My baby's 7!

My little, but not-so-little girl just turned 7! I know, that makes feel so very old, but how do you stop the aging process? I tried...all week I tried! I asked her every day to just stay 6, or even turn back to 5, but she wasn't having it. She even promised me that no matter how old she got, she would always stay my baby. We'll see how long that really lasts...
For Tylar, a birthday is not just a birthday, it was more like a birthmonth! We started the countdown around Halloween. (Yes, I know, I know, no Halloween post...I'll get to that later! One thing at a time.) Every morning she would count the calendar just to make sure it was one day closer, and it turned out it was. Then the week of her birthday...
She had quite the list of demands...breakfast in bed, balloons to fill her room, her brother to do ALL her chores (she even changed the name on the calendar from hers to Braydon's to change the cat's litter box), she wanted a pedicure and manicure, and then the list of presents...well, here's how the day went.
I woke up at 7 on a SATURDAY so I could shower and get ready before she woke up so I could get her breakfast in bed, she wanted eggs, sausage and toast. When I got out of the shower, she was already in MY bed, awake and hanging out. So, breakfast in bed didn't happen, BUT we did have breakfast as a fmaily. JD stayed home from work in the morning so we could have breakfast together. That was nice. We decided to give Tylar her big present, her bike. So JD went and grabbed it from the truck where it had been hiding all week and brought it into the house. She was so excited and went and got dressed right away to ride it. Yes, the pic you see below she is NOT wearing her helmet. She was so excited that she "forgot", but we reminded her and she put it on for the rest of her ride. While she was riding she would ride past JD and I and yell "You're the BEST parents EVER!" That made it all worth it!

JD then had to go to work for a little bit. We had pedicure appointments in Orem at our favorite little salon...Bonny Nails. My sister and I just got the pedicures, but Tylar and my mom got both the pedicures and manicures. More like they just painted her fingernails, but she was in girlie heaven! We then went over to my mom's for a little bit and she opened Aunt Katrina's gift, since she couldn't be to the party that night. She got a crayon maker!

We went home to get ready for the family party. My kids have a party every year, but they alternate between a family party and friend party. On their even birthday years they get a friend party, and the odd year they get only a family party. This year was the family party. So, she wanted spaghetti for dinner and a GIANT cupcake for her cake. I got to work baking the cake and making dinner. For 2 1/2 hours I worked in the kitchen working to make the food for her party. BAD planning on my part. I didn't have time to let her cake cool completely before I took it out of the pan and...it fell apart! You can't see it in the photo, I took a picture of the good side! But the whole other side of the cake slid off and was sitting on the plate! :( Tylar made me feel better and said, "Well, at least you tried mom, but next year, we had better let Grandma make the cake." How nice of her! So, Grandma and Grandpa, JD, and JD's parents, Larry and Connie came over for dinner and presents. What a spoiled little girl!!

She got 3 movies, 2 very cute belts, a CD and ipod player combo, a stroller for her play baby, books (she loves to read!), money, blendy pens, pixos, 2 pairs of Oobies and a blanket that matches one of her Oobies. I really htink the oobies are her fave. This is a picture of her with her Oobies!! She's trying to say "oobies" but it turned out "boobies" the first few times. We had a good laugh about that.
All in all, a GREAT day, but so glad that birthday's only come once a year.
Since she's 7 - here are 7 reasons why I love Tylar:
1. She is girlie. I love having a girlie-girl!!
2. She loves to dance, and wants to be like me when she grows up.
3. She is funny! You never know will come out of her mouth!
4. She is beautiful.
5. She is caring, not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings.
6. She is daring. She always wants to try new things, and usually with little to no fear.
7. She is MINE! She has her moments, and her little quirks, but she is mine.

I love you Tylar! You mean so very much to me. Happy birthday!

Wicked!

I went on a road trip. It wasn't a long road trip, but it was a fast one! About a month or so ago, I was talking with a friend about wanting to see Wicked. She had wanted to see it too. Jokingly (but not really) we both said we should see where it is playing and go see it. Not much more was said and about it and nothing was done.
Well, one day I was one the computer and just thought I'd look it up...It was playing in Denver in 3 weeks. So I called her and she said that we should get tickets So, we tried to plan the best weekend. We had our dates, and after an invite to my mom, and eventually my sister, we got our tickets!
So, off to Denver we would go!! We left this past Friday and made the 8 hour drive to Denver. I drove all but about 1 1/2 hours. I was tired of driving and my contacts were bugging me. When we got there it was COLD!! We checked into our hotel and just went to bed Friday night.
Saturday was absolutely freezing!! I had snowed a little over night and the temps never got out of the teens. We walked everywhere we went and nearly froze to death, but it was fun just the same. We walked a few blocks to the open air mall. There was nothing but food places, really. There were a few stores, but not as many as i expected. We went to the show and then did a little more walking and shopping. We ate dinner at The Cheesecake Factory...Mmmmm, avocado egg rolls!!! (The best!!) Went back to the hotel room, rented a movie on the tv and went to bed. I know, such an exciting time...
We got up Sunday morning and took our time to get home. I drove the whole way home. The drive to Denver wasn't too bad, but there is a canyon on your way to Denver and it is absolutely beautiful!! It is the most beautiful canyon I have ever seen. We were all glad to be home, but the trip was fun and worth it! I would love to do another road trip again...
So, about the show...LOVED IT!! I will definitely go see it again. I am hoping it comes back to SLC so I can see it again, or I just might have to take another road trip. I was exciting and fun, yet it had you asking questions, and it showed a whole different side of "The Wizard of Oz" that I would never have expected.
Fun weekend, fun friends and family, fun show = FUN FUN FUN!!

Some of the things my daughter does/days

So, many of you know my daughter's personality well. She has really cracked me up or tried my patience the past few days. Here are a few of the things she has done/said:

Sunday: Tylar had used the bathroom at my mom's house and it is in the very back of the house. She started yelling to be wiped, and just kept screamingl JD had gone in there to wipe her and he told her that she didn't need to yell like that. Her immediate reply was, "I had to yell, I don't get good reception back here!"

On a nearly a daily basis, I am continually teliing Tylar...and I quote..."Stop choking the cat!" Variations include kicking, hitting, pinching, stepping on, throwing, suffoacting. Then she will ask me why the cat doesn't like to snuggle with her? Hmmm!

Tonight: While driving to Parent Teacher Conferences we had this argument...I am getting to make a right hand turn, and choosing not to turn in front of a quickly moving vehicle.
"Go, mom."
"I can't Ty, there is a truck coming."
"Mom, you would have had plenty of time!"
"No, Tylar, I wouldn't have. That truck was coming fast."
"If you would have just gone in the first place, you would have made it!"

I ignored her, and then we got to her appointment a few minutes late so I was trying to hurry her in. She came out with...
"See mom, if you would have just listened to me in the first place and turned when I told you we would have been on time. You really should do what you are told."

I couldn't help but laugh...


If you are ever around her long enough, you will find out all sorts of info. She is one funny girl!

Last weekend I was invited by my Friend Jonie to attend the scrapbook expo in Sandy. I knew this was NOT an easy undertaking. I am soooo very behind in my scrapbooking! Like....a combined 15 years behind on my 2 kids. I decided to go anyway. The two days before I spent HOURS combing through photos that were not dated or sorted. WHAT A JOB! This has totally taught me that I need to be more organized. Time to turn on the old OCD for my pictures too I guess. Anyway, I packed a huge tote (and I am NOT kidding) and then two large bags and headed out Friday morning. My goal was to finish 15 pages between the two days. I started with Tylar's book, since the poor girl had only 3 pages done in her book, and they were terrible!! So, I redid them. I worked to get as many done as I could, and by the end of the night, my page could was at 16! I had already beat my goal. I was so very excited! I decided to cut back on my supplies to try and make the tote lighter, and since I was at the expo, if I needed something I could just go buy it! :) What's better than that?!? So we headed up there Saturday and I started to work. I got side tracked when I entered the dance contest and took 3rd. (My friends said the judges wanted me to win, but they did an audience vote...the boy took first...only becuase he's a boy, and then another girls took 2nd because she had like 30 people she was with.) But I digress. I went back to work, had a fun little visit from Tylar and my mom, hung out with them, and then went back to work!

After all is said and done...I got 31 pages done!!! I was amazed after I counted them all! Phew! I met some new friends, got to know friends better, and had a blast scrapbooking! I totally can't wait until this Spring for the next one!

Follow-up on my mascara!

Ok, so if you wanted a really good deal on this kind of mascara...Costco has a 3-pack for only $14.99! That's a great deal! So, get a group of 3 ladies together and split it, or be a mascara hog like me and keep all 3 to yourself! :)

I heart mascara! (For Karen!)

So this past Tuesday in the adult dance class, we got ont he discussion of make-up, mascara in particular. I heart mascara, and not any mascara...Cover Girl Lash Blast mascara. NOT the water proof, becuase truly it is super water proof, and you pretty much need a brillo pap and sos to take it off. Just the regular black mascara. So, for Karen, I am going to blog for a second about my fave make-up item.

If I had to pick only 1 make-up necessity for the rest of my life can you guess what it will be?...that's right, my friends, my mascara. My philosophy of mascara...too much is never enough! I put one coat on and let it dry, then I use my eye lash curler to curl my lashes. (I heat my eye lash curler with my hair dryer for just a few seconds, it really does make a difference, I think.) The I apply up to 3 more coats of my mascara, letting it dry between each application. I will carry it with me too, in case I need to reapply.

So, basically, I HEART MASCARA! <3
(For you Karen!)

Mint Oreo truffles

This recipe is for mint oreo truffles. I think you could use other oreos, or other flavor chocolate to give it different flavors. I am going to try using the strawberry oreos one time with white chocolate, and then the regular oreos with white chocolate...anyway, get creative to find your fave flavor, but I followed this flavor combo and really like them! (So did my guests!)

1 pkg. mint oreos
1 pkg. cream cheese (8 oz.)
1 tsp. vanilla

Cream together ingredients and refrigerate for 1 hour. Scoop or roll into desired ball size then place onto a cookie sheet covered in wax paper and place in freezer. Freeze for at least 30 min. While it freezing, make chocolate dip.

1 pkg. chocolate chips
1 TBS. shortning

Melt together and stir. You can use a pan on the stove to slowly melt it, or use a glass bowl in the microwave. Heat in 1 min intervals, stirring in between, to melt chocolate. Place toothpick in each ball. Dip frozen ball into chocolate and place back onto wax covered cookie sheet. After each ball is completely covered in chocolate, place pan back in freezer until serving time. Leaving the toothpicks in make for easy serving.

These were easy and fun! Tylar helped me make them, and they were very tasty! I can't wait until I try another flavor combination. This recipe yielded 24 balls, but there were good sized. If you wanted to get more out of the dough, make your balls smaller.
Have fun making them. Let me know what you think! :)