our son...

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

learning how to digital scrap!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

we found it!!! we found it!!!

So we lost ( Brandon played with) the SD card that we had while we were in Utah...well I prayed that we would find it. I knew we would and even though it wasn't an instant thing....I just had this calm feeling that we would find it. I mean I know that prayer works and I had faith...No I knew that he answers prayers. As time passed my husband grew ever frustrate and I wished i had it but some how I knew it would turn up. Eventually I kept having promptings that the SD card was in the computer near the card reader. I kept telling my hubby that. He looked on top of it just in case he slid it in there...but no it wasn't there. Josh then was moving the computer around and had his flash light with him. He all the sudden saw a glimmer of something inside the largest card slot. so he looked again and he saw not 1 card but 3 SD cards we had lost and given up on ever seeing again!! Brandon slid them in ...being that they were so much smaller they fell through to the bottom of the tray...WOO hooo.

On a sad not some how the camera lost all the pictures of the kids playing in the snow and we don't have any of them....Much to my disappointment!

kids are so fun!!!

I looked out side in time to see that my kids got creative on how to share a tricycle!!!!

new experiance!!!

so I have been Helping my brothers girlfriend with making aprons for her work. We made this one yesterday and it was fairly easy...we had a pattern that ended up being so simple and east to make. I loved it!
This one I had to make my own pattern and make it by trial and error and it took forever. I made two of this style before we bought a pattern. But I would have to say that it took me out of my comfort zone. I learned so my much more by doing this one and it got so much more confident with my sewing and by the time I got to the patterned apron I didn't think twice about the parts that would normally intimidate me!!!

Thanks Jen for letting me help you it has been super fun and thanks for trusting me!

Easter Morning...

For Easter at our house it is tradition that the Easter bunny hides the Easter baskets. On Easter Morning we all have to go on a search to find our basket. If we see some one Else's we don't tell...shh....we just go back to the hunt!

Here is Ella Finding her basket...they found Brandon's really quick; you will see that in the pictures...

Easter morning Ella came out of my closet with this jelly bean...I guess the Easter bunny dropped it with out noticing...good thing Ella is to young to put 2 and 2 together!!!

I just realized all the fabric that I ironed and laid out so that I can sew it is all over my desk in this picture!!!

yes Brandon is wearing a night gown....but he wanted to because Nemo was on it...

Easter fun

WE had a Easter Egg hunt at our house this yr. It was so fun. we had invited Risa, Chris, Jen, Jim, Matt and Jennifer and their families over. However with Jim being as sick as he was it ended up with just Matt and I families.

there were 3 kids and 76 eggs to find!
Brandon loved it and Uncle Matt help him find Eggs!

My kids were slow at first But Amira was a pro.

here is Amira and her mom Jen.

Ella had Her daddy Helping her Gather eggs. She was so funny she just kinda took her time and walked around slowly.

Amira knew What to do and was Fast!

Ella in the End only got about 16 Eggs...but she was content.

Brandon was faster than Ella but would even pick up his toys while hunting for the Eggs. He had a couple of cars in his basket at the End!

You see Ella just watching every one hunt!!

They missed that egg right there on the pole in the middle of the picture!

Carnival time!!!

The carnival came to Yuba city. Ella saw it and BEGGED to go. so here are some of the pictures of the kids ( big and samll) on the rides!

Isnt Daddy so cute in the pink elephant???

it was a small carnival and I couldnt find my sd card so that is all the internal memory would let me take...but the kids had fun!!!

lost SD card...

I am so frustrated...Brandon my cute son took the SD card out of the computer and well I can't find it! So there went all the pictures of Utah on it! I am sad...it had pictures of there first time playing in the snow...Family and friends and the fun things we did on it!

The dress is done!!!

OK, so I have to still put a hook and eye on the back...but I finish it! It is the first dress I have ever made all by my self. I would have to mention that I notice every flaw and What I consider a mistake. I added the purple bias piping it wasn't in the instructions...and the was interesting figuring out how to make that all fit in. But I did it...and next dress I will know how to fix the mistakes that I cant on this one...for lack of goofing up to bad to be able too!!!

But there it is now to finish all the other quilt tops so I can have them ready to tie over the weekend.... here I go!

the Next day I did a craft day...

So by Thursday I wanted a break. I got up and took off with my cousin Sarah to pick out some cute paper. We were prettying up composition note books and pens. I had been wanting to learn the pens FOREVER. So this Was my chance!

Here are some of the things we did...

this is how you make the Pensfirst you tape both sides of the paper,

then you wrap it tightly over the pen overlapping the tap.

you next heat the tape up with an embossing gun you then quickly roll it into a tray of clear TINY beads.

isn't that book cute!!!

here is that hot mama Ronda...half the woman she use to be!

mess table but loads of fun...we (Sarah) busted out the cricket...

the one above I did at home after I got back with Risa!
here are the books and Matching pens we made...let me know if you guys wanna get together to make them some time!!!!





Thanks Ronda and Sarah for a fun time and teaching me a new craft...I miss you guys!!!

the funeral...

I would have to say that that was the most Different...(that is the nice way to say it!) funeral I have gone to. I was use to us going in and talking about nice thing and memories a few songs and maybe a chance to say good bye till we meet again kind of things.

NOPE!!! Not this one. every one just socialized with each other and ate. They would run into her sons ( my hubby and Tyler) and ask them how they were but...that was it. It was in the gym at the church with tables set up. there was a table with pictures on it ( the body wasn't ready yet).

I felt so out of my element there. But my Husband and her son thought it was great....and that is what she would have wanted...but part of me wondered if they were afraid of getting up to talk! Let just say that neither one of them are super out going! The thought of getting up to talk was scary to them both...so there you go. We ended up talking every thing down ourselves because the ward was not really there to help...nor did they sound like they wanted too. I felt like that ward dropped the ball on a missionary experience with half of the people who were there and I was disappointed. But one lone visiting teach stepped up and did what she could and worked her tail off and I was way impressed with her! She really went above and beyond!!!

By this time it was about 6:30 that night and Ella informed us that she was going home with Tyler to play with there daughter Peri. Can I say that was a weird feeling for me. She doesn't often leave me and when she does it is with people I feel are as close or are my family. Now I know it is Josh's brother but we haven't spent a whole lot of time together and it was just weird. Not to mention I wasn't For sure that they wanted to take her. So we stuck around the area and went for a drive so that we would be close when it was time to pick her up.

We found ourselves in a familiar place...and decided to drop by where we use to live in Sandy. we ran into one of the Burnett kids ( Candice) and chatted for a few hours. Then Tara came over for a few Min's while I hugged their new baby for a few Min's and then it was time to go.

that was the end of the LONGEST day ever...but I feel that the funeral lacked that one thing that people go to funerals for....letting go and I think that my hubby and brother in law didn't get to just have a good cry!!!!!

the two week run down...the first few days more to follow!!

*******Warning Long and well its long******

A Most of you know we got a call on the 11Th letting us know that they found Josh's mom dead in her bed. The sad part is after we were married Josh worried that this would happen and sense he lost touch with his mom here and there because she didn't have a stable environment we would hear from her when she needed money. He check obituaries often and worried that he would find her picture there. You see Josh's mom struggle with drugs. But a cool thing happened about 2 yrs ago. She got arrested and yes I said cool...You see that was the beginning of her changing her life around. 6 months later she had a stable living place she had a happier attitude and I think that she finally loved being off the drugs. she started calling more often on birthdays and to check on us she would talk to the kids ( I and still not sure if Ella knew who she was talking too). (she is a fan of my mom and Grandma Lorrie who she talks about all the time...) But she would still ramble on and talk. So I would have to say that that call was a it of a shock for us ALL!!

the next two days were filled with packing funeral arrangements and tying up loose ends here. I would have to say at this age I never thought that I would have to plan a funeral and Josh wasn't sure what to do with himself at first. I had heard that that autopsy took a while but not hers they found the cause of death quickly. She died dues to a asthma attack that was aggravated by smoking. We think she must have been sleeping when she had it because she had inhalers all around her.

they released her body the next day and told us we had to get e mortuary to pick her up...I was here and his brother was on the road so I started calling mortuary's and found one that I thought we could all agree on. I called his aunt and his brother and suggested the place. His brother wanted to check the place out first. His brother was struggling Bad...bless him! He was trying to stay so strong...but hay its your mom who isn't going to cry. The though of loosing my mom after hearing this mad me hurt inside. I think as part of his grieving Tyler ( Josh's brother) need to do his part and deal with the funeral. he called us the next day and agreed to the place and we had them pick her up. Now that she was taken care of we could go. We loaded up our car that night and left the next morning. We made on quick stop in Sacramento and dropped things off to my sister that she was going to take care of for me!!

The road...ugghhh took 14 hours to get there...I have a bruised tail bone and the kids were bored after Elko and done with the trip!!! We stopped to eat there in Elko...but only the casinos were open that was the smokiest dinner ever and the kids kept pointing at the "games" and couldn't understand why only adults could play...after all the were "games"!!!

Finally at 4:30 in the morning we rolled into Lehi were my aunt lived...she let us commandeer her spar room for what seem like to me FOREVER!!! the first thing the next day we dropped the kids off to my cousin Mel ( thanks again Mel you are the best) so we could go to his moms house to find her social security card so that they could issue a death cert...In fact they wont do anything with her until there is a Cert! So we were making a mad dash to find it. We actually stumbled across it rather quickly and made it back to pick up the kids in time to go to the mortuary to do all the last bit things to get the cremation on its way. We went out to dinner with his brother and Timmi his wife that night. It was nice to slow down and catch up with each other.

the next day we went to his brother Tyler's house to plan the obituary and funeral. that was a mad dash because when we talked to the people there they said we had to have it in in 30 Min's or it wouldn't run so there was a mad dash for the next 30 Min's to get it in. We got the writing in but not the picture but the newspaper was kind and let us run one down there late and get it in. I was grateful that they did it was something that Tyler really wanted!

Tuesday we got up and ran off to get the stuff for the program done. we had to run back up to salt lake first thing and grab a picture then back to Orem to my aunts work and get it all scanned and into the computer. it took a few hours sand we were set. We had to go find paper and and get a few thing for the funeral. that evening I stopped at my aunts and uncles house and we hung out with them for a few hours before heading home to rest the next day started early.

OK so this morning I talked my cousin into cutting all of our hair.First I got colored and then as the foils were in my hair...Josh got a complete buzz and a beard trim...he looked great. Then Ella got a trim with some layers her hair it is so cute. Next Brandon got his first hair cut.
After Brandon got done my hair was finished up by a cut and my hair being done...I loved it. The kids loved that they got to play with Shanda's kids the whole time....

After this was the funeral I will blog about that tomorrow!!!

we are home!!!

We are back from Utah and I will update you on everything Utah and funeral and fun that we did!

thanks for all the love and support....you wanna come help me get back to organized at home too????

passing...

We got a call last night from the SLC police department to let us know that Josh's mom had passed away.

we will be heading off to utah some time in the next week. I will update more later.

********update*******

We finally got an answer about josh's moms Cause Of Death!

Josh's mom died of a severe asthma attack. We believe that she died in her sleep. She was 58 yrs old and way to young to go! She had been struggling with breathing but she thought she had it under crontroll with her inhalers...but it was to bad of an attack!

Josh is dealing with it the way any one would loosing their mother.

We will be leaving in the next day or to to take care of her funeral and her home. If you have any questions you can call or leave comments and we will try and answer them!

Thanks for all your love and support!!!

Trying to do the best thing!

So my sweet girl gets to start school this next school yr. I have been looking at the schools around and was a little nervous when I found out that Ella was going to be in a K-8th grade school. She is already intimidated by the idea. So I found this charter school it is like a private school that is funded by the government but they have free range over what they do. To get her in we have to donate 40 hrs (or donate stuff) to the school. They want the parents to be super involved...I think that is great!

O this is a link to the school I have been looking into for Ella. For those of you who have kids in school this may be something to look into. The one thing that may be weird is kindergarten is full time same as all the other grades. They only let 21 kids in the class how ever they can have less last yr it was 7 kids. They have more one on one time with the teacher that way. the Benefits of the school is looking good. I am really excited about it for her...she will have to wear a little uniform I am not sure what she will think of that...

http://www.caled.net/yccs.htm