give him Private lessons with one of the greatest fencers in our area, for valentines day. Romantic huh???? It will make him so happy. I did ok, but have a lot of work. sydney loves it too. We are tempted to enroll her in the kids classes. She sits and watches us and tries to do it. We bought her a little jedi sword that she uses. It is a blast. I will post pictures super soon....as soon as I can bug my Marky enough to download them from the camera. Love that boy. :)

Party time

This weekend was a blast.....I don't have pictures yet, but I wanted to blog about it because it was so much fun.

We decided to have a birthday party for Sydney this past weekend because Super Bowl was the week of her birthday and that is not fair. So Friday I baked the cakes and made the Marshmallow Fondant. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm so good, and the Swiss buttercream Meringue. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Then I discovered that I am not bad at putting Fondant on cake number 1, and making a crown out of fondant. Saturday bright and early we made more Fondant......can you tell the cake was mostly Fondant?? But we finished in the nick of time wit mommy still in her sweats and a sink packed with cake making dishes. Fun Fun. Then the Princesses started to arrive. Sydney was Jasmine, Kaitlyn was Aurora, Isabel was just stinking cute without a specified Princess. and Sammy was Barbie princess. They all had a blast. The cake was a hit, and I feel like the best mommy in the world.....for today. It was fun. I will post pictures soon. :)

Happy Birthday Sydney!!!

This weekend is my little Syd's Birthday. She will be 4. Oh how those 4 years flew. Some of my favorite things about Sydney are...

1. She is a singer...everywhere she goes she is singing. She loves to just sing about things. Now she is in primary she is getting to know actual tunes rather than just making them up. Her favs are I love to see the temple and I am a child of God.

2. She loves to dance... she dances like a soccer player. Her body jerks in different directions and she runs and falls down a lot. She really gets me laughing.

3. She likes to put on plays. She acts out situations with dance and expessions, I think this one makes me laugh the most because she is so very expressive. She is so so so dramatic.

4. She has so much love. She can't let anyone leave our home with out a hug and kiss if not 3 or 4. She is very sensitive with her loveing.

5. She is very spiritual. She will say a prayer at the drop of a hat. There have been times where she almost creeps me out because she will talk about the darkness and how she prayed and Jesus came and chased the darkness away. She is very close to our father in heaven and our Savior her faith and innocence really inspire me to be closer to them as well.

6. She is a great big sister. Rowyn insists on being right beside her and she loves it. She can't wait till Rowyn can dance too.

7. Words. Like her mommy she loves to make up words if she doesn't know the right one for the job. Privacy is Priceavey. Button them is Buttom um.

8. she is a princess. She loves dressing up as a princess. Many people call her their little princess. She loves that.

9. She captures the heart of every man in the remote area. She has Mark's young men wrapped around her fingers. Of course Mark would do anything for her. And many other neighbors and friends just love her.

10. She calms me when I am sad. Whenever I am having a hard day she is right by my side. she even says, "Mommy lets watch that movie with music and dancing and Mr. Darcy," Now that is a girl who knows how to cheer me up. She will sit through the entire movie of Pride and Prejudice with me. She is her mamma's girl.

Time Flies.
Dress up is a favorite at our house. Never mind me... I am just out of bed and look more the part of the wicked witch than a fairy princess.

Well Sydney's 4th birthday is just around the corner and I am opening up the blog for ideas for a cake and party. She loves princess themes. Any good ideas for cake and invitations and decor are so very welcome. She has been quite in love with little mermaid lately too.

This is Sydney telling me that Rowyn made the mess in her room. Yeah....right....but oh man isn't she growing up fast?

. Rowyn, she is getting around more. Her first official crawl was yesterday Jan 12th. yay!! no more mancrawling.

Last of all....we got about 8 inches of snow. This is our Snow Lady. She was fun to make. Sydney loves making snowmen. Rowyn didn't do much other than sit in the snow and tip over on her head.

Lovin the snow, Mark and his scouts went on a snow hike and camping trip on Friday and Saturday. Needless to say.....they froze. But they had fun. that is what counts. :)

SUPPOSEDLY if you've seen over 85 films, you have no life. Mark the ones you've seen. There are 239 films on this list.

Put x's next to the films you've seen, add them up, change the header adding your number, and figure out if you have a life.
I know i don't. I've seen way too many.

( ) Rocky Horror Picture Show(x) Grease(x) Pirates of the Caribbean(x) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest( ) Boondock Saints(x) Fight Club( ) Starsky and Hutch(x ) Neverending Story(x) Blazing Saddles( ) Airplane

Total: 6

(x) The Princess Bride(x) Anchorman(x) Napoleon Dynamite() Labyrinth() Saw() Saw II() White Noise() White Oleander(x) Anger Management(x) 50 First Dates(x) The Princess Diaries(x) The Princess Diaries 2: ()Royal Engagement

Total so far: 13

(x) Scream(x ) Scream 2( ) Scream 3( ) Scary Movie( ) Scary Movie 2( ) Scary Movie 3( ) Scary Movie 4(x) American Pie() American Pie 2() American Wedding() American Pie Band Camp

Total so far: 16

(x) Harry Potter 1(x) Harry Potter 2(x) Harry Potter 3(x) Harry Potter 4(x) Resident Evil 1(x) Resident Evil 2(x) The Wedding Singer(x) Little Black Book(x) The Village( ) Lilo & Stitch

Total so far: 25

(x) Finding Nemo(x) Finding Neverland(x) Signs(x) The Grinch() Texas Chainsaw Massacre
() Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning() White Chicks() Butterfly Effect(x) 13 Going on 30(x) I, Robot() Robots

Total so far: 31

(x) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story() Universal Soldier
() Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events(x) Along Came Polly(x) Deep Impact
() KingPin(x) Never Been Kissed(x) Meet The Parents() Meet the Fockers() Eight Crazy Nights(x) Joe Dirt(x) KING KONG

Total so far: 38

() A Cinderella Story(x) The Terminal( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie( ) Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber() Dumber & Dumberer() Final Destination() Final Destination 2() Final Destination 3() Halloween() The Ring() The Ring 2( ) Surviving X-MAS() Flubber

Total so far: 40

() Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle(x) Practical Magic() Chicago() Ghost Ship() From Hell
() Hellboy() Secret Window(x) I Am Sam() The Whole Nine Yards() The Whole Ten Yards

Total so far: 42

(x) The Day After Tomorrow() Child's Play() Seed of Chucky( ) Bride of Chucky(x) Ten Things I Hate About You() Just Married() Gothika() Nightmare on Elm Street(x) Sixteen Candles
(x) Remember the Titans( ) Coach Carter() The Grudge() The Grudge 2(x) The Mask() Son Of The Mask

Total so far: 47

() Bad Boys() Bad Boys 2() Joy Ride() Lucky Number Slevin(x) Ocean's Eleven(x) Ocean's Twelve(x) Bourne Identity(x) Bourne Supremecy( ) Lone Star() Bedazzled() Predator I
() Predator II() The Fog(x) Ice Age(x) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown(x) Curious George

Total so far: 54

(x) Independence Day() Cujo() A Bronx Tale() Darkness Falls() Christine(x) ET() Children of the Corn() My Bosses Daughter() Maid in Manhattan() War of the Worlds() Rush Hour() Rush Hour 2

Total so far: 55

( ) Best Bet(x) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days(x) She's All That( ) Calendar Girls() Sideways
() Mars Attacks() Event Horizon(x) Ever After(x) Wizard of Oz(x) Forrest Gump() Big Trouble in Little China(x) The Terminator() The Terminator 2() The Terminator 3

Total so far: 60

(x) X-Men(x) X-2(x) X-3(x) Spider-Man(x) Spider-Man 2() Sky High() Jeepers Creepers() Jeepers Creepers 2() Catch Me If You Can(x) The Little Mermaid(x) Freaky Friday(x) Reign of Fire(x) The Skulls() Cruel Intentions() Cruel Intentions 2() The Hot Chick(x) Shrek(x) Shrek 2

Total so far: 70

() Swimfan(x) Miracle on 34th street() Old School(x) The Notebook( x) K-Pax() Krippendorf's Tribe() A Walk to Remember() Ice Castles() Boogeyman() The 40-year-old Virgin

Total so far: 73

(x) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring(x) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers(x) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark(x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Total so far: 79

() Baseketball( ) Hostel(x) Waiting for Guffman() House of 1000 Corpses( ) Devils Rejects(x) Elf() Highlander(x) Mothman Prophecies() American History X( ) Three


Total so Far:82

() The Jacket() Kung Fu Hustle( ) Shaolin Soccer( ) Night Watch() Monsters Inc.(x) Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail() Shaun Of the Dead() Willard

Total so far: 84

( ) High Tension() Club Dread(x) Hulk() Dawn Of the Dead(x) Hook() Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe(x) 28 days later() Orgazmo() Phantasm(x) Waterworld

Total so far: 87

(x) Kill Bill vol 1() Kill Bill vol 2(x) Mortal Kombat( ) Wolf Creek(x) Kingdom of Heaven() The Hills Have Eyes() I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman( ) The Last House on the Left( ) Re-Animator() Army of Darkness

Total so far: 90

(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace(x)Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones(x) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith() Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi() Ewoks Caravan Of Courage() Ewoks The Battle For Endor

Total so far: 95

(x) The Matrix(x) The Matrix Reloaded(x) The Matrix Revolutions()Animatrix() Evil Dead() Evil Dead 2( ) Team America: World Police(x) Red Dragon(x) Silence of the Lambs
() Hannibal

Total-- 100

At least it is an even 100 Right. Oh well. I knew long ago I had no life.

Prize-a-fee

Prize-a-fee. Sydney, in all her curiosity has been observing dad sans clothes whenever she can. She walks in on him going potty or getting out of the shower. He usually shrieks and says TRRRRRRIIIIIIIISSSSSSSSSHHHHHHH!!!!!! So now we have told her over and over that daddies are different than mommies and they need their privacy. So now when she needs to go potty we aren't allowed in cause she needs her Prize-a-fee. We love it. She is great at giving Mark his privacy as well.

26. This is the magic number of people my mother-in law tried to squeeze into her home every stinking day of the holidays. The first day I was afraid to put my baby down for fear she would be stepped on or sat on. 2nd that many people belong in a very large space not a 2 bedroom home with a kitchen the size of an outhouse and dinning room that you have to "suck it in" when walking around the table. needless to say we passed up many a family bonding experience due to claustrophobia. I love family....but I love to visit on a one on one basis.

New calling....Relief society Secretary. I am enjoying being with the adults after 5 years in primary. I do catch myself talking to the sisters as if they are 7 years old. I am working on that. I am sure they don't appreciate it. hee hee. Oh well...that is what happens when you are with children 24-7.

relieved that the holidays are over....I am ready to begin my wonderful new year and work on all of those resolutions. :)