I LOVE my Cricut!!

My favorite thing to do while my kids are sleeping (or napping, aka "quiet time") is to scrapbook. Well, my wonderful husband bought me the Cricut for Christmas (it's not a bug, but a scrapbooking tool). I just LOVE it! You can do so much fun stuff with it.

The only down size to it is that you have to have different cartridges to use for different shapes or letters, etc. And, they are a little expensive. So, I have only bought one new cartridge since Christmas!

But, it is totally worth it! If you are thinking of getting one, I highly recommend it. But, make sure you get the Cricut Expression (12x12), not the old version.

Or, if you want to try one out - come on over! You are welcome to use mine anytime:)

"Beginning of the End..."

That's the only way I can think to describe how I'm feeling right now - "The beginning of the end". I have been teaching color guard at AF for 7 years now. But, I also have been doing color guard for 16 years (I know, I'm getting old). And, in April I'll be done.

Saturday night was our first competition for winter guard. We went to the American Leadership Academy in Spanish Fork. I have picked an extremely DIFFICULT show for my girls to perform. The title of our show is "Ghosts of the Holocaust". It is an amazing show, but I didn't know how my girls were going to do for the first show. It is such an emotional show to pull off, and we still have so far to go!

Well, they did pull it off and the won their first show. I was so proud of them. Every time I watch them perform, I get the chills. I am going to miss them so much. I have taught some of them for 5 years!

But, I am so thankful to have had the chance to do what I do. I will always cherish the experience and memories:)

"Oh My Stars..."

At Jack's parent teacher conference, Dusty and I (along with his teacher) came up with an idea of how to keep Jack more focused at school (he has a SMALL problem with this). So, his teacher now sends home a paper with stars on it. He gets a star for every time he stays on task. To reward him for this, we told him if he gets 4 or more stars he can play the Wii for 30 minutes that day.
Well, we got him a new game for Valentine's Day (Lego Star Wars), and ever since then he comes home with at least 5 stars. You can tell how much he loves this game. 30 minutes does not seem like enough time for him, but we stick to it. I mean, there is more important things to do than play games, huh:) . Try telling Jack that.
It's a good think he is so cute!!

Where did Bree go?

So, I am desperately looking for my sweet, innocent little girl named Breelle. Have any of you seen her lately?
Tonight, after not getting what she wanted, she walked up to me on the couch, grabbed the bag of chips I was eating, ran into the kitchen and DUMPED them out into the garbage. No, she didn't just throw the bag away - she dumped all the chips out!
Thursday I was at Walmart with my mom. Bree wanted a treat and I told her no. Well, she screamed at the top of her lungs "Then I don't want you to be my mom anymore!" The poor lady in front of us couldn't help but laugh. Bree then threw herself onto the floor and started pitching a fit. The lady in front of us said, "Well, I guess it's good she's not yours anymore."

Oh my!! I guess I'll just keep looking:)

Fun Projects...

I have been working on some projects in my spare time lately. I made this "exploding box" for a really good friend of mine (I hope she doesn't care I'm showing the pictures). It's really fun, because when you open it, it has little boxes inside that you can fill with candy or whatever.

I got the idea from a blog I love to check out called Life As Lou (http://lifeaslou.blogsome.com/). She has AMAZING ideas and it was fun to try this one out. I also want to try one that opens up into a picture book. So if anyone wants to try and make one with me, we could get together and see what we come up with:)

Clipboard Project:

I also decorated a clipboard for a friend awhile ago, and decided to make some more of them. This is a really simple project, and a great gift for a friend.

Paper Bag Album:

Another thing you can make for a friend is a paper bag album.

Really cheap, and really easy!!

Treat Boxes:

And, I know some people where asking about my treat boxes I made at christmas time. If anyone is interested, let me know.

They are also simple to make and perfect for gifts. You can fill them with just about anything.

So, as you can see I haven't been scrapbooking lately - just working on fun projects. I'm sure my husband is ready to have our desk back to normal - but I don't see that happening any time soon:)

My Girls

Friday night I had a party with my color guard captains. We had fun eating and playing games. I really am going to miss them after April. They sure add a lot of happiness to my life. They are great girls, and I am very proud of each of them:)

Kass brought a really fun game called Imaginiff. I tried finding it this weekend so we could have it - so, if any of you know where I can get it let me know. THANKS:)

Our Family (an update)

So, since this seems to be the only journal my family has, I thought I'd write a little something about everyone and what they are up to lately. I hope I don't bore you all to tears...

Jack is in Kindergarten at Meadow Elementary. I wouldn't say he loves school, but he does like it. I think he likes the recess and friend part best. He is learning so much in school, and we are so proud of how far he has come. His teacher is Mrs. Stroman, and she actually was in New York when we there. Jack couldn't wait to tell all his friends at school that he got his picture taken with his teacher in New York!

He loves playing the Wii, reading, and watching movies. He loves playing Star Wars (what ever that means), and watching Star Wars (the old school ones). We loves going to primary and is learning how to be reverent:) He loves talking about Jesus and the prophet. In our family scripture reading, we are in 1 Nephi. Jack loves hearing the stories of Lehi and Nephi. We sure love him - he brings so much happiness to our lives.

Bree is definitely the comic at our house. She has such a funny personality. We love listening to her talk, and make up songs. She goes to preschool at Miss Karli's, and she loves it. She always comes home with fun things and pictures.
Her favorite things (as of late) are playing dress up with her princess dresses and playing with her friends.

She absolutely LOVES Disney princesses (Dusty thinks I've brainwashed her:). She loves to sleep at Grandma's house (which she does often). And, she loves her daddy. She is a daddy's girl all the way! I think that makes Dusty very proud:)
We are so happy to have Bree in our family. I can't imagine our lives without her - it would be a bit dull!!

Dusty is working at Fishbowl Inventory and he really enjoys it. It is a great company, and they are SO good to him (which I am very thankful for). When he started his position 4 years ago, he was the manager over one person. Now, he has around 20 people. It is great! He also plays the trumpet for the Wasatch Winds which his dad is the director over. He loves playing and wishes he could do it more.
He loves doing ANYTHING outdoors, and he especially likes to go camping (even though he doesn't get to do it very often). I wish we could find more time for him to do the things that he loves to do, but I'm sure some day we will:) He loves his new calling at church - he is in the young men's.
He is an amazing father and husband. I love him very much, and the kids do too. We are so lucky to have him!!


And, there's not much to tell about me! Just the same old thing:) I am still teaching color guard at American Fork High School, but after 7 years I have decided to call it quits! I will be done in April, and I am anxiously counting down the days. I love teaching and I love the girls, but it is time for me to just be a mom!
We were able to take a few trips last year which was my favorite part about the year. In the summer we took the kids to Disneyland, and then we went to New York - TWICE! It was awesome. There is nothing I love more than to go on vacation with my family.
I am too loving my calling in our ward. I have met such amazing people, and I have so many wonderful friends! I have truly been blessed to be surrounded by such supportive people!
I love my family and my kids and am so thankful to have them in my life. I don't know what I would do without them.

Well, thanks for reading my rant... But, it will be nice for my kids to read this in a few years and see what they were like:)

President Monson

President Thomas S. Monson

How excited we were to watch the news conference today when they announced our new prophet, President Thomas S. Monson. I have always loved President Monson - he is a lot like President Hinckley. So loving and full of life. I am excited to have such a wonderful example as the leader of our church. Bree watched it with me this morning, and has been going around the house saying "President Monson, President Monson." I'm so happy she understands what is happening and can get to know our new prophet.

Jack and Bree are still praying every night for President Hinckley. Last night, Jack prayed for him and said how thankful he was for him teaching us stuff. It was very cute! We also watched the funeral of President Hinckley yesterday (during the super bowl:) ). How touching it was. I think I cried through most of it! What an amazing man he was.

Anyways, we are so blessed to have such a wonderful prophet to help guide us in our lives. I am very thankful for the gospel. Like President Monson said today, things may change in our lives or in the world, but the doctrine always stays the same!!