yarntastic! Wha!?!

My sister Liz is SO creative!

She can teach herself how to do ANYTHING!

To start out with she (and her husband) created 4 beautiful children! 

They are spunky, and fun and kind kids!

Allynn is SO helpful (the second mother) and smart.

Sydney is whimsical and so happy and friendly and cuddly.

Austin is handsome and knows what he wants.

Kelsey is most of the spunk and has a great imagination.

I love her kids!

Next, Liz has always been amazing at figuring out the computer...

When we were kids, my parents got a computer for the office at the motel. 

She schooled on LoadRunner!

For all I know she taught my parents how to run that computer and make the motel more efficient!

She also taught herself how to use an editing/graphic design software and has been a master at it for YEARS!

She made my wedding announcement, which I loved!

What a great talent to contribute to a family wedding!

Announcements can be so pricey.

She made an awesome visual aid of The Plan of Salvation for me.

I have been using it to teach at church for years! 

It is up in our primary room right now and will be all year!

She is a great cook! 

She makes delicious homemade bread!

The BEST homemade Macaroni & Cheese (I WANT some right now!)

She makes the BEST Chinese food dinner complete with homemade spring rolls, crab rangu, and fried rice!
(I WANT some of that too!)

She has moved a lot. Not a TON, but a lot.

I think that takes creativity!

All the logistics, packing, what to pack, how to pack, how to move, where to move, how to get the kids to help, how to get the husband to help, etc. etc. etc. 

She is in the midst of it right now! 

It's stressing her out but I KNOW she can do it!

She makes beautiful and cute and adorable homemade cards!

Sometimes all of those attributes are in the same card, sometimes they are in individual cards. 

They are ALL impressive!

I think it's been the past year or so that she has really gotten into crocheting. 

She is so good! 

I would venture to say that she creates things that are "yarntastic!"

here are just a few!

Remember this sweater?

Liz made Marley an adorable sweater and matching mittens for Christmas.
Julie (my other sister) made the hat and scarf.
They all matched.
I was SO jealous.... especially of the sweater.
It is seriously, so cute!

These cute slippers!
(Liz they are too small now...hint....hint.)

And flowers for hats and barrettes.

So, this post idea started out as just a chance to laugh at JoAnn's ridiculous yarn ad.
Did you see it?

Somebody crocheted or knitted this beach cruiser a sweater....a full body AND seat sweater!
I'm thinking this bicycle sweater is more yarndiculous!

 However ridiculous the creativity behind it got me thinking about Liz.
She could and probably would make a yarntastic bike cover for someone if they wanted it (Julie?!?!)
and then I pondered on Liz's amazing ability to learn and create. 

Liz thanks for being a good example to me. 

I love you and I love all the things you create.

Within The Last 12 Hours

Last night Marley was having growing pains in her leg. 

She woke up crying a couple of times. 

Our first defense is a leg massage by Madame Mother Masseuse. 

Our second defense is another message and an ace bandage. 

Sometimes that does the trick.

Last night we got to DEFCON 3 and dosed her with Children's Tylenol. 

After the meds were given and two little medicine cups of water were supped, I tucked my little Punkie into bed and we echoed I love you's, back and forth, until I made it to the door and wedged it into it's frame.

Hoping to leave it there til morning. 

Fifteen minutes later I hear whimpering again. 

I return to the messy room, strewn with books. 

Not sure what else to do for her.

"Mom, I need you to sing me a Lolabye." 

(that's what we call nice soft songs, good for sleeping, since her cousin Lola was born)

"Okay, but just one. It's the middle of the night and I'm so tired and need sleep...and so do you. Which one do you want?" 

"I'm Trying To Be Like Jesus."

Kissed her and tucked the covers around her chin and as I snuck out, thinking she was asleep, she said,

"Mom, I'm pretending I'm at a Princess Motel."

Me big smile: "Okay, goodnight. Sweet dreams."

After that, we both slept like babies.

*********

Princess Motel Imaginings carried over to this morning. 

Marley informed me that it is her birthday and she was having a Princess picnic and she needed to make a Princess cake in her kitchen. 

She kept asking me "which ingredient is next? and "how much?" to put in. 

I made things up. 

1 tsp. baking powder

2 C. flour

7 C. sugar

2 Tbsp. vinegar

When I ran out of "real" ingredients and the cake wasn't "done" yet, I came up with two more....

you need to add some PURPLE! (her favorite color)

and some pixie dust!

(disappointed) "I am all out of pixie dust!"

"Just go get some from Tinker Bell!"

Marley ran into the dinning room and knelt down by the wall.
(whispered in a hi-pitched, not so quite whisper)

"Tinker Bell, it's my Princess birthday and I need some pixie dust for my Princess cake."

Ran back to her kitchen with two heaping handfuls of pixie dust!

"Tinker Bell lives in our house, over there!"

{wish I got a picture of her cooking and inquiring with her apron on. i was too lazy. sorry.}

Princess Birthday Picnic followed. 

"Everyone needs to skooch because it's my birthday." 

 Lots of moving and pouring and dishing up.

Lots of "Thank you!" every time she dishes a guest up with some food.

Marley always does both sides of the conversation when she has "guests." 

It is SO entertaining!

 Lots of guests.

 And again, lots of moving and pouring.

 The hostess finally gets to enjoy her picnic.

"All of my friends and my kids and my cousins are going to be take a bath together at the Princess Motel. After our Princess picnic."

She sang happy birthday to KennaSara which is her chosen alter-ego. 

It was a solo, though I'm sure lots of friends, kids and cousins were singing too. 

The picnic was perfect.

And.

The bathtub sounded crowded.

********

~side~note~

Marley inevitably has to go to the bathroom during every meal. 

This morning after starting her oat meal, she jumped from her chair and headed upstairs. 

When she got back:

"Mom, when I was going peepee I tooted and it sounded like a honk from a bus or a car!"

Me: laugh, "Oh yea? It sounded funny?"

Marley: (flabbergasted tone) "Yea like my bum honked!"

Oh the things we talk about at breakfast.

*********

This is what the royal kitchen looked like when she got done with the picnic. 

 Note her baby doll is in a car seat AND a stroller.

Safety first here!

What a fun disaster. 

This one......Not so much.

I better getting going on that weekend neglected kitchen.

pictures from my phone

Love it when my baby falls asleep in the car. 

Well, sometimes.

 my short hair. 

 it is no more....no likey....so much.

Below is at Home Depot in Richfield, UT

Marley is not yet 3 in this picture.....but, she's almost 4 and still loves to sit in the baby seats in the Walnast carts.

My friend Kathy. I worked with her at the orthodontist's office in Richfield. 

 My friend Kambri. She did chair side at the orthodontists'. 

She was Pebbles and her husband was Bambam for Halloween. 

 Below:  My niece Allynn!  She is growing SO fast! 

She is 14 now!

She can go to dances!

Less than two years and she can date!

TIME STOP!!!

 Cute Sydney. I think she took most of these pictures or Allynn's band concert.

 I took this one of Syd and Julie.

 My mommy! 

I miss her!

 Marley LOVES this picture of Sydney. 

Makes her laugh, hysterically.

 Pepper Belly's in Richfield.

 Cute and I thought the food was GOOD!

Look at that face! 

Love those brown eyes.

 One time we went out for sushi with Sam.

 mmmmm.....we love sushi!

 Sam REALLY loves sushi.

Every time he gets to go he tried to break his personal record for how many rolls he ate last time.

 Weirdos hiding in the bushes.

 Tea party with Kelsey in IKEA!

 So fun!

 Marley's fake first hair cut. 

I got my hair cut by my sister-in-law Whitney.

Then Marley wanted her hair cut but, I wasn't ready for her to get her hair cut yet.

So Whitney kindly, pretended.

 Serious business.

More phone pictures to come. Someday.

Taggle Laggle Doodle All The Day...

I don't usually do tags on my blog. 

Some are WAY too long.
I tend to get long winded and make them longer than they need to be. 

I like to blog about whatever I want, whenever I want.
It feels like homework.

I have a hard time doing things in a timely manor...on my blog.

These are all my reasons for not doing tags. 

But....

I'm making an exception for my friend Shauna at Klippel's Rugrats and Hooligans. 

She tagged me and THEN left a comment asking me to do the tag. 

This is for you Shauna. ;-)

1.  I was born in Utah. Moved to West Yellowstone, MT when I was 4. Lived through the Yellowstone fires of '88. Moved to San Jose, CA when I was 11-ish and then lived through the Loma Prieta earthquake of '89. Our family knows the meaning of Shake and Bake (that's my dad's joke...good one, huh?). Finished elementary, jr. high and high school in San Jo.


2.  I have a fake tooth right in the front of my mouth. It's a long story.  It is an implant now, so it no longer comes out but, nonetheless it is still fake. (I think I've blogged the whole story? I think.)

3.  Went to West Valley Community College, Utah Valley State College (now UVU), and BYU evening classes and then finally BYU regular classes. Proud to say I graduated from BYU with a BA in Audiology and Speech Language Pathology (now called Communication Disorders).


4.  I did an internship at Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL for one semester.  It was SO fun! 


5.  I served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Montana Billings Mission. 

6. I love to travel. I saved all the money I could while going to BYU and one year went to Hawaii for 3 weeks. Spent quality time with beautiful beaches, the ocean, fresh pineapple, two of my best friends growing up (who married each other) and my bestie cousin Amy. I fell in love with snorkeling. It was WONDERFUL. Someday I want to take Nathan there.

7. I toured Japan with my parents and my brother. It was AWESOME! I would LOVE to go back...but then Peter has to come cuz I know only a few things in Japanese. Loved the food, the trains, the landscape, the cities, the people....everything! Not the bathrooms....you have to cop a squat in many of them. 

8. I hiked all the way up Mt. Fuji. So hard. So worth it. 

9. I met my husband at church in a singles ward. I got to know him through Institute. I love him SO SO SO SO SO SO  SO SO SO SO SO SOSO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO 
much. I am SO glad he asked me out.  And then asked me to marry him! So glad!


10.  I have two older sisters and one younger brother. My parents have been married for 38 years....39 in June! What great examples. 

11. I have one little girly and we're expecting another in mid April!  So excited!


Shauna's Questions to me:



1.  What is your favorite meal to cook?
I don't really like to cook. I know, what kind of woman am I? I take that back...at this point in my life I don't really like to cook. I'm easily disappointed and discouraged when things don't turn out right. I have a hard time following recipes if they aren't laid out perfectly. I like the ingredient lists' order to match the order in which you should put the ingredients together...not always the case. With children and other interests it's easy to biff things up in the kitchen. So the easiest things are my favorite. This is also a hard question when you are pregnant...at least for me. 

2. What world leader inspires you (dead or alive)?
  Eek! I don't know.


3. If you could have lived in any other era which would it have been?  
THIS is my era. 


4. How would you describe yourself in four words?
Sensitive. Generous. Lazy. Happy.

5. Do you wear makeup every day?
Well.......I used to. Without fail I would ALWAYS put on mascara because I have blond eyelashes and my face is washed out and sickly without the depth mascara offers.  Since moving to the U.P. I have gotten lazy in this.  Mostly because I only see about three people a day and that's including myself. Not worth the time or the money for three people who already know what I look like without make up. Plus, I found this Pined on pinterest (sorry I don't know it's origin) and thought it VERY true. 

With that said, I'm sure once I live in a a more populated area again, I will be more faithful with the mascara.

6. What are you passionate about?
This is a funny/hard question for me. I've never really felt like/noticed I was passionate about anything.  Passionate is a word I don't usually use because I guess I tend to take interest in things rather than be passionate about them.  With that in mind, looking back on life...


I was passionate about being friendly when I was a child. I hated seeing other kids left out, lonely or picked on. I tried to be friends with everyone. Since high school, this has floated in and out of my life. (unfortunately)


I was passionate about learning while I was in college. I was DETERMINED to graduate. I've never thought I was especially smart or talented in school. So, I think college became something for me to prove....not to anyone else, but to prove to myself that I was smart. The motto of BYU is "enter to learn go forth to serve"....I wish I was more passionate about that. 


For a time I was passionate about organizing. I've always liked to stack things and tidy things and put things in their place and I even used to love cleaning (still do, but need to be in the mood). For a whole year I learned everything I could about organization and I still am interested when the time is right. I have a hard time letting things go though. Not as hard as some....not as easy as others. 


Right now I am passionate about my family. I love my husband and daughter and little figgy pudding. I love serving them and having fun with them. I love that I am staying home to manage our home and family. Nathan is the boss but he definitely lets me think I'm the boss sometimes. I love to support Nathan in his aspirations, hobbies and interests. I love to see him be successful and be a part of that success. I love that he supports me in all I do and even try to do. When I am not successful or get discouraged he is so encouraging and understand. 


ANYWAY!


7. What is your middle name?
My middle name is Allyn, pronounced like Alan, after my Grandpa Alan Busath. I didn't like it when I was a kid but I grew to love it. My niece's name is Allynn....not after me....but maybe after my Grandpa? Don't know but my sister liked. 

8. What do you love about being a woman?
Being a mom. And being Nathan's wife.


9. Fiction or Non Fiction?
Both.

10. What is your favorite game to play? (board game, cards, etc.)
I used to LOVE Cranium. We have a Pirates of Caribbean game that I really enjoy. I love and have loved for quite sometime, Which Would You Rather. 


11. Who have you been told you look like?  
Nicole Kidman (mostly in high school, I never thought so) and Neil Patrick Harris (HA! whatev.)
My Questions to you: 

1. What is the funniest joke you know?


2. Who is your favorite Disney Princess?


3. If you had the money and time, would you come visit me in Michigan? Honestly. 


4. If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go, who would go with you and how long would you like to stay?


5. What piece of furniture in your house is your favorite or that you are most happy with? (picture?)


6. What is your favorite season? Why?


7. If you could pick any calling in the church, what would you choose? (not aspire to, choose)


8. Do you believe there is one right person for us to marry (promises in heaven and such) or do you think that any two people willing to put forth the effort could make any marriage work? 


9. What is included in your vision of "The Perfect Day?"


10. Which would you rather, sweat moderately but constantly 24 hours a day all over your body or have a metal pin in your jaw that constantly picks up talk radio stations? 


11. If you could get your hair to look anyway you wanted, style, color, length, etc. what would it look like? (picture?)


These are the people I tag: (I enjoy reading tags but I feel bad tagging people, because I don't like doing them....so here goes.)

Julie at The Orange Oracle, my sister
Kathy at What's For Dinner???, my aunt
Natasha at Today's Gift, a mission companion and dear friend
Amy - my cousin (but her blog is private, sorry)
Shauna at Klippel's Rugrats and Hooligans (you only have to answer the 11 questions I came up with...I'd like to know!)
Elizabeth at Wells, my sister
Whitney at Pete & Whit, my sister in law
Elizabeth at Pack of Pillings, a dear friend from girl's camp and high school
Alicyn at Studyvin Sayings, my aunt
I wish my mom had a blog. 


Rules For Bloggers: (you must repost these) Obviously rules can be broken.  I only listed nine blogs.


1. Post these rules.
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself.
3. Answer the questions the tagger set for you in their post.
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
5. Go to their blog and tell them that you’ve tagged them.
6. No stuff in the tagging section about ‘you are tagged if you are reading this.’ blah blah blah, you legitimately have to tag 11 people.