Time Out For Women

First of all I have to say THANKS, MICHELLE!  I mentioned to Michelle that I wanted to go.  She was the one that made it all possible.  It was a great getaway!

This was the first time I had been to TOFW.  I had heard from others, (yes, Jess T.  you were the one that made me want to go in the first place.) how great these events were.  I just thought the bags they handed out were cute and wanted one.  I got so much more than a cute bag, and I can't say it was just what I got from the speakers, but from the person I was with and from being away from my little family for one night.  This was the first time I had left Samantha over night and I did get a little anxiety when it dawned on me that I wouldn't get to kiss her goodnight.  But....I needed to have that anxiety so I can get over it and GO AGAIN!

So I definately was GIDDEY about being here!

The Motel we were in was really Fancy.  Valet parking only...Good thing there was a city lot close by.  I felt like I needed to be dressed alot different when I entered the lobby.

The view from our 13th floor window.  State Capitol Building in Sacramento, California.

 Some of the features in our room were interesting....the lamp stand....the handles to the armoire....

 I definately was excited to hear JOHN BYTHEWAY in person.  We always listen to his talks on CD while we are traveling.  The girls enjoy listening to him quite a bit.  I knew I had to get a picture of him just for my girls.  So, I did even better!  I got one with his arm around me!
Before I left home I told Lexie that I was going to see John Bytheway.  She said to me, "You are going to go see the HUMAN John Bytheway?"

 I had to get a picture of all of the women.  It was an even better view from the top of the stairs because you could see everyones red bags really good, but I wasn't going to go all the way back up to get the picture.

 Thanks again, Michelle, for getting the tickets and motel and for driving!  You are Awesome!
Also, Thanks Jim for making it so I could go.  He changed flights so he could be home so I could go.  He ran out of Bisquick while I was gone and made pancakes from scratch!  He took the kids to the Children's Museum!  Love you, Babe!

I have to share another one from Lexie.  I picked her up from school on Friday and told her that I was going to have a playdate with Michelle...referring to TOFW.  She said to me, "You don't even have to drive, you can just walk to her house."  I smiled and then told her I was going overnight.  She then said, "No Fair!  You get to have a sleep over at Michelle's!"  She was quite excited that I got to have a "playdate" though!

First Day of School

New Clothes, 1 New BackPack, New School Supplies, New Teachers....Lot's of Excitement!

And Don't forget.....COOKIES AFTER SCHOOL!

Thanks Brindley for making me feel good.  I picked out the shirt she wore on the first day!

Lexie is in Pre-K!  Her class didn't start for two weeks after Brindley and Karissa started.  She didn't think it should be that way and was pretty determined to go.  Finally her day came!

Once we got to her class I could hardly get her to look at me for a picture.  Infact I had to "borrow" the picture below from a friend because I don't have one of her looking at me.  She was too busy checking things out.  This is her friend Leah.

 

Lexie and I have this little thing we do that when I get done fixing her hair she has to give me a kiss.  Lately it has become me grabbing her quick before she runs away and me giving her a big kiss.  I told her before school started that I wasn't going to let her go because I was going to miss her so much.  She told me I had to let her go, so I made a deal with her.  I told her I would be ok with letting her go if she would give me a kiss and a hug every day after I fix her hair....before she left for school.  So, the first day of school came around and we proceeded with fixing the hair.  When I got done I decided to see if she would try and run like she had been doing.  I just stood there and told her she was all done.  She just stood there too without saying anything.  I leaned down and looked at her and gave her a big hug then waited again.  She waited too.  Pretty soon she asked if I was forgetting something.  I smiled at her and she gave me a kiss.  I guess she really wanted to go to school :).  Love you Lex!

CHECK OUT MY GIVE AWAY!

Go check out my Food Blog at Kristi's Kitchen Kreations.  I am doing my first GIVE AWAY!  Thanks to all of you that support me and encourage me with my blogs!

Labor Day Weekend

Sometimes the most fun time to go camping is the spur of the moment.  That's when most of our camping happens, and Labor Day was no exception.  And yes, we even found an open camp site.  Since we moved to Nevada we haven't done as much camping as we normally do.  We will definately be making up for that.

And so you know, no bears got us.  The girls were good to not leave any food on the ground.  They thought it was cool that there was a "bear box" for us to put stuff in.

I did feel bad that Jim didn't get to sleep with us.  Samantha woke up screaming about 11:30 and we couldn't get her calmed down.  Jim buckled her in the truck and drove home for the night (the campground was only 15 minutes from home).  Samantha slept great when she got home.  They made it back early the next morning.  Brindley, Karissa and Lexie didn't know Jim had left and were surprised that MOM could protect them.

Best part of camping.....Roasting HOTDOGS and Making SMORES!!

Kristi's Kitchen

A while ago my girls came up with this idea that we should open a restaurant.  They named it, created a menu, and assigned jobs for the whole family.  My job of course was the cook.  To be honest, with as much as I have worked in restaurants, I have thought of opening my own place someday.

One day Brindley got a GREAT idea to fix dinner.  She has cooked before so I knew she could, but we were out of the things that she knows how to cook.  She wanted to do it really bad and wanted to surprise me.  She got Karissa to help her and this is what they came up with.

Chicken nuggets, freshly made Green Salad, Fruit Kabobs with Apples and Watermelon!

It hit the spot!

Family Time

Another day at the lake.  Only this time it was FREEZING!  The wind was blowing and the sun was hiding behind the clouds, but we still enjoyed our time.

Samantha loves to spread her towel like the girls and "lay out" on it.

Trying to keep warm.

Someone throw sand over  Brindley's face while she was getting burried.  She was kinda "STUCK" and couldn't wipe it out.

Samantha was worried about the girls and was wondering where their hands were.  She is trying to dig Karissa out.

How are the people gonna get out of the dirt?

Lexie:  Mom, how are people gonna get out of the dirt?
Mom:  Huh?  What people?
Lexie:  The live people. How are they going to get out of the dirt?
Mom:  Live people aren't in the dirt.  Just dead ones.
Lexie:  Uh Huh!  Remember the Wessuwection (Resurrection).  How do they get out of the dirt?
Mom:  Oh!  There is a special way that Heavenly Father has planned for us.
Lexie:  Ya, like Heavenly Father will help us.  He will move the grass and we will dig and dig in the dirt til we find the people.  Then he will put the grass back!