Cruise Contest

Eight weeks ago I announced to one of my classes that I was going to be having contest until my cruise. This contest was to help motivate me to loose those holiday pounds I gained and get me ready for my trip. I initailly wanted to do it for all my classes but I decided that I was not quite as weathly as "NBC" and could only afford the $50 Target gift card. Thus, I picked my favorite class at Lacamas Swim/Sport. I gave my students one week to tell me what their goal was and told them that they had to honestly tell me if they completed it within the appropriate time. These goals ranged from fitness, weight loss, and some were just "getting there "4x per week. They also had to attend my class at least one time per week during the eight weeks. Well today was the big day that I gave away the prize. I told everyone that accomplished their goals to put their name & goal on a piece of paper and I would draw one lucky winner! I was thinking that I wanted to make the prize a little better than just a gift card so I decorated a paint can and included some of my favorite things:My favorites include a water bottle for working out, glue stick for scrapbooking, ribbon for bow making, chocolate kisses for eating, and the $50 gift card for shopping at my favorite store Target! There were seven people that made their goal, two girls lost 15 pounds! The lucky winner was Ruth Brown who lost 8 pounds! She told me that she probably would have never lost them without this contest. I love hearing that and I love making a difference in people's lives.

Congrats Pacific!

Morgan had her first dance competition with her middle school the Pacific Vikings. She was gone from 7:00 am until 8:00 pm. Their team performed in the afternoon after we had been there watching other schools for three hours. Brooklyn, Brinley and myself loved watching but Mason, Maddie and Jon got a little restless! Jon took them to the car for about an hour to give Maddie a nap. It was worth the wait because the girls did such an awesome job! It was so fun to watch Morgan and her team. They ended up getting first place for the middle schools and won best spirit award! She had a blast and I am very proud of her accomplishments! Way to go Morgan and Pacific!

Northwest Sun

Last week was incredibly beautiful here in WA! The sun was out all week which is huge for us. The funny thing about living in the NW is that when the sun's out so are people! You Arizonians(is that right?) would be wearing your winter coats but us in the NW just embrace the sunshine. The kids think that since the sun is out that it's summer time and time for the shorts! It was not quite that warm but in the mid to upper 50's. I took the girls and some of their friends to the park with Wendy's Frosty's. They had a ball running, throwing rocks in the pond, rolling down the grassy hill, and playing follow the leader. Here are some pictures of them enjoying the beautiful spring day:

The Big 4-0!

Jon 40th birthday was last Friday! We made him breakfast in bed and then he was off to work just like any other day. His dad took him out to lunch to their favorite restaurant, which I was glad that he took him since I was still running around trying to finish up party stuff! He had a great time at his party with family and several friends. We had all his favorite desserts, cake, and candy. His mom make his favorite German Chocolate Cake:

Everyone enjoyed the "tribute to Jon"that I displayed on the mantel for him. I got some great pictures from Margene. Many people commented on the resemblence between Jon and Mason:

I was very excited to give him his gift, the book that I made titled "The reasons we love Jon". I was thrilled at how it turned out and he loves it. He has thanked me repeatedly since then for all the hard work I put into this memorable gift! I had a few people read their entries and I also mine. These are my 25 things I love about Jon:

-He's always willing to do my honey-do list.

-He's a very hard worker.

-Jon's the best father to our children!

-He has a great sense of humor.

-He's my best friend.

-I can talk to him about anything!

-Jon is very dedicated to his church callings.

-He honors his priesthood.

-He's always willing to help everyone!

-He can fix anything.

-Because he's so cute and I love his brown eyes.

-He's willing to help me with carpooling, baths, and daily chores.

-Jon's the best at helping our children with homework.

-He is very positive and never talks bad about anyone.

-Jon makes me want to be a better person.

-He loves to make me happy.

-He's always concerned about me and our family.

-He loves to entertain and often wants to have a party.

-He love his parents and in-laws.

-He's the driving force behind our family scripture study.

-I love his laugh!

-He loves to play games and is very competitive.

-Because he is so low maintenance.

-He's a great cook and has taught me everything I know about cooking!

The kids each thought of three things they love about dad for a total of 40 things that we love about Jon! Happy Birthday JJ!

Those Stinkin Bows!

I just finished making some bows for a friend at the gym. I have made her several pairs and she buys them off of me. Sometimes I'm not sure if it's worth the money because they take so blasted long to make. Well I have been making a new version of the bow that doesn't take as long and is just as cute or cuter I think depending on the outfit. This is a pair that I made for Madelyn:

All you have to do is tie several different ribbons onto barretts. They are kind of wild and big but I've always loved big bows! This pair of bows that I made to match a gymboree line has got to be one of my favorites but took two hours to make!
This is why I am not going into the bow making business!!! I must now work on Jon's scrapbook that I am far from completeing. It will be a busy week with Valentines Day and his birthday bash the very next day. Everyone is sound asleep and this is my primetime work hours!

Pottery Barn Knock-Offs!

I have been eyeing the pottery barn teen & kids tile system for some time now. I have refused to pay the prices that they are charging for some of their items knowing that I could do it cheaper! So Jon, Morgan and Myself made this tile system for her room:I think it turned out way cute! It is a little smaller then PB and fits her room and desk area nicely! She was also able to pick exactly what colors, and designs she wanted. Jon made, painted, and assembled the system with Morgan one Saturday. I helped her find fun things to put on the boards. We all love it for a fraction of the cost the PB was charging. I also wanted something for Brooklyn's room since she loves to draw and is always wanting to display her art work. I did actually break down and buy the pink magnetic & chalkboard tins at PB and then Jon made the white peg boards.
Now they can both put anything they want on their boards without cluttering their walls or my fridge!