Calling a Time Out...

Sometimes moms just need to call a "time out!" And that's just what I did last month when Deseret Book was hosting a Time Out for Women event in Riverside. I gathered my favorite ladies with me, booked a hotel, and made a girl weekend of it. I was so excited, and I wasn't disappointed.

It is a favorite tradition that my mom, sisters, and sister-in-law, go to whatever TOFW is feasible. This time we brought some friends along. There were 8 of us in all (plus a few cutie babies that didn't give us any trouble at all!): My mom, my sister Lisa, my sis-in-law Elizabeth with sweet baby Zoe, Shea with sweet baby Isaac, Shari, Tara, and a new friend Julie. She in in the PD ward and just called me out of the blue when she heard we had a extra ticket. But she was darling, and fit right in with the gang. It is so fun to find a new friend!

The Friday evening session was wonderful! This year's theme is "Sweet Assurance," something we all need, I think. We heard from Ardath Kapp who spoke about the gift of personal revelation and how important it is that we keep the lines of communication open. She invited us to think of what course correction we might need to make to improve that line of communication, and gave some suggestions. Her first idea was simply to ask - ask the Lord to help you feel the Holy Spirit and recognize it. Easy enough.

Then Micheal McLean entertained us with some of his songs. They were really wonderful, and I loved how he told us the story behind many of his songs and how they came to him. The stories make the songs all the more meaningful. What a wonderful evening it was.

Shari treated us all to a big tray of nachos. Yumm. Not exactly your typical girl food, but I'm not complaining (there were also multiple stores of chocolate being passed among us.)

After the evening session, since nachos weren't enough to sustain us, we decided to live it up at the Old Spaghetti Factory - a regular girls' night out on the town. I had my favorite pasta with mizithra and brown butter. More yumm! And the company was better than the food.

What a fun time we all had together. I love being with all the ladies. (Somebody kept getting a hold of my camera, becasue I am actaully in some of these pictures.)

On Saturday morning Mary Ellen Edmunds was the start off speaker. She is SO funny. I always get a kick out of her. She talked about how the Lord provided us each with a "life assurance policy" and the "life assurance handbook" is the scriptures.

Following her, Jill Manning spoke on a much heavier subject as she gave us eye-opening information about the dangers of p ornography, and how we as women can fight it in our own homes and in the community. It was really good stuff that she shared with us. There is some great tools and information she left at www.deseretbook.com/jill. I was so impressed and empowered by what she said that I bought her book.

The musical performer and host for the day was Kenneth Cope. His song Gethsemane brought tears to my eyes. He was really wonderful!

Finally we heard from Emily Freeman who spoke on the topic of abundance. Using the parable of the loaves and the fishes to share some principles to help us live more abundantly: 1. Make the most with what you have to offer, 2. give all, 3. learn to be content. Abundance was the theme of Christ's life, and his example is what we must follow to find abundance.

During our lunch break we wandered through a farmer's market that was going on just outside the historic Mission Inn. We sampled, then had to buy the Italian plums, and berries, and dried apples (see, it wasn't all nachos!).

Lunch was at the most fantastic sandwich place, Simple Simon's. The place was packed, but we were wise enough to call in our order early. Very yummy!

And of course we took the "time out" on our Time Out trip to stop and smell the flowers.

And what girl weekend would be complete without stopping at a few of the fun little downtown shops? I wish we had more time to do some serious shopping, but a little bit is better than nothing.

What a wonderful weekend with family and friends, but entirely too short for me (It wasn't really a weekend, hardly 24 hours). Still, I was happy to take what time out I could get. I love all these gals.

Next year TOFW is in Phoenix. Who's gonna needs a Time Out?

My Girlie Getaway!

Last week I really got to get away from it all and have a little girl time.

First, I got to spend a little time up at Girls' Camp with my cute young women.  I have such wonderful memories of going to Camp as a girl, and I was so excited to be back - if only for a day (and a night!)  I was so sad that I had to get up really early to head back down the mountain, but I had a plane to catch!  I drove from Big Bear straight to Dennis' office where he took me to the airport.  No time to loose!  I was leaving the fun of camp behind, yes, but I was off to where there was more fun to be had - the 2009 Stampin' Up! Convention!

Off I flew to Salt Lake City for the Stampin' Up Convention!  SU's conventions are always first-rate, and so very much fun!  Thousands of women (and a few guys too) gather to swap handmade cards, learn and share new stamping techniques and ideas, look at stamps, eat, and just have a blast!  (Plus we got a darling reversible convention bag and a bunch of free new stamps!)  Oh ya, and we also get to STAMP like crazy!

The theme this year was "inspire, create, share" and I got a lot of all three!

This was an exciting year for me, because I got to walk across the main stage and be recognized for my remarkable accomplishment. No, I didn't have high sales (HA!) or remarkable recruiting (ya, right!).  But I hung in there long enough and bought enough of my own stamps that I recieved my 10 year pin! (It will actually be 11 years come October!)  This was my 8th convention in 10 years. (I missed one when my twins were born, and another a few years ago, when all the slots filled up before I got my ticket.  So sad.)

I really enjoyed my moment in the limelight, since I'm sure I won't be recognized for anything actually important on stage ever again. I am just not the most motivated business women in the company.  I do the BARE MINIMUM it take to get my discount and go to convention.  Maybe I should try a bit harder.

Too bad I was having a bad hair day!

For me, the best part of convention was hanging out, in person, with my dear friend Diana.   Diana and I actually met last convention standing in line for the Make-and-Takes and hit it off immediately!  We got to know each other a bit that week, and then a lot more via blogging/email afterward.  She is an amazing, darling gal!  A speech therapist, a triathelete, an amazing singer and musician, the ward choirster, and a STAMPER too!  It was especially fun to see her in person becasue she has lost 40 lbs since last year!  Way to go Diana!  

Here are just several hundred pictures I took of the thousands and thousands of stamped cards and projects that were on display there.  It was pretty overwhelming!

Not wanting to get too stamp-crazy, Diana and I took an afternoon off from convention and pampered ourselves a bit.  First stop - pedicures!  Nothing says "I've had a girl weekend" like pretty polished piggies!  We kept looking at them for the rest of the trip.  (They are all messed up now since I went to taekwando class as soon as I got home, and had to kick the bag about a hundred times.  Oh well.  It was fun while it lasted!)

Of course, no girlie getaway would be complete without a shopping spree!  Our rounds included one of my favorite inspiring stops in Utah, Gardener Village.  I just love the cute little old buildings and pretty boutiques.  We also got to the Black Goose, the mall, the Rack, and Target (always Target!)

All that candy was for the kids, OK? For the kids.

And dinner was Diana's suggestion - Cafe Rio, where I was introduced to their pork salad.  Super yummy!  Wish I didn't have to go all the way to Utah to get another one!

And of course, there was one more element necessary to having the perfect girl weekend - talking to you girlfriend late, late, late into the night!  We had a few good chats, I must say!  Came home completely exhausted!!!  But Happy!

Dennis and the boys sure were happy to see me, and the house was clean too!  It was so great of them to let me have this time away!

I sure enjoyed myself on this getaway, and loved spending quality time with my friend Diana!  Again next year - definitely!

Sleepover

Back in high school, I would often have a sleepover at my best friend, Alicia's house.  We always had a great time doing girls stuff and talking all night long.  Well, this week, I went over to her house in Orange County for another sleepover - just like old times...

... except for the fact that now we have 10 boys between us.  So yep, sleepover with 10 cute boys!  Even better!  Maybe.

(Actually, Alicia has a daughter, but she missed out on the fun because she was in Europe with her grandparents.  Poor girl.  Her hubby is bishop, so we didn't see much of him either.)

We were there all of five minutes before the boys were busy building a fort in the backyard.  I don't remember ever doing that at a BFF sleepover.

They boys are all similar in ages and all had a great time together.  And I love that we can go over there and feel completely comfortable bringing 6 boys.  Most people have a hard time with us coming over and having a bunch of boys running around.  But they are very used to that over at their house.

Then we headed over to Corona Del Mar for some sand and sun.

One of Alicia's twins (Yep, we both have twin boys!) couldn't go to the beach because he got bit by a huge rattlesnake last month and is still healing from his wounds (Can you believe that???   My boys think that is SO cool - way cooler than head staples.  Even cooler than Nate's being attacked by a mountain lion last summer!)  Nathan stayed behind with Ryan to keep him company.

The rest of us enjoyed the sand and surf.  Sand = the little guys, well sand crabs to be exact.  Surf = the bigger guys, well boogie boards actually.

We saw a lot of this - 10 boys staring at the TV or Wii or DS.  

After the beach, and dinner, the boys all watched Wipe Out and I Survived a Japanese Game Show while Alicia and I snuck away to the mall to do a little shopping.  We went to the Tall Girl Shop, which, surprisingly is not Alicia's favorite store (she is just a smidgen over 5') , but for me it was a rare treat.  So she was kind enough to help me shop, running back and forth to the dressing room for me.  Fun! (Well, maybe not for her.  But she is a runner, so at least she got her workout in.)  I am always amazed when I can find clothes that actually fit!!! (OK, I DO remember shopping at sleepovers back then.)

Later all the boys showed off their many musical talents to each other, and hung out and played games until late into the night, giving Alicia and I more time to chat, (as required for any sleepover.)

In the morning the boys were up bright and early.  After a big breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes, the boys came up with a plan to ride down to the local creek.  But they planned to ride in style!  They  came up with a riding contraption - a bike pulling a tot trailer pulling several skateboards and tricycles with bungee cords.  Quite a plan!  We were quite a sight parading down the quiet streets of Lake Forest.

We followed the guys to the tunnels under the street for the dry creek.  They loves yelling and hollering in the tunnels.

We had fun chasing them in and out of the tunnels.  While Alicia and I were in the tunnels we heard a huge, horrible racket.  We ran out of the tunnel to find this.

The boys had found an old shopping cart and immediately thought of "Destroy, Build, Destroy!"  So they worked hard to push the cart to the top of the ditch and rolled it down the steep sides.  No wonder it was so noisy!  Goodness!

It was so cool, they did it a few more times, just to get it right.

Boys.

I NEVER did that at a sleepover.

Luke liked watching his shoes slide down the side.  Not nearly as noisy or as exciting as a shopping cart.

After Derek got stung by a bee we decided the fun was done and it was time to go home.  But by then it was getting pretty warm, and none of the boys wanted to pedal the new mode of transportation all the way back ...

...so Alicia had to get them home.  That's what moms do, I guess.

We did get a little bit more girly time in, when I showed Alicia how to make beaded watches.  

I love that girl!  She is such a wonderful friend, and quite possibly the happiest, most optimistic person I ever met. (I don't know how she  can stand my pessimism.)  She is as constant as a friend can be.  As years pass, and boy have they passed, our friendship stays right where it's put.  I rely on that - knowing that Alicia is always there, and that she will always love me.

So that was our sleepover - unlike any we ever had in high school, though back then we might really have liked the idea of a sleepover with 10 cute guys running around.  But we never would have thought they would be calling us "Mom."

A Multitude of Heavenly Hosts

A few weeks ago I had my ornament exchange party.  It is one of my favorite Christmas traditions.  I get together with a group of old friends and we exchange a handmade ornament, and just chat and get into the Christmas Spirit.  

The tradition is that there are 12 of us, and we each make a dozen of the same ornament that goes along with the theme, and then we exchange them and come home with a dozen different handmade ornaments.  This year's theme was "A Multitude of Heavenly Hosts" - angels basically. We have been doing this for a long time. This was our 9th annual ornament exchange. A few people were missing.  Three couldn't come for whatever reason, and my good friend Veronica is in the reserves, and it was her drill weekend so she was gone, but she made her ornaments and sent them.  We missed her and appreciate the service she gives our country.

Usually I have it on the first weekend of December. It forces me to get my decorations up early, and it really gets me into the Christmas spirit.  This year was absolutely crazy for our family, and I considered canceling the party.  The thought of preparing for a party in my state just stressed me out, but the thought of not having it just made me sad.  Joyfully, my sweet and thoughtful friend, Shari, graciously volunteered to have it at her house.  What a blessing!  That was the perfect solution.  I am so grateful for her insight and generosity. The party went on as planned.

Shari wowed us with her gorgeous cheese and fruit platters.  I absolutely LOVE good cheese, and it is always such a treat to sample new cheese.  (I wish these pictures were better - I am absolutely dying without my good camera!  Trust me, the food was beautiful!)

OK Here are my ornaments.  I usually make these strange mixed media collage type things for my ornaments.  I never have a set plan, I just pull out cool old stuff that I think I might be able to use, and them I start assembling.    For these ornaments I fan-folded some handmade paper, and used antique glass glitter on the edges to make the ornament.  On this side I photocopied an old photograph I have pinned on the bulletin board in my craft room that feature these  fine ladies dressed in Grecian attire and posing deliberately.  I turned them into angels with metal wings cut and embossed with my wonderful Big Shot.  Then I gave them the foil harps and added the scrabble "HOLY".  Can you believe I had enough scrabble pieces to make 12 "HOLY"s?

On the back side I used some old vintage ribbon, and some tiny handmade lace to set off some fun angels that someone had lovingly made from jewelry findings.  I couldn't believe it when I found exactly 12 of them at a garage sale last year.  They are all different, and very fun. 

Here are all the ornaments I got to come home with.  They were all really great.  Some of us seem to have thing that we always like to do - a material or method of choice.  Kristi always makes hers out of seashells, and Michelle always embroiders hers.  Lisa, who usually beads, made a pretty angel with a feather shirt this year, and for the past two years Shari has used Mountain Dew cans as her medium of choice.  Veronica crocheted hers and, Alysa added some angelic VS wings to hers, and Staci threw in some chocolate kisses.

This year I was blown away by Shirley's amazing wood ornaments.  Her hubby Mike cuts them all out, then Shirley carved, sanded, and stained all the small pieces, then glued them all back together to make the ornaments.  It was definitely a labor of love!  Isn't she just lovely?  I am so excited to have one!

I always make my guests a special gift.  Some years are more complicated than others.  This year I kept it very simple and made them each a pennant banner that says "JOY."  They were all different, and I let them pick which ones would fit their decor.  Aren't they just fun?

What a great party it was.  I just love all my ornaments from all the years past.  I have a whole tree-full now and my kids just love to look at all of them and ask me who made what.  I just love handmade anything, especially ornaments, because now I have a tree full of love - my friendship tree!  LUCKY ME!

High Flying Fun

Last Saturday all the scouts were at a merit badge clinic, so my pal Alysa and I took our 8 remaining kids to the air show in Thermal.  Even though the temperature was in the mid 90s, we had a great time watching the airplanes do their thing. 

 Boy it was hot!  Alysa had the right idea and bought her kids frozen lemonade.  She is a nice mom.

We saw an old biplane do a bunch of tricks, then a variety of military airplanes showed us what they were designed to do.  Our favorites, I think, were the jets that flew in unison.

Look at how close they are.  I don't even like to drive that close in a car!

It was really fun to watch.

We were amazed at what those pilots could do, and I'm sure if I knew more about flying, I'd have been even more impressed.

I know its weird, but my favorite part was when the jets came whizzing by at full speed.  They we SO LOUD that the concrete tarmac under our feet was shaking.  I just love that!  It make me feel so patriotic for some reason.

While we there there the announcer said something that I thought was really great.  He said something like "Freedom of speech we as not given to us by a poet, freedom of the press was not given to us by a journalist, freedom of religion was not given to us by a pastor... but by those who gave their lives in battle."  It was great, and I wish I could remember it better.  If anyone knows this quote, please share it with me.

Luke couldn't get enough!  He was so excited and pointing joyfully at everything.  Once, when a plane took off down the runway, he bolted off to try to catch it - then I bolted off to try to catch him.  That wasn't easy in a packed crowd of people looking up into the sky.  Luke is at that take-off-running stage, one of my favorites stages -not!

While waiting for the tram to take us back to our car, we watched this big fat huge cargo plane take off.  It hurt to watch that huge thing get off the ground - it reminded me of getting out of bed when I was 8 months pregnant with twins! 

Brooke and Luke making eyes at each other on the tram.

For those who have never been to the air show, I would recommend it.  The kids love it and the older boys were bummed that they missed it.  The only downside was the heat.  I think it was the last hot day of the summer.  It cooled off, by the way, the very next day.  Maybe next ear will be cooler.  It is always the first Saturday in November at the Jacqueline Cochran Airport in Thermal, and it is FREE!