One proud mama...

I have a lot to brag about regarding this kiddo!  She has amazed me over the past year at the talents that are shining through.

This was Mara's first year competing in gymnastics.  She did it with flying colors!  She placed first overall in 5 out of 7 meets and made it to regionals in Las Vegas!  She placed 5th in regions on bars!!! 5th IN THE REGION!! That included all of California, Arizona, Colorado, Utah and New Mexico!

 She also ran her first 5k and did amazing considering she didn't train.

I'm so proud of her and wish to scream it to the world!

Love you Mara!

What we have been up to...

Spring/Summer...
Because I apparently don't' know how to blog anymore (;)), here is a quick version of what we have done in 2013 this far....

 We surprised our kids with a trip to Disneyland.... LOVE their faces!

 Our trip was sooooooo amazing, and I even got to be there on Mothers Day!  BEST MD EVER!

 B and I celebrated our 11th Anniversary!  Love this  man more today, than the day I married him.

 We painted our house and I LOVE it!  I feel like I should live on the beach, but I guess the Daybreak lake will have to do!

 Mara and I went to NYC!!!!  She LOVED IT!  We had so much fun!

I have truly been trying to soak up the fact that I am a stay at home mom again.  I missed it more than I ever would have thought. More to come!

129 days...

It's been awhile since my last post.  129 days to be exact.  Oh how I have missed blogging.  Fact is, that last time I logged on to do a post, Blogger told me that I have too many pictures on my blog and that I now need to pay to have a blog.  WHAT?!?!?  Has this happened to anyone before?!  Well, I went on a strike. Yep, I was going to show Blogger. I won't blog anymore!  Well, that didn't hurt anyone but me, so here I am, back and yes I PAID to do this post...

So much has happened that I really don't know where to start.  Well...

- I quit my job and never looked back.
- Because of that job, I value and respect my roll as a mother that much more.
- I have about 5 billion projects going on right now in my house... painting, redoing the fireplace, ripping out our master bathroom.  Not to mention all of the vintage finds I keep finding on that dang FB Daybreak Yardsale.
- I am in real estate school and I haven't been this excited in a very long time! 60 hours of classes to go to get my license.
- My kids are growing up like weeds!
- Mara made it to regionals in gymnastics, so Vegas here we come... again!  SOOOO proud of her!
- I took my kids to Vegas by myself last week.  Not by choice, B couldn't come at the last minute.  It was fun, but I missed my husband more than I could have imagined.  Family vacations minus the hubby, don't work!
- My sister Lauren came to town and we LOVED having her here!  When are you coming back, La?!
- Over the last couple of months, I have learned sooooo much about myself.
- I have so much to talk about and I am happy to be blogging once again!

I quit...

 So, I know I was going to do a daily thankful thing....  I never follow through on that kind of stuff.  Too much of a commitment, I guess.

BUT, I am extremely thankful for so much.  I have recently been counting my blessing likes crazy.  And you know, the more I ponder on those blessings, the more I have noticed that the end results of these blessing always came after trying times.  

If you were to ask me my top 5 things that I am thankful for the would be:

My family

My savior Jesus Christ

My home 

Being a wife and mother

AND..... the fact that I QUIT MY JOB!!!!!!! YAY!!!! I get to be with my kiddos again!

I have missed this part of my life and I can't wait to get it back.  Even though I have learned so much about myself, my strengths, weaknesses, etc.  I have learned that to me being a mom to my 3 little monkeys is the most important thing right now and I am so happy that I will be able to do this once again. It will be something that I NEVER take for granted.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Day 7...

I truly don't know what I would do without my Kitchenaid mixer...  So, I am grateful for this silly little gadget!

(Picture from google.com)

I just wish I had a green one!

Day 6...

Considering the day... and the fact that everyone is probably sick of election stuff.... I am thankful that I live in a country where I can vote for what I believe in and know that I can make a difference. 

 I am honored and grateful to live in the United States of America.  I love that my children will grow up in an amazing country where they can decide for themselves what they want and who they want to believe in.  I am thankful to be protected by the soldiers who defend our freedoms daily and I pray for them and their families.  No matter the outcome of this election, I am truly grateful for it all.

And, no I won't tell you who I voted for.  I'll let you guess.

Day 5...

As a young kid, I really never liked books.  Don't get me wrong.  I loved the concept of books, but never actual read them unless I had too.  One of the first books that I truly ever read was Saving Alice.  I had to read it for high school english class.  Let me just tell you.  I read it, it was awful and I never wanted to read again.  The book itself wasn't awful, the contents were and the ending?!?  was TERRIBLE.  If you have read it, you know what I mean.  Then the next book I had to read was Night.  AGAIN, the contents were horrible and extremely depressing.  Do you blame me for not wanting to read again?!

Several years later, along came Harry Potter.  My mom and sister were instant fans.  They would talk about muggles, Snape, Harry, Dumbledore, Hagrid, the whomping willow, Hogwarts, etc....  It drove me CRAZY that I didn't know what they were talking about it!  So, I made a commitment to read the first one.  JUST the first one.  Well, let's just say the rest is history. Not only did I read the entire series 3 times, but the movies are some of my favorite.  AND, I now read all the time.  It's actually an addiction, one that I am proud to say that I have.

SO, today I am thankful for the books that have changed my way of thinking, taken me away into another land, books that have challanged me, changed me and ones that I now hold close to my heart because they somehow touched my soul.  The books that are in this picture below all have had long remaining effects on my life for one reason or another.  Some of them I read when I was going through really hard times.  Some of them took me into a land that I truly wanted to be in and others just helped me think differently and some were just plain beautiful.  Thank you to the authors of these amazing books and all of the others that were not mentioned here.  I am proud to say, that I LOVE to read and I hope that I pass that love onto my kiddos. 

Have a good one!