New Close to my Heart Blog

I've decided that I want to separate my Close to my Heart info from my personal family information so that some day when I print a book from this blog it will be specific to my family. So, I will be posting monthly specials and promotions for Close to my Heart on my new blog http://ctmhmemories.blogspot.com/. I hope you'll click over occasionally to see the fun new scrapbooking products and ideas! You can click on the Independent Consultant icon to the right to link over!

Oquirrh Mountain Temple

This morning Dan and I had the awesome opportunity to attend the broadcast of the 7th dedicatory session of the Oquirrh Mountain Temple in South Jordan (can you believe it will take 9 sessions to broadcast to everyone). The only other dedication I've participated in was the new Nauvoo Temple that was dedicated in late June 2002. Dan and I had only been married a month and he must have been out of town or something because Melissa went with me.

The dedication this morning was very uplifting. It was hard when President Hinckley passed away to think of having a new Prophet. After all, he had been the prophet since I was old enough to even pay attention to conference! I love President Monson, though, and know that he is the current Prophet and that he receives inspiration and revelation on how the church should be directed. I also really like Elder Uchtdorf and Elder Bednar, who both spoke today. They are so easy to listen to and I know their talks were inspired as well.

Since we recently attended the Draper Temple open house, we didn't make it a priority to get over to this Temple's open house, but I wish we would have. The video they showed this morning of the grounds and inside the great edifice were breathtaking! I just love the beautiful workmanship and all the hours that go into each Temple. I can't wait to do a session there. We are so blessed to live within minutes of a handful of temples. I need to be better at taking advantage of any opportunity to go because I know the blessings are real and are great. I'm so glad to be sealed to Dan and to our little angels for eternity. The Plan of Salvation is the most comforting principle that the gospel offers and I'm so grateful to have a testimony of it.

Here are a few fun facts about this Temple:
*The Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple was the thirteenth temple built in Utah and the fourth built in the Salt Lake Valley, following the Salt Lake Temple (1893), the Jordan River Utah Temple (1981), and the Draper Utah Temple (2009).
*The Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple and the Jordan River Utah Temple are the only two temples in the world located in the same city.
*Until the groundbreaking ceremony, the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple had been unofficially named the South Jordan Utah Temple. However, to avoid confusion with the Jordan River Utah Temple, the official name was chosen to reflect the Oquirrh Mountain range.
*The spire of the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple was installed atop the temple on July 11, 2008, immediately followed by installation of a gold-leafed statue of the angel Moroni.
*Lightning struck the angel Moroni statue atop the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple on Saturday afternoon, June 13, 2009, during the public open house. The powerful bolt of lightning blackened Moroni's trumpet, arm, and face. A replacement statue was installed on August 11, 2009, 10 days before the dedicatory services began. (Wow, I hadn't heard that!)
*The ordinance room murals in the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple were painted by artists who were called as "art missionaries" for the Church. (What a fun mission--if I could paint!)
*President Thomas S. Monson dedicated the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple on his 82nd birthday. The crowd gathered for the cornerstone ceremony spontaneously sang him a birthday song.

Temple History
*In his opening remarks of General Conference, held October 1, 2005, President Gordon B. Hinckley announced plans for the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple, the fourth in the Salt Lake Valley. He also noted that a site had been acquired for a fifth Salt-Lake-area temple in the southwest part of the valley, which has been set aside for a future announcement.

1-On Tuesday, November 28, 2006, the South Jordan Planning Commission wholeheartedly approved plans for the temple, which drew rave reviews from city staff and zero public comment.

2-Plans called for a 60,000-square-foot building with 63-foot high walls and a single spire reaching 193 feet heavenward, topped by the traditional gold-leafed angel Moroni statue.

3-On December 16, 2006, President Hinckley presided at the groundbreaking ceremony where he announced the official name of the temple as the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple.

(Information taken from http://www.ldschurchtemples.com/oquirrhmountain/)

Wow . . .

I made it to 11:46 today without a Dr. Pepper!  That could almost be a record!

Welcome to my Hut

Mason and Dan built this fun fort out of the couch and loveseat cusions and his little tent. He likes you to knock on the door before joining him inside (but don't forget to close the door behind you). It's a little cramped, but there is a door going out to the 'back yard', so there is some air circulation! Today we added the tunnels that go to another little area in the corner of the room. He's had a blast with it. Poor Tristyn can't get within a 10 feet of it though!



I bought this super flowery, not so pretty, couch when I was single and first moved to Salt Lake. I saw it in an ad and paid the lady and when I went to pick it up, no one was home. I don't remember who all was with us, but since the seller was a little shady, we got in through a window and were able to get it--I now realize how stupid that was. It was pretty dirty, but cleaned up well enough that we dared actually sit on it. Eight years later it's still mine . . . I'm such a lucky girl (that's drenched in sarcasm if you didn't notice). Hopefully I can get something to replace it soon--or at least as soon as Mason gets over his couch cushion stacking. If it was in our family room and I had to sit on it every day, but would have been gone a long time ago! It doesn't match anything in my house, but at least it's good for something!

Small Girl in Small Places

This kid loves to climb and loves to squeeze herself into small places, including baskets, under the table, in the computer armoire, and most recently . . . a kitchen drawer! When Mason was little I started putting odd and end things in the drawer that he liked to play with(containers, paper cups, etc). She discovered the drawer a long time ago, but this weekend is the first that climbed in (that we know of). She wasn't even being sneaky about it--she did it right in front of us.



Funny how 'no, no' means no one can do it . . . except for Tristyn! She just says 'no, no', laughs, and does it anyway. Who's in charge here, anyway?

On the Slide

This video was taken a while back, but it's cute.

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Mason's art

A picture for dad.

Mason has kept me busy all morning cutting out shapes for his masterpieces. A few minutes ago he had glue all over the table and a pile of it on the floor. He puts a quarter size glob on the back of each piece! He is great at turning the edge of paper into fringe and will (hopefully) soon be able to cut the shapes himself! :-)

Paint Project

After several weeks of housing the paint in our garage, we were finally able to get our front door and shutters painted. Dan also put on a nice new kick guard and door knob (great job, honey). Doesn't it look a million times better? We had a scare with the first couple of coats of paint because it looked turquoise, but thankfully after a few more coats it looks more like the color on the sample card!

We have a TON of paint left, so we're considering also painting our garage doors. I like the look of painted doors, but I'm not sure I love the color enough to have it on the huge doors. So, I'm taking a poll among all our readers! Leave a comment and let me know what you think . . . paint the garage doors or not??? (Keep in mind that if you say yes, we may recruit you to help prime and paint!).

Close To My Heart

As if having two kids, a husband, a house, a full time job, and a church calling isn't enough . . . I've taken on one more exciting endeavor--an independent consultant for the scrapbooking company Close to my Heart.

Several years ago (5??) my cousin Sharon invited me to her Close to my Heart scrapbook workshops. Little did I know that it would lead to a great love for preserving memories, both with traditional and digital scrapbooking (which I'm just getting into). Now that I have kids, it's getting harder and harder to find time to squeeze scrapbooking in--which is why I try to keep track of memories on this blog until I have a chance to scrap them. I felt like digital scrapbooking would be the answer to the problem, but I don't feel like I can completely give up scrapping by hand. I have too much 'stuff'. Plus, I absolutely LOVE the products and ideas offered by CTMH.

As excited as I am about CTMH, my excitement quadrupled last week when I received the new catalog and found out that next spring they are diving into DIGITAL SCRAPBOOKING! So, I'll be able to use the same cute paper, embelishments and stamps on digital layouts! The design program, Studio J, is totally free and you don't pay a cent to use their templates or to design a layout until you print it from their site! I can't wait to find out more about it and most of all -- to try it! To read more about it click http://www.studioj.com/.

Here are a few of my favorite things about CTMH:

Their great idea books that show you how to use their products to quickly design a layout or card.
Their tough white core paper--you can sand, tear, crinkle, or distress it for a fun look.
Their coordinating embellishments (especially the ribbon).
Their acrylic blocks and clear stamps that allow you to see exactly where you're stamping.
That their stamps peel off the blocks and store conveniently in organizers.
Their chipboard Dimensional Elements that add dimension to your page.
Their fun Stamp of the Month promotions.
The creative consultants who have shared their talents with me.
That they make scrapbooking Faster. Simpler. Easier.

If anyone out there has any interest in scrapbooking and hasn't already looked into Close to my Heart, I'd highly recommend it. To View the Summer 09 Catalog click here:
http://www.closetomyheart.com/Ideabooks/Summer09USMyCTMH.aspx

If you're interested in any of the products or hosting a party (to get FREE stuff), let me know. Send an email or leave a comment if you'd like information on my personal deals and specials. Oh, and if you just need a girl's night to scrapbook . . . come on over!

Happy Scrapping!

Splish Splash

As Mason's potty training reward, he opted to go swimming instead of to Lagoon. We spent a few hours there Saturday morning and both kids had a blast. Mason jumped off the diving board by himself a couple of times--it was the first time he'd ever gone off a diving board, so we were really surprised (and proud). Unfortunately I didn't have the camera out and we couldn't get him to do it again, so I don't have a photo. He also went down the water slide a couple of times on his own. Dan went down first and waiting to catch him at the bottom. His face is so funny in the photos.



Tristyn didn't want to get into the water, but I set her on the 6" edge and let her kick her feet around and she was fine with that. A little later we ran in and out of the really shallow end and she thought that was fun. It didn't take long before she was tuckered out and needed a nap.

Mason doesn't do well with the hourly pool checks and we have to fight him to stay out of the water every time. Lately he has wanted to give money to people, so we let him give money for an otter pop to keep him occupied during one of the checks. It's also a battle to get him out of the pool to go home. It's all about bribing . . . this time it took an ice cream cone.

Great job on being potty trained, Mason! We're so proud of you!

Another video

Here's another quick video of Tristyn eating the other day. This was taken just before the video on the last post. They're both cute.

Sleep-Eater

Some people sleep walk . . . Tristyn sleep eats. Occasionally she'll fall asleep in her chair and instead of just putting her head down and resting, she keeps putting food in her mouth! This is what happened at lunch today:

Softies?

Dan and I went to Lagoon today without the kids. We planned on taking them back for a few hours since we promised it to Mason for being potty trained, but he said he wanted to go swimming instead, so that party is tomorrow. We had a blast going on the 'big kid' rides, even though we found out we're getting a little 'soft' in our old age and our stomachs can't handle the spinning that they used to! We loved all the rides and it was a bit upsetting when the queasiness set in! We were fine (okay, maybe a little tipsy) through the Roller Coaster, Wild Mouse, and Colossus, but by after the Wild Mouse we were wondering what the heck we were trying to prove! Wicked was awesome even though I swear it gave me whiplash! Then we were really stupid and went on the Screamer (my idea), and that did us in! We were both done for a while. So, we road the sky coaster a couple of times for a break. Then we tried the Tidal Wave and almost needed a trash can afterward! Seriously???? We came to the consensus that we're getting old and then realized why our parents never wanted to take us to theme parks. What can't a big scoop of chocolate ice cream fix? We relaxed in Pioneer Village and enjoyed our treat. We took a couple of photos of the train collection (Why didn't we take Mason there? He would have loved it) before heading to the log ride . . . that would for sure be a ride we could handle! It didn't hurt that there were only about 4 super slow turns and one short drop! We wanted to leave on a high note, so we went on Wicked one more time and it was, well . . . wicked cool! Dan was a little more brave than me and I think he kept his eyes open for most of the rides. On most rides I couldn't force my eyes open until about half way through the ride. I've turned into such a wimp! There were a few other rides that looked really fun, but we would have had to take a bag on with us :-) We'll have to try those first next time.



Melissa was so nice to pick the kids up for us. They had fun playing out back in the sprinkler. I was able to get a photo of Tristyn doing the sign for 'more' and also her 'where did it go?' or 'I don't know' gesture (elbows in palms up). We also snapped a photo of her cute belly button at Melissa's request . . . she's a bit obsessed with it!

Oh, Mason also had fun dressing Dan up in the pirate hat and patch that he got at a birthday party yesterday. He loves it when we wear the costume, but doesn't like to wear it so much himself.

It's back to the grind tomorrow . . . for me anyway! Dan is golfing three rounds tomorrow--what a cushy life!

Piggy Tails

Yesterday I finally tried to pull Tristyn's hair into two piggies and it worked! They were so tiny and the bands didn't stay in very well. It didn't help that she loves to touch her hair and kept noticing that it was a little different. She pulled them out several times! Some time I may have to start doing her hair every day, but for now I'm glad that I can get away without it. I'd like to try new things and make it look cute, but it's hard when she's mushing carrots on her head and trying to comb her hair with her fork while I work on it! I love this cheesy grin--she's such a show off!

Friends, Food and Fireworks

Monday night we invited a few friends over to help finish off our reunion food. Dan made his famous Deviled Deviled Eggs and everyone brought yummy food to share. After dinner the guys entertained the kids outside while the women entertained the couches and watched the finale of The Bachelorette inside. We also let off the rest of our fireworks. Luckily Jason and Chris had a few extra fireworks too, or it would have been a pretty weak show! It's a good thing the kids are easily impressed. My kids watched from inside the sliding door. Tristyn was eating and Mason is kind of scared to go without the 'shield'. It's an improvement from when he buried his head in our laps last year at the city firework show. Maybe he'll be ready to sit outside in the front row next year!



We're lucky to have such great friends. Summer BBQs are the best!

Season for Reunions

This weekend was Dan's family reunion in Whiterocks, UT (near Roosevelt and Vernal). It was fun to get together with his family and play games and just visit. Mason and Tristyn loved playing outside on the swings and 4-wheelers. They also had fun following the stray cat around. I think most of all they just liked being in a new environment with new toys and new people to show off for (especially Tristyn).

On Friday we made a quick stop at the Fish Hatchery and Mason had fun watching all the itty bitty fish. Most of all he liked counting the numbers on the fish bins! We also took the kids to the Vernal Rec Center to swim. Mason jumped right in and had a great time! Tristyn got mad when we had to shower before entering the pool and got even more mad when I put her right in the pool (it was a little cold). She freaked out and clenched onto my arm as tight as she could (she needs her nails trimmed!). She laid on our shoulder most of the time, but did get down and walk around a little bit. She steered clear of the water though. Mason got in trouble for running on the deck and trying to climb up the little water slide. It looked like the toys at his playground, so I see why he was confused with the different rules! That night we played games with the family, including The Newlywed Game. Dan and I came in 2nd place after his sister and brother-in-law. Never mind that their score more than doubled ours!

Saturday we cleaned and packed up, then drove back over to Vernal to visit the dinosaur museum. The kids both loved it. They don't have the fossil dig and erosion table that Thanksgiving Point has, but they had more life-like dinosaurs and fewer skeletons. Mason enjoyed them a little more. It took us a while to draw him away from the little fish pond--he said the 'fish hungry' and kept waiting for them to jump up and eat the bugs. I think he thought he could feed them like he feeds our Betta fish. We randomly ran into some friends from down the street there! That was cool! We also accidentally drove by the Vernal Temple. I don't know the history behind it, but it looked like an old Tabernacle that was converted. It was beautiful.

Before heading home, we stopped by to visit the McCurdy's, who lived in our neighborhood for a while. We miss them here and had a great time visiting and touring their beautiful home! What a great family!

It was nice to have a day to recover and get ready for the week! Seems like every summer week is jam-packed, so it was much needed!

Thanks Ric and Pat for planning a great reunion! We appreciate your efforts and are grateful for the place to stay! We all had a fun trip!

Sunday Times

I don't know how two little bodies can completely wear out three big bodies! Our kids went non-stop yesterday . . . I was telling Melissa that they were like flies that fly around and around your head and as much as you swat at them, you can't get them to leave you alone! It all started at church when I was trying to do Sharing Time. Dan was still in Vegas, so Melissa was so nice to come and help me with the kids. Mason still came up and played by the microphone and didn't forget it was there for the rest of primary. They made a few class changes and his class is in a different room and he wouldn't go in (he still doesn't do well with change). So, he and Tristyn both came to help in my Valiant class and they were very distracting, to say the least! We made it half way through the Sacrament before I couldn't deal with their movement in that little tiny bench space anymore! I don't know how I would have made it that long without Melissa's help, so thanks!

The rest of the day was more of the same . . . endless energy! Tristyn has amazingly been running on 30 minute-per-day naps! Even if she doesn't need more than that (I know she does but she's getting more teeth)--I DO!!! Melissa and I made a couple of things with a zucchini that Suzy gave us. Mason wanted to help with the Coconut Pineapple Zucchini muffins (yum), so you can see that it made the task much easier! Meanwhile, Tristyn cooled off by sitting in the fridge.

Later we played hide and seek. Tristyn and I hid in their little tent while Mason buried Dan in the couch cushions. Once it cooled off we finally get them out of the house and went for a walk. They both love to run around in the church parking lot and we've found that it's a great way to tire them out a little! Mason loved checking out the little tractor and big dump truck on the way and they both had fun picking grass and throwing it all over themselves and us. Tristyn's hat must have blocked her vision too much, because she kept putting Mason's hat on instead. She looked like a little gangsta!

Long story short . . . the kids kept us on our feet ALL day, but they were super cute and so fun to play with! We have the cutest little blue-eyed kids ever!

Warning . . . potty talk

I have great news!!! Mason is now potty trained! For several weeks he's gone potty if we bribed him and could catch him at the right time, but he'd never tell us when he needed to go. When I went out of town, my great friend Natalie watched him and she told Dan that he told her 'potty'--but it was too late! That was still great news for us since that's the first time that we know of him telling someone he needed to go! While I was out of town, he told Dan several time he needed to go and even ran out of Sacrament Meeting to go.

When I got home Sunday night he disappeared into our room. Melissa and I were looking at mission photos from my brother Charlie when Mason yelled out, "Dad, I pooped". He went on to yell for 'mom' and when I went in told him how excited I was about the 'one little poop'. He then said 'two poops' and got back on the pot and did his duty again. He got down, counted them, then said 'three poops'. He got back on and went again. He did this again and again until he got up to about ten poops! You can see in the photos where he's counting on his hands and even leaning over the bowl to count them. The tight red face photo is just to have fun with when he gets older!

That wasn't the first time he'd gone poop in the potty, but I think it was the first time he went in on his own and took care of it (other than the wiping and hand washing). He has been doing great all week and other than waking up with a wet pullup on some mornings and a couple of accidents during naptime at daycare, he has been totally dry! I feel like singing Hallelujah . . . it's such a relief! He still wants potty treats most of the time, but I'm more than willing to give them if I don't have to change him! We told him we'd take him back to Lagoon when he uses the potty all the time, so Tilt-a-Whirl, here we come!

Great Big Brother

Mason has been giving Tristyn random hugs and kisses on the head lately. He recently started telling her he loves her when he hugs her. Super cute! He's such a great big brother. Last week they were bored, so I pulled out a couple of bins of toys that were tucked away and they had more fun with the bins that the toys! Since then, though, they've pulled the toys out and played with them almost daily. Too bad it means more toys to pick up about 7 times a day :-).

Away with the Girls

Last weekend I enjoyed a great weekend away with my sisters and other awesome relatives! We planned the getaway mainly to catch up on unfinished scrapbooking projects, but we enjoyed reading, watching chick flicks, eating yummy food, and relaxing by the water. We laughed a lot and managed to finish up a few projects (and start others that we'll have to plan another trip to finish). I love that even though we fought like crazy when we were young, we are all great friends now! I love hanging out with all of them . . . and having a break of kid responsibilities was icing on the cake!



And only one bra ended up on the ceiling fan! Here are the mug shots . . . any ideas who did it?

We missed you Diane . . . hope you can come next time!