Jetta

I am thankful to have a car to take me around in style. Although I am not always grateful for the bill I am thankful we have good credit and jobs to pay for it.

I have had some great memories in our car. Its been able to take us home and from state to state on all of our many travels.

I am thankful to have a patient husband that teaches me to drive better and safer. I am thankful he does most of the driving.

I am also thankful for contacts because it makes it much easier to see while driving at night!

I am thankful for Pigmataro in Everett because they had excellent customer service and such a nice showroom. We took that for granted until we had to get our car fixed in Idaho Falls. That was a horrible experience!

Green!

I love green and am thankful for Color. I thought it was appropriate for this Saint Patrick's Day to appreciate color. I am also thankful for my sight. I love my contacts and am thankful that God made his world so colorful. I love the beautiful colors in nature. I love bright clothes. I just love to see!

Reality TV

Ha Ha I have to give a shout out to my favorite TV shows... they are all reality TV. What a great invention. I am thankful for the entertainment they provide!


I love Tool Academy. It is a silly show about boys that are horrible boyfriends and Trina (this adorable british therapist) fixes them. Each week they have to earn a value badge (maturity, honest, fidelity etc) and the one that does the worst in proving themselves gets voted off. Then the girlfriend decides if they want to stay with them or finally break up! It is hilarious. They are on their 3rd season.


Next I love America's Next Top Model. If I was taller I would totally be on this show. Tira Banks is the host. They are on their 14th season and I have totally watched all the seasons... they have improved A LOT. Some seasons I've watched more than once! Love the shots the challenges and the costumes.

I love Teen Mom and 16 and Pregnant. It is dramatic and real and I love to see it unfold and see how they adjust. I feel bad for them and love them at the same time. I like to think it prepares me for the future.

Extreme Makeover Home Edition or "the move that bus show" (I always forget the name so thats what I call it) I cry almost every episode because I am so so happy for the families. I love to see the things the designers come up with and the happy grateful families

I also love Secret Life of the American Teenager. Its not reality but it is so dramatic. I love it and I can't get enough. A friend of mine and I watch it and talk about it and freak out together.

High School

This is a random thing to be thankful for. I loved Highschool and it really helped me be more confident and happy. I always tried to do my best to be a good friend, to show I cared about others. I also learned so much and knew I wanted to be a teacher. I spent half the day working in a Special Education Classroom. It was so fun. I swam every year and won homecoming queen. I had so many friends. It was a great time in my life.


I am thankful I had such a great experience. I know it isn't the same way for everyone.
Here are some pictures from "back in those days"


When I got asked to Senior Prom the guy gave me a bunny. This bunny still lives at my parents house. My mom loves him. But when I was a senior I had a leash for this bunny and took him to soccer games. It was fun.

I wore this white dress to prom and then my grandma altered it and took off the the black and I wore it as my wedding dress. Going to prom and homecoming was my favorite. I always went with good friends and it was such great times.


Taking pictures of yourself. Man good times.


Seminary graduation with the best friends. Opal and Kaci! I sang a duet in french at seminary graduation!


And here is one with me in my crown. I loved dressing up purple and gold for spirit days. When I was voted I thought it was a joke. I popped out of a suitcase when I appeared in our assembly. My boyfriend at the time pulled me in a suitcase and then when he got to the middle he unzipped it and I popped out. It was so fun! The crowd was wild. I couldn't believe it!

There you go. Hope you enjoyed that little blast from the past.

Childhood

I am thankful for my Childhood.
I love to think of the past and it always makes me smile.
I have a really good memory of my childhood and almost all my memories are happy ones.
I love my mom and dad for raising me and providing for all my needs they are the best.

Top 10 Stories that come to mind Right this second

10. My dad built us a swing set. He brought this huge net from work and turned it into this tree house. I loved my backyard because there was two levels, grass and sand. We played on it all the time swinging, climbing and digging to china.

9. We had a giant white board in our shed and we could color on it.

8. We had SO much barbie and American Girl stuff. I played with it until I started dating... no joke!

7. My mom used to give us Beanie Babies when we swam our best in races. We could pick them out of a selection she had. We all had a huge collection. We were so careful with the tags so they wouldn't ruin the "value" of the toy.

6. I have a TON of cousins and extended family. We had giant major holiday gatherings at the "coco cabana" We used to play cards games and dolls in this little room. I always played with my younger cousins because my older boy cousins never let me play pool because they were a year older always changed the age rule!

5. My mom used to dress me until middle school. I wore the fanciest catalog clothes. I had these sweaters with animals and shapes and designs. I also had this rule I had to wear a skirt or dress once a week to school. She loved to match us girls. Clara hated matching so she got her "own" color. So Chloe and I would wear the same dress/outfit, Clara would have the same dress/outfit but a different color.

4. Every year we went and saw santa and got our picture taken. Santa still brings us gifts on Christmas.

3. We never had a pet (other than fish) but our neighbor had a black lab and our other neighbor had a bunny. We played with them all the time like they were our own pet.

2. Clara and I shared a bunk bed for most of our time growing up. We used to hang from the top bunk. My came in once and turned off the light. Clara said "we're bats" We laughed so hard we fell off. Once the top bunk bar fell on Clara and I freaked out and told my mom "the bunk bed fell" on her. She ran down stairs and started crying because she thought the whole bed fell on her. Then she was kinda mad when she saw Clara was playing and it was only the bar.
Years later my friend Kaci and Opal were sliding from the top to the bottom and Kaci got stuck. We laughed so hard we almost peed the bed.
Bunk beds are the best!

1. I had the best adventures with my siblings. We always made up games to play. We had the best times when we got along.

So great!!

Baby Showers

I am thankful for babies and baby showers and good friends, decorations and treats! I am thankful for my talent to create! I am also thankful for the little baby Madison already! I can't wait to be a God Mother!!

Here are some photos from the shower. I have been planning it for months!


This is the little guest book signing table. We collected money for a combined group gift to pay for Mindy to get pictures of Madison when she is born!


This is the table with the food and punch. I hung a "clothes line" with onsies and pictures of Tom and Mindy when they were babies. The colors were pink and red.





I also made a banner that said "baby Mindy" with scrapbook paper. I loved how it turned out and so easy. She is going to hang it in the Nursery



Here is a close up on one of the letters,



I made these pom poms out of tissue paper. They are so cute and so easy and cheap. I got the tutorial off of Marthastewart.com.





Here is the finished Quilt for the crib. I loved how it turned out. I used a lot of batting so it is so comfy. We tried it out in the crib and it looked just perfect. It took me sooooo long to make (like 50 hours from very start to end) I hope it is something they will cherish forever.





Here is Mindy opening up the little coat I made Madison. I forgot to take a pic of it but it was just a little white with blue flowers coat with a bow. The pattern was from the One Yard Wonder book.



Here are the rest of the photos. A group shot and some cute ones of Mindy and I. I am so grateful to have such great friends!

Craft Blogs

I love love love craft blogs. I love looking through others ideas and trying them. It is super fun to see how creative other people are. I can't to have kids because then i will have even more people to make things for. Here are some I love the mostest! Yes the MOSTEST!

Disney from "Ruffles and stuff" is probably my favorite. She makes all sort of cute stuff out of things she already owns. And she tells you step by step how to do it! It's great. She makes clothes and toys and jewelry and the list goes on and on. She also teaches you new sewing techniques! Check her out here



Ashley from "Make it and Love it" has two kids and an adorable house she is constantly crafting for. She also introduces you to other crafters and Etsy shops! Her posts are really fun if you have kids or need ideas to use your scraps up! Check out her blog here



Linds for "Thats so cuegly" (a new word meant to mean so ugly (unique) its cute) is great too. She gives all these beauty tips and shares neat tips. I love her pictures on her blog. She makes it look easy! Her blog is found here



Another fun one is my cousin and aunts blog. They share things they make and its always cute. I love the ideas and it makes me want to try it! I love that they came up with a way to show off their crafts even though they are far away from each other. There blog can be found HERE


Kari from "UCreate" post ideas from others and things she makes too. They have guest bloggers. I love that she brings it all together so you can go to one blog to find so many great crafts! She links to other blogs and links tutorials too so it very easy to access Her blog is found here




Finally I love "sisters stuff" They have cute household crafts and super yummy recipes! They are just to cute sisters out to inspire and teach others and help them be better homemakers! Their blog can be found here

So if you are new to the "crafting blog stalking" world. You have to take a look at these blogs. I am thankful they share their ideas everyday. I have about 200 bookmarks on my computer of things i just need to try!

Craigslist

I am thankful for craigslist. KSL.com and kijiji.com are great too. I love online classifieds. I am obsessed with searching through other peoples junk just by sitting at my on leisure. I am grateful for the internet and the ability to have information at my finger tips. It is such a great tool when used correctly.

The Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

I am thankful for the church. I am thankful for my Savior Jesus Christ. I know that He died for us to create the atonement so we can be forgiven for our many many sins. I know that we can return to live with Jesus and Heavenly Father in heaven. I love my family and know that we can be together for eternity because of temple and the covenants we make in there. I know that as a boy Joseph Smith saw a vision and restored the church and that we have modern day Prophet on the Earth today so we can continue to receive revelation today. If you want to know more about what I (and other "Mormons") believe click here!

I Love America! I am so thankful for this country. I am so thankful for the blessings we have and the freedoms we enjoy.

Last Veteran's day I was Student Teaching and Jefferson Elementary had a special assembly where we watched the army veterans raise the flag. Then all together, young and old, we sang the National Anthem. I started to cry. My class asked me what was wrong. I told them how touched I was so to see men that fought in battle so that generations could live on in America. It was the first time that I realized that complete strangers are fighting to keep us safe everyday. I have grown to appreciate that sacrifice more and more now that I am older.

So God Bless the USA!

Sewing

I am thankful for my talent to sew! I love it! I am thankful for pattern making and for those who design great things that i can create! I am also thankful for fabric too! I love flannel the most! It is so soft and wonderful!

I am thankful for this book in particular! It is so so so fun! I definitely recommend it!

Favorite Movies

I love movies that can cheer me up no matter what! Edward Scissors Hands is one of my all time favorites. It is all about an accepting Avon lady that doesn't judge and loves everyone! I want to be like her some day!


I also love Power Rangers. It reminds me of being a little kid. I loved my childhood so much! It makes me happy to reminisce back to when my siblings and I knew every word of that movie and acted it out.


The Blind Side is my new favorite. It is such a touching story. It makes me want to find someone and change their life for the better! It is very inspiring!

Poochies!!

I love LOVE LOVE dogs. They are my favorite animal and can't help but smile no matter what dog i see! I love to walk, play and take care of them. I loved Neiko SO SO much and then had to let him go and i was so sad. Now i walk the dogs at the dog park until i get to have another pup of my own. I just love them! We are planning on getting a bulldog when we leave rexburg!

LOVE MY BED

I love our bed! It is my absolute favorite place. For my birthday I got a heated mattress pad and it makes my bed even more enjoyable! Its hard to get up in the morning but i sleep so wonderful so for that i am very thankful!

Our Woodshed

We love the place we live! Our kitchen and bathroom are large. Our bedrooms are big! It is very comfortable. Clara had room too! I am thankful to live in a nice place that is comfortable and nice. Its tough to be renters but it is nice when we have a great place to live!