super glue

These are the casualties of just the last three days. And this doesn't include the mountain of magazines, books, boxes, etc. the twins have managed to gnaw through. Decapitated dolls, amputated heroes, assorted broken beads... can we just stop the breaking...please!

Where's the super glue?

sick kids

I loathe having sick kids. The only thing worse than having sick kids is having to get stuff done while you have sick kids. I wish I would have written about this day right when it happened because me memory has blocked out the nightmare. All I remember is being in the middle of presidency meeting with screaming kids who were supposed to be asleep... having to leave everyone there watching my other kids while I took Miss 104.3 and Miss 103.5 to the doctor. I even gave the babies chocolate chip cookies just to quiet them down through the rest of my meeting. I did love that Dallin just wanted to rest all day in his bed. I have the recording of Great Aunt Erma telling the story of "Peasy & Beansy" on my computer so we hooked up the monitors so he could listen to her stories from the other room.

bounce- u

Bryan was the hero of the weekend when he invited the whole family to Bounce U. Because his dad owns the place, we had it all to ourselves. The kids had a blast and the adults ended the night with some rigorous competition in the obstacle course. That's when the claws came out. There is no "brotherly love" (or sisterly, for that matter) in our family competitions. Karen had me hanging upside down over the wall by my ankle just to get ahead.. typical cheating Karen! And Troy and Bryan are still barely on speaking terms as to who won their match. :) We were all laughing so hard despite the scrapes and burns (and hurt egos for some.. not me of course, but some). Sydney always keeps things interesting and decided to throw up all over. Poor Karen looked a mess. But as always, she just went on like this happens all the time (which I guess, to some degree, it does with Sydney) They cleaned up and were back to party the night away. It's always more fun when Karen's there. And rain or shine, she's always there...

Allison loves bonding with Uncle Neil...

it's because they have the same hair cut!

(Maybe I should make him some headbands.)

This Star Wars thing is such an enigma to me. It seems that once you've been exposed there is no turning back. You become completely indoctrinated with the names, creatures, transportation, weapons, and philosophy. And I don't think, as a family, we will ever be the same. Most day to day actions or comments are now compared to or assimilated with Star Wars. All after they'd only seen it once! (Yes, Ella is just as big of fan. We have to tell her every outfit is like Princess Leah or she won't have anything to do with it. Her motivation to brush her teeth is so they won't look like Jabba the Hut's.) It was classic when I went to pick up Dallin and Ella from playing with some friends, and Laura (mom) says "I didn't know your kids were Star Wars nerds too". Ouch. Is that what it has come to? Oh well, I guess we're in good company. All the brilliant minded 5 year olds I know are working out for themselves how "the Force" is related to life and the eternal pursuit of happiness! I love these Lego building sets!
Grandma Deney even made Dallin a Star War's blanket to replace his old one. (It was Troy's on his mission... yeah, time to move on!) Unfortunately, he didn't agree and so instead of eliminating the rag, he now has two blankets to sleep with.

sunday afternoon

I remember being up at BYU and always loving conference weekend because it seemed that was the day the sun finally started to shine. Being an Arizona girl I would immediately ditch all the winter wear and jump right into shorts and t-shirts...a bit prematurely. So it was right on schedule that this conference weekend I was able to enjoy both the beautiful Utah weather and came home to a gorgeous Arizona evening. Dinner at my parents house ended outside on blankets and the hammock watching the kids (and dads) swing and wrestle. The perfect Sunday evening.

This weekend was such a treat. I flew up to Salt Lake with Kris, Renee & Noelle. It was the first time leaving the kids for more than a couple hours... so the anxiety of getting ready about did me in... but after take off I was feeling great. We started chatting on the plane and I don't think our mouths stopped once until we touched back down in Phoenix...absolutely no exaggeration!

I am so lucky to work with such amazing women who teach me, inspire me, and know how to have a good time!

I am also so lucky to have Troy who was so willing to take on the challenge of parenting the kids alone. He refused to accept any help just to prove he could do it (yes, a bit stubborn!) and he did it! (And surprised me by having the house painted too!) He better watch out or this going out of town thing is going to look even more appealing!


It seemed the weekend revolved around food... Hires Big H, the Lion House, Beni Hana's, Krispy Kreme, Spaghetti Factory.. and on and on. The view from the condo was gorgeous. We stayed up until 3:30am talking and eating fresh carmel taffy & chocolate covered cinnamon bears (that we went to Trolley Square three times to get!) ... I felt like I was a teenager again gabbing with the girls!

Gardener's Village.

The entire weekend we were trying to find a movie to go to. Kris was our amazing chauffeur and Noelle our trusty navigator... Renee and I were just along for the ride. Four theaters later we found what we had been looking for..."27 Dresses", and the dollar theater actually cost a dollar! Imagine that.. and our feet didn't even stick to the ground.

And of course we enjoyed the wonderful General Conference where we were able to stand in the presence of our dear prophet and sustain him.

The rest of conference was a bit of a blur! :) It was definately hard to leave "our happy place"!

seconds anyone?

Allison and Auburn love crawling into any random space they can fit... preferably the dirtiest corners our house (which gives them plenty of options). I think their favorite is under the table because after they are done throwing all their food off their high chairs they know they can crawl under the table later for seconds.. nasty!

a bunch of crazies

Now that's some serious bedhead!

Good looks or charming personality? It really is a toss up!I walked in the family room because Dallin was laughing hysterically and saw Auburn tucked away in this little basket. It's nice that my younger children serve as playtoys for the older ones!

easter morning

Dilemma: How to get all the kids up and dressed for church and still have them enjoy their Easter baskets in the morning. This was my solution.

Happy Easter cute little Dallin & Ella
Do you think you have been a good girl & fella?
A basket is hiding for each of you.
All you have to do is find the next clue.
It will tell you the things you need to get done.
To get ready for Sunday and have lots of fun!
Go to Mom’s favorite place to read.
You’ll find the colorful egg that you need!

Get clean underwear on – that’s the goal.
Then the next clue is hiding in a bowl.

Eat up till you’re full. Don’t forget to clear your place.
Then look for an egg hiding in a suitcase.

There are clothes to put on – Quick! Hurry! Rush!
Then get the next clue that’s by a toothbrush.

When teeth and hair are sparkly and done
Go to the room we make music and have fun.
Enjoy your baskets and always remember when
Three days after his death, Christ lived again.

It worked like a charm. We had a lovely Easter morning and were even early to Karen's church where she spoke. The bliss lasted until nap time. I had already lectured Dallin and Ella's brains out about getting to sleep so we could go to GGs for Easter dinner. An hour later I came in to see both kids in Ella's bed in a giant fort they had made with all of their blankets. They had lined books around the edges of the bed and had every ball balancing on top. I about lost it.

Karen had once told me... if your kids ever do something that upsets you - take a picture - you'll probably laugh about it later. Oh, I was racing for the camera because I was furious! Our beautiful Easter morning had taken a turn for the worse as I had to hold to the predetermined punishment (I hate that!) and took away their Easter baskets. It didn't even phase 'em. Grrrr..

just because

This was my "Just Because" project this weekend. Here's how it usually goes. I decide to make something and think it's so great that I want to do it in bulk thinking it would be a great business venture... then after inundating myself with supplies and hype, my momentum fizzles. I know Troy just shakes his head and doesn't understand why I do it... (or why my sewing room is full of tassels, car seats, aprons, frames, tutus etc.) so the blanket name I use for all my projects is, "Just Because". That's all there is to it.

After trying to buy car seat covers for Allison & Auburn I decided to "go custom"and have loved the seats I made my girls. The only problem with making them for others now is each time I make a new design I want to change mine... This one I actually made in record time. I have been cursing Graco because each seat I have made a cover for somehow has been a different size or shape.. resulting in a completely new pattern design. But I must have found them all, because this seat just seemed to fit the first time... Yea!

So if you ask why we ate cereal for dinner and why my sister had to fill my kids' Easter baskets for me and why I had all my children tangled in thread as entertainment.. I'll say..

Just Because.

little itty bitty whitty

Happy Birthday Whitney!

The original Paul girls. (We missed Jean of course.) Pictures with this bunch is a riot... seems we all have something witty and funny to say right as they camera flashes. (at least we think it's witty and funny.. the picture taker most likely finds it silly and obnoxious) We all wanted to be next to Whitney's pregnant tummy so ours' wouldn't look as big!

All Whitney wanted for her birthday was to not be at work. So she took the day off and we did exactly what she wanted... nothing. And there are no other people I would love to do nothing with in the whole world!

Later that night the whole family came over to color Easter eggs and have "Dad's pancakes"!

Dad was the man of the night making his pancakes which deserve a post of their own. They are a large thick crepe filled with cinnamon and powdered sugar... lots and lots of butter. Oh delicious... I'm craving them now! He even did his own dishes.

Easter egg dyeing usually consists of the kids doing a few and then Dad and Whitney taking all night scheming up their creative egg masterpieces. Those two were seriously cut from the same mold!

Hyper Dash is Mom's new favorite game for the kids... running around, hitting things, noise... they loved it!

This is all we have to do to get our home evacuated after a party!
Bottom's up to a good time!