Lake Powell 2k14

We had quite a fun trip to Powell this year between my siblings and their friends there were lots of laughs and memories! We played games and at the playground at the KOA we stayed at, watched fireworks, ate at the delicious burger joint in town and got plenty of sun.  It was also so dang windy! And let's face it.... Brad hates camping so that's always a struggle! 

Braves v Diamondbacks

Um.... Check out that hot dog!!! It was sooo delicious! Brad and I headed up to Phoenix while the Braves were in town and enjoyed a game.  We had great seats, but the Braves lost :( 

Be Loyal to the Royal Within Girls Camp 2014

I was lucky to be able to be camp director for our ward YW again this year. We had such a great group of girls and the stake planned an amazing week at camp full of fun and the spirit. The theme this year was BE LOYAL TO THE ROYAL WITHIN.  we focused on helping the girls to understand that they truly are born to be Queens.  Look at all those beautiful girls!! 

My little camp tradition is to have the girls meet at my house for breakfast before we head up to camp.  It gets them excited to be together.  

...DAY 1... We arrived and set up camp and got to know the girls we were camping with.  During the evening was a grand ball so all the girls dressed up in old thrift store dresses and enjoyed a night of dancing! I like to give the girls something each day to remind them of the day so they received crowns to wear to the dance.  

...DAY 2... 

Princesses in Training

I gave each of the girls a journal with copies of the talks that would be used throughout the week, the devotional schedule (including prayer assignments) and their camp schedules.  

This devotional was based on: 

1. "Remember Who You Are!" By Sis. Dalton 

2. D&C 25:2, 10, 13

"I have always loved the story of the son ofKing Louis XVI of France because he had an unshakeable knowledge of his identity.  As a young man, he was kidnapped by evil men who had dethroned his father, the king.  These men knew that if they could destroy him morally, he would not be heir to the throne.  For six months they subjected him to every vile thing life had to offer, and yet he never yielded under pressure.  This puzzled his captors, and after doing everything they could think of, they asked him why he had such great moral strength.  His reply was simple.  He said, "I cannot do what you ask, for I was born to be a King.

Like the King's son, each of you has inherited a royal birthright.  Each of you has a divine heritage.  'You are literally the royal daughters of our Father in Heaven.'  Each of you was born to be a Queen." 

We talked about things they can do and decide now to be like the king's son. I also shared with them that when I would leave the house on the weekends to go hang out or go out on dates my dad would say, Remember, you were born to be a Queen" don't let anyone change that or make you think otherwise! 

That night the stake had the sister missionaries come up the mountain and help with an iron rod activity.  One by one each girl was blindfolded and given instructions for how to get through "life" (aka the iron rod activity).  It made me think for the first time that Heavenly Father was probably giving us last minute advice and instruction in the premortal life .  They told us things like stay true to who you are and what you know to be right. Whenever you are in doubt or need help say a prayer.  Remember that Heavenly Father loves you and will never leave you alone. Then we were left in the dark to ind our way through life. I know quite a few sister missionaries so when one of them tried to get me to go the wrong way I told her it was sad that those you thought were friends try to lead you astray! Afterwards she came up to me and was like ouch! That hurt!! Haha but it's true.  When I did the iron rod I was with the stake camp director who I look up to a lot.  She wasn't afraid to say "Heavenly Father I need help!" Sometimes (a lot of times) I  stubborn and think I can do things on my own. I need to learn to put my life in His hands so that he can help me. 

...DAY 3... 

Happily Ever After 

Flower pens to go with journals 

Talk: "Your Happily Ever After" by Pres. Uchtdorf

Scriptures: D&C 87:8, D&C 21:6, Isaiah 40:31, Mosiah 2:20-24

I don't have my Asst. camp director's notes, so I don't have details about this devotional! 

The third night they had the sisters come up again and planned an activity about te Plan of Salvation. The sisters were all airplane stewardesses and we were passengers.  They faked an airplane crash and then led the girls out of the "plane" and into the forest.  The sisters then rotated between the groups and taught different portions of the Plan of Salvation.  After that they asked the girls if they died today, would they be ready? Each girl then received a letter from home.  It was really neat! 

Later in the evening was a singing testimony program and a silent hike.  For the silent hike they set up a station for each of the YW values along a path in the forest.  Each girl received a stone for each value.  At each station was a quote and scriptures to go along with the value.  If the YW felt she understood and lived the value, she left the corresponding stone at that station.  The ones she kept were to help remind her to study and try to live that value better.  

Faith: Alma 32:21

Divine Nature: 2 Peter 1:4-7

Individual Worth: D&C 18:10

Knowledge: D&C 88:118

Choice &Accountability: Joshua 24:15

Good Works: 3 Nephi 12:16

Integrity: Job 27:5

Virtue: Proverbs 31:10

...DAY 4...

Daughters of Heavenly Father: A Royal and Divine Heritage

Flower Crowns

Talk: "Daughters if Heavenly Father" by Sis. Tanner

Romans 8:16, 1 Samuel 16:7

"You are second to none.  You are daughters of God. 

The last night was "bishops night" where all the bishops visit  and bring dinner. Our bishop brings up the most delicious pizza from "Rosatis".  Mmmmmm.... We eat dinner together and then have testimony night.  Of course this is always the time where the spirit is felt and many tears fall.  This night was no different, but I realized that our girls finally felt connected.  They realized that most of them are in the situation where they either don't have a father or priesthood holder in their homes.  I saw them become friends and enjoy being together.  Which hasn't really happened before for whatever reason, but I am so glad that it did.  These girls need each other more than I think they realize! 

I wanted to continue on a tradition from last year, so I made the girls bracelets (last year they got anchor bracelets.) There is a gem show that comes to Tucson and sells beads and gems for super super cheap so one of the other YW leaders found freshwater pearls for us to use for the bracelets which were 2.50 a strand.  I think we made 25 bracelets out of 7 strands. I found tons of charms and bracelet clasps for 3.00 for 30 pieces... Can't beat that! 

I encouraged the girls to wear them often to remind them of the spirit and unity they felt at camp and to keep their eyes set on the temple.  I also took time during camp (i should say out of my precious sleep!) to write a note to them about qualities I saw them develop during camp and one thing I admired about them.  We also made enough to give to each of the stake leaders and the girls signed a little note to them.  These pictures don't do them justice! 

Vannessa's Wedding Day

One of my besties got married early summer and can I just say she looked absolutely stunning!!! 

It was sooo good to spend some time with my friends, meeting their babies and just catching up on life.  Things get so crazy and it's rare that we all get to just hang out like we used to! 

Jenni's Baby Shower

Sugar & Spice & Everything Nice, That's What Little Girls Are Made Of!! 

I had a blast planning this baby shower with these lovely ladies! The invitations were made by Jamie and included a packet of cinnamon sugar. They were to die for. 

The mommy to be was craving salads so the menu included a salad bar, fruit, sandwiches and delicious artichoke dip. 

Colors: pink and cheetah print! 

We also got a little crafty and made Baby Greta about 30 hair bows. It was so much fun and much easier than I realized. 

 

This Little Piggy...

A month or so ago, we had a fun relief society activity called This Little Piggy. The goal was to learn more about saving money and time in different ways of our lives.  There was a station on couponing and bargain shopping, a station on food storage, a station on meal planning and organizing and lastly a station on designing on a dime.  

I was asked to give a 10-15 minute schpill about designing on a dime and had so much fun doing it.  Disclaimer: I do not proclaim to be the queen of DIY or upcycling or designing on a dime in any way shape or form.  I know there are a lot more creative people out there with a lot more experience than me.  That being said... I do have a desire to create and to make my home a beautiful and inviting place to be.   As much as I can, I try to do that with either 1. Free things 2. Thrift/antinque purchases and 3. The Clearance racks at my local Target, TJ Maxx and Homegoods. 

A few of the things I shared were collage walls, holiday decorating, storage, up cycling old picture frames and furniture. I set up my "entry way" so that I would have an example! 

Collage Wall: 

1. Don't spend a kajillion dollars on it. 

2. Raid your parents/grandparents basements for cool treasures - frames, doilies, etc. the three oval frames hung in my grandmas house and were sitting in a box at my moms.  She had no use for them so I snatched them up.  The empty rectangle frame was given to me by Brads grandma.  You can't see it very well, but underneath the owl figurine is a doilie that I took out of my moms cedar chest.  It was made by my great grandma.  We are pretty lucky right now that "old things" are in style! Take advantage of it! 

3. Make your own items - wreaths, etc. you can make wreaths out of card board, find them on sale or at the dollar store.  The wreath below I got at target for $0.75.  I added the burlap and fabric flowers to it from left over burlap and an old tank top that happened to match my color scheme. 

When decorating - look for items that can serve a dual purpose.  My husband loves early American history and has a small library of books.  So... I use them in my decor.  Most of them have neutral covers and look nice enough to stack up.  My favorite place to shop is Target, but lets be honest, I can't afford to spend what they are asking for all of their gorgeous pieces.. So if I see something I really want, I wait and if I happen to see it again and it's on clearance I will get it.  I also check TJ Maxx for similar items.  I kind of have an obsession with Owls and got the cute owl figurine in the picture for about $6.00.  Which didn't break my bank for my entry way.  Neither did the $3.00 frame from target or the books that my husband is waiting till he has time to read them! 

Holiday Decor doesn't need to be expensive either.  One thing I like to do is fill a vase for each holiday - Easter eggs, candy pumpkins, fall candy corn, ornaments, candy hearts, etc.  Don't buy a vase for full price - they go on sale quite frequently at hobby lobby, michaels or Joann's.  

I love to make wreaths and one trick I've learned is to not make the, conventional.  You can't really see it, but the purple feathers belong to a BOO wreath that I made out of things from the dollar store.  The heart wreath is made out of cardboard painted black and covered with felt flowers. It's so easy to do! 

I also like making paper banners for each holiday.  I used to be an avid scrapbooker and have soooo much paper I don't know what to do with it, so this was one solution.  Even if you don't have paper, you can buy 4 sheets at the craft store for $0.25-0.50 a piece for a total of $2 or less... 

Storage is fun when you can display and organize your things in pretty jars that once housed pickles, vinegar, pretzels, oatmeal...you get the point.  Don't become a complete hoarder of jars though cause it gets addicting!! :) you can store kids stuff in them too like crayons! 

Picture Frames - I'm not sure i know anyone that doesn't have picture frames they aren't using stuffed in a closet some where.  Start using them!! My favorite thing to do is paint the cardboard backing with chalkboard paint.  If the cardboard backing isn't smooth, then you can paint the glass, but I've found the glass scratches easily.  You can use them in your home or for parties. 

Another thing you can do with picture frames is turn them into jewelry holders.  The pink frame has paper covering the cardboard backing and has small hooks to hold the jewelry.  I was able to screw them in by hand.  For more support you can add glue, but it was strong enough on its own to hold my necklaces and bracelets. 

Look at the cute favors they had for us! (Don't mind my terrible polish job!)

CrUiSiN 2014: Life Aboard the Carnival Magic

We enjoyed every minute on board.  There was always something to do and fun to be had.  We did the ropes course that was about 15 feet above the ship, played mini-golf and pool, laid out and relaxed, I read Divergent and all but 100 pages of Insurgent, we played Trivia and got to know Zoe a super cute girl from the motherland of Britain.  We danced, laughed, got a little sunkissed and maybe ate a little too much pizza, ice cream, and chocolate lava cake.  We tried the exotic food item on the menu each night - well by we I mean I tried escargo, but wouldn't try shark and whatever else there was.  BLEH!!!

The first pics are from the 2 formal nights. It's so fun getting dressed up.  I'm gonna give it a go for a little fashion blogging here!

 Dress: DownEast

Necklace: Francesca's Boutique

Gold Pave Bracelet: DownEast 

Nude Heels: Target 

Dress: Target 

Necklace: Francesca's Boutique

Black Heels: Target

Don't know what I would've done, had I not ever met Meghan.  She is my best friend and someone I can talk to about everything.  So glad her and John decided to vacation with us! 

IMMODEST ALERT!!! So... We took a ballroom dance class while aboard and I was selected to dance the Tango in the ship's final show on the last night.  This meant I had to go to practices, get fitted for a costume and show a lot more skin than I am used to!! I had sooo much fun though.  It made me miss dance and made me think that I really wanna go dance on a cruise ship!

Fellow "Dancing with the Cast" mate, Ray.

Us with our AMAZING cruise director Noonan. 

Me and my dance partner Liam.  He was really good and trying out for a show in Vegas.  

Hopefully he got it!

We enjoyed catching a movie at night and chilaxin by the pool. 

On the day we were supposed to head home, the ship got stuck in some fog.  Brad and I decided to wait it out in the gym so we could see out the front of the ship.  The fog horn went off like every 5 minutes and got super annoying.  At least no one hit us though!