Pining for Trees

When my mom was expecting me, she had decided I would be named Willow. She thought of me as Willow, called me Willow. That was it, I was to be Willow. But my brothers wouldn't have it. There was Kirk, Kip, and Kasey. How could they choose a name that didn't start with K? I would be left out! So my mother conceded. But she's told me before that he heart always thought I should be Willow.

When I was expecting Porter, we had one boy name and one girl name. We've always been that way, no waiting to decide until they were born. Our girl name was Linden Hazel. I could see her in my mind. My eyes, blue with green towards the center. Light brown hair. A round angel face like the girls. But I knew in my heart that we would be having a boy. And I wanted a boy. Chant needed a boy. I also knew that this would be my last baby. I feel good, complete with my three children. But sometimes I still think about that name and that face I imagined in my mind. I still feel good about have just three, don't get me wrong. But maybe Mom started a new tradition, pining for trees. Perhaps in the future my girls will lament for the likes of Laurel or Aspen.

Birthday Time!

January 26th my Brinnley turned 7. This birthday and age is hard for me to wrap my head around. There is no way I can have a 7 year old! She is growing way to fast!

School was pretty fun for her. She took treats to school (individually wrapped Twizzlers or Tweezlers in this house). The janitor, Jared, and the school helper? Sue both said happy birthday to her. Sue even gave her a happy birthday crown. She came home feeling so special!

She and I consulted about almost every detail of her birthday party. She helped pick the decorations, she chose the cake, and she planned the menu (for the kids). It was so fun to look through all the fun cake ideas with her on Pinterest. I enjoyed the planning just was much as she did. This party was a lot of work, but oh so worth it!

Thursday the 26th we had the fam over for a party. The guest list included Margi, Mike and Kristy, Jen, and Teran. The first order of business was dinner. The menu for the kids was hot dogs. Easy. For the adults: salad, homemade rolls, and Tomato Tortellini soup. Making the rolls was a fun venture. I had the kids help me roll them (crescent rolls) and flour and dough was everywhere! But we had oh so much fun doing it together. The soup was excellent, but I forgot to put the cheese in. Oh well, more for on top ;)

After dinner we opened presents. Ainsley got a stuffed dog for Christmas and I brought Porter back a dog pillow pet from Vegas. Brinnley has been saying that she needs a dog. She finally got one. His name is Chocolate Chip.

Auntie J made Brinnley 4 different gift cards to redeem on their girls day out. There is one for dinner, a movie, making crafts, and brunch with Mike and Kristy. She is so excited!
She also got a real gift card (thanks everyone!) so we can do some summer clothes shopping a little bit later. This lady loves her a gift card!
So cool! This is an actual street sign! Jen has some connections!
Then the cake. So this cake I found on Pinterest. On Pinterest it was a two layer cake with ice cream in the middle. It looked like a lot of work and I am not the best with two layer cakes, yet. So we did a single layer and chose to put the ice cream on the side instead of in it. It's just a round cake with Kit Kats on the edges and M&Ms on top. SO fun. And it wasn't sickeningly sweet either. The cake is vanilla from scratch and the frosting is from scratch too. I was pretty darn proud of myself. The only thing I bought ready made for this party was the bag of salad. Who knew I could bake? And cook? And have it taste ok?

She was one happy little lady!

I love you so much Brinnley and I am so excited for all the adventures we will have together this year!

Family Road Trip

(Mom, Kirk, Christi)

January 12-15 I took a trip to Vegas and then on to Arizona with my two brothers, their wives, and my mom. The first night we stayed in Mesquite, Nevada. The big excitement for the evening was a game of bowling. The high score was 128. Yeah, we were doing really great! We had breakfast at the casino restaurant the next morning. The special was ham and eggs for $2.99. Check out that piece of meat! Gross! I went with Eggs Benedict.

(Kasey and Tracy)

We drove on to Las Vegas after breakfast. We spent literally 8 hours doing nothing but walking the strip. We were dead tired that night!

Someday I'll see the real thing!
Mom was having way too much fun!
This is on the ceiling of a casino. SO cool!

Of course we had to go to the M&M factory! Missed you Dad, wished you had been there ;)

One of my favorite casinos was a new one, The Cosmopolitan. Very chic. I didn't get any pictures inside, but very beautiful.

And by unanimous vote, the dinner buffet at Circus, Circus was by far the best and the cheapest too. Bonus!

It was such a fun day and the trip as a whole was so good. Thank you so much Mom for making it happen!

Operation Recipe Organization

So remember how I said I used to hate to cook? Well one of the problems was not knowing what to make. I had a very limited pool of meals to choose from that I made regularly and when I would get brave enough to try something new, I would later forget where I found the recipe. I saw something that was the same idea at a Souper Saturday. I told Chant all about it and for Christmas he surprised me with all the supplies I need to make my own recipe boards. These are just $0.99 cookie sheets from Wal-Mart. The recipes are written on scrapbook paper attached to a magnetic strip that Chant got at Lowe's. The dividers on the days of the week are sticky ribbon, found in the scrapbook section. These are hung to my kitchen wall by magnets. The magnets are attached with Command sticky strips, so there were nail involved. I have written down the name of the recipe and where the recipe can be found. I may have to add another cookie sheet as I continue to find more fabulous recipes on Pinterest or as I think of common ones I have forgotten. I am really pleased with it and I already feel more organized and even more excited about cooking. My problem now is deciding what to make next because I have some many things I want to make! I'll take that problem any day!

Wanna Go Home

(April 25, 2009)

Yesterday I woke up with this extreme feeling of homesickness for West Yellowstone. We haven't been in a long time and I miss it. If we do nothing else this summer, I want to take a weekend trip there with the whole family, Chant included. When we went as a family the last time (in the summer) Ainsley was just little, like 1. Chant and I had fun visiting the places that we meaningful to us, but I am really excited to take the kids now. The girls are old enough now that I can take them to the places where I worked and lived and played. I can take the kids to see my Grandma's house, where I spent so much time when I was younger and two full summers when I was 16 and 17. Even though it's not the same since Grandma is no longer there, they will be able to see it and the woods not very far away where I played and built forts with cousins. I will be able to take them on a tour of all the places I worked during the summers and share with them memories of Grandma teaching me how to carry 4 plates of food in one arm and folding clothes to the tunes of Dean Martin while singing at the top of my lungs and laughing with Stacy, memories of stocking beloved books on the shelves of the bookstore. I will be able to take them to my favorite spots around town: the bridge where it was tradition to eat Chinese food underneath while it rained, the city park where I spent so many evenings, Black Sands and Madison Arm Resort where Chant and I fell in love and knew we would be married. We will go to the Christmas Store and each of us will buy a new ornament for the tree, a special tradition that we haven't been able to keep up while in Missouri. We will get an ice cream at Dairy Queen, where Chant worked. We will visit the Penny to a Dollar store. And of course somewhere in there we might even visit Yellowstone National Park.

Something Strange is Going On

(Spinach Mushroom Enchiladas)

(Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup)

I despise cooking. Seriously. Despise. We have been married for 8 years and making dinner has been my biggest struggle. I never know what to make and I have never been very good at menu planning so I am always scrambling at 5:00 to scrape something together. Not a pleasant experience for me.

Well a few weeks ago Chant invited me to Pinterest and helped show me how the site works. I thought that might be a good place to look for new recipes to try. That first week I tried 4 new dinners and one fruit dip recipe. And now I'm hooked. Every day I am scanning Pinterest for new ones to add to my list. I've become a little food obsessed, in a good way. I've even planned out what meals I am going to make for the week for the past 3 weeks. Amazing how much more calm my evenings are now. Put on some music have the kids help me. It's even been, dare I say, fun! Last night we made ham and cheese crepes. Although the sauce wasn't my favorite, the kids enjoyed helping me stuff the crepes and roll them. Making dinner has become somewhat of a family event. I even went so far as to talk about a way to organize recipes. Chant got me everything I need for Christmas and I am so excited to sit down this afternoon and make it! And last night I even dreamed about making the new recipes I found on Pinterest yesterday. Something is seriously wrong here!

(Coconut Shrimp Curry)

(White Chicken Enchiladas. Tried this one. Seriously so good!)

The Reason

This holiday season has been one of the most meaningful I have had in a while. It hasn't been about shopping and wish lists. It's been about focusing on what really matters. I have had so many touching moments with my children. This year we read two longer Christmas books, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever and The Forgotten Carols: A Christmas Miracle for Isaac and Eliza. With both books I became really emotional. When I finished the last page of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, I was crying and Ainsley asked me if I was sad. I told her I wasn't sad, but that I was happy. I told her I am so grateful for my Savior and we talked about His birth and why we celebrate Christmas. Then Ainsley said that Jesus was born and He died for us so that we can be a family forever. It was a beautiful moment. I felt so much love for my Savior and I was so grateful that my kids were getting it.

I have The Forgotten Carols CD, and I have played it many, many times since Thanksgiving. One time Brinnley was really listening to the words and she asked me what the songs were about. So with each song I told her who's story it was and explained it. Then we read The Forgotten Carols: A Christmas Miracle for Isaac and Eliza. The book has 4 of the carols in it. As we read the book, the girls recognized the carols and they knew the stories. Again, I thought to myself They get it! And this Christmas Eve morning as I was in the kitchen preparing food for tomorrow and the girls were in the living room coloring, we listened to The Forgotten Carols. The girls decided to make decorations for the house, and Brinnley wanted to make the manger scene. She made it all by herself! When she told me what she was making, she said, "I am making pictures about Jesus because that is why we celebrate Christmas." And Ainsley reminded me that Santa Clause comes because he is like the Kings taking gifts to the Baby Jesus. And that is what it is all about!

I have also been so touched by the love and generosity of others. We have been so blessed and I am so grateful for all that we have. I will always remember this Christmas, as we have had so many of our own Christmas miracles this year. I love my Savior and I am grateful for Him, for His birth; His life of service, love, and teaching; and His death for us. I hope that as we open presents tomorrow that we will continue to remember the reason for the season.

Little Bits of Random

I know that I am almost 30 but I don't care, I really like Justin Bieber's new scent, Someday. I got a little sample vial that lasted a few days and I was so sad when it ran out!


My favorite Christmas music is The Forgotten Carols, the original one where Michael McLean sings most of the songs. I was so sad to see that only the new version is available on I-Tunes. So not as good.
My favorite brand of shoes is Rocket Dog. I even have a pair or two dress shoes that are Rocket Dog. This is the current pair I am scoping out. I have two pairs that I live in all winter long and I've had them a couple years. The best shoes! So comfortable!


I have secretly always wanted to be a brunette. You know, the dark, luscious, shiny brown. It all started with a Barbie Doll. She had the best hair and I loved it. And she looked so good dressed in her red outfit. My mom always said my cheeks are too pink to wear red. Sometimes I do it anyway ;) As I have gotten older, my hair has naturally darkened, so even though it's not that deep, rich shade, I still like it!


My absolute favorite TV show of all time is Gilmore Girls, but you already knew that ;) Maybe it has something to do with their hair. See, see what I mean! Luscious and shiny. It screams to be flipped over the shoulder.

Maybe the hair also has something to do with why one of my 2 current faves is Hart of Dixie. Not only does she have the hair, but Chant and I swear that the set is the Gilmore Girls set. Watch closely, what do you think? (My other current fave: Once Upon A Time. Love that show!)


My least favorite household job: Folding socks! Seriously, it's a nightmare especially when you make the mistake of buying both girls the same style of sock. Every sock must be measured against each other to see which girl it belongs to. I am NEVER doing that again!


I have always wanted to go to Italy. Probably something else you already knew. But with the help of an author's blog and Pinterest I am planning the trip now, deciding what places we (umm, I) want visit. I am still holding on to the dream of backpacking and staying in hostels, but maybe I'll change my mind when the time comes. We'll see. (Top photo is Siena and bottom is Pisa.)

I even have a clock in my living room set to Rome's time zone. I always know what time it is there and sometimes I try to imagine what I would be doing at that moment if I were there. Someday...


A good 90%, at least, of my wardrobe is from Maurices. If that store ever goes out of business, I wouldn't know what to do. So they better not! The other 10% goes something like this: Shade Clothing tanks and tees 8% and the other 2% would be JcPenney, Khol's, and Old Navy.

Favorite current sounds: Ainsley's gut laugh that makes you laugh right along with her. Brinnley's singing. Makes me smile. And Porter yelling "Boo-ya!" Crack me up!


P.S.
Just did some research. Yep, the Town Square from Gilmore Girls is in Hart of Dixie. Knew it!