Fondue Party

This week I had a group of young ladies over from Plano for a fondue party. It went really well and it was great to catch up with them. Two of these ladies are going to go off to college in June so it was great to see them one more time.

This was the whole gang.



We enjoyed a little bit of Chocolate fondue for dessert. It's a must when doing fondue.



We also dove into some cheese and broth fondue. We had beef, chicken and little cocktail weiners to cook in the broth fondue. There were also some fresh veggies. In our cheese fondue we dipped bread, steamed veggies, cooked potatoes and the cooked meat.





We had so much food left over that my family had this meal the next night. My kids love this meal and so do I because it's interactive and they get excited about it. It's not a fight to get them to eat. YUM-O!!

One More Try

So we finally found out the score to Eric's last test this morning. It wasn't what we wanted to see. He failed by one stinkin point. It's very frustrating and upsetting. We hate that it takes a whole month to find the scores. If he would have known this, he could have been studying this past month. The testing centers have been closed for the month of March and reopen in April and May. It's maddening to me that they only pass the top 1/3 of the people that is testing. I figure if you know it you know and you should pass.

What can we do?

GIVE IT ONE MORE TRY!

Eric, I want you that I love you. I'm proud of you for setting this career oriented goal and for working so hard to achieve it. Don't loose the confidence in yourself. You'll get it. I support you 1000% and I'm right by your side. I love you!

Monkey See Monkey Do!

Mackenna has picked up on riding the bike without training wheels so this has stirred up the desire in Charly to do the same. The below video is a very short one. This was her first day of giving it a try. All the other video that I shot of her riding her bike is of the ground. With how bright it was out I guess I was recording when I thought I wasn't and vice versa.





She is now able to go straight for a longer period of time. She's getting better at turning. She's attempted to start a few times on her own, but still needs practice. We had to stop because Mom's back was getting too tired at bending over. She'll have it down soon. Just needs the practice. I will get more video with more of her practicing.
Everything with this girl is monkey see monkey do. If you know Charly she is our monkey. She's keeps us laughing and she gives the best monkey hugs.

A few weeks ago we took the training wheels off the little bikes so that the girls could give them a try. On a very nice but windy day Mackenna gave it a try and did pretty well at it. Yesterday with the weather being so nice we spent from 2pm to 8pm outside riding bikes. By the end of the evening she was riding all by herself and doing great at it. The video below is a video of her when she started to do it all by herself.



I wish I could say that the afternoon went without any accident, but that's not our luck. Right before we were to come in for the evening Mackenna ran right into the side of neighbors' car with her new "bike riding skills". Eric immediately got upset with her and she ran straight to her room upset. I spoke with her and then we made our way to our neighbors house to tell them. Mackenna was so scared, but so brave to tell the truth. The tiny little bike left a little white mark that wiped off with the finger or towel. The neighbors were so nice about it and very grateful to Mackenna for coming to tell them. Mackenna made an agreement with them that if she wanted to ride her bike and they were parked in the cul-de-sac that she would tell them first so that they could move their car. This was a great lesson for the girls this week since they had just learned about repentance at church on Sunday.
My little Angel is growing toooo fast.

A Weekend Getaway!

This past weekend Eric and I ran off to get some nice quality time together before the fourth baby comes. Eric's mom came in to stay with the kiddos. Eric planned the weekend and set us up in a really nice, quiet bed and breakfast. We spent the days shopping without kids, getting my hair cut, getting massages, taking naps and etc. We spent the evenings eating great food at great restaurants where you can't take kids. We even watched a movie in a theater, which we haven't done in years(that might sound wierd, but it's the truth). It was very nice to sleep in and then get up and just get myself ready for the day. It was also nice to talk to my husband without interruptions and something other than our kids.
We came back to reality Sunday afternoon. We were home waiting for the kids to get home from church. We were very excited to see them and to spend the afternoon with them. We missed them greatly, however loved our time away and will be doing it again.
Below are a few picture of the room that we stayed in. We meant to take a picture of the outside but with it raining ALL weekend we didn't do it. The weather wasn't the best but it didn't stop us from doing what was scheduled and what we wanted to do.

This is me standing in front of the fireplace getting warmed up.



This is the bedroom. The bed is to the left there and they had two chairs to the right. The door to the left of me is the bathroom.


When you first walk into the door you come to this living room. With the rooms being full of antiques it gave Eric an desire to go antique shopping. We stopped at almost store he could find. He found and bought one old copy of the Book of Mormon. There were tons of more stuff he could have bought but there's just not enough money for that.

I came across this quote and it fits me perfectly.

"Some homes try to hide the fact that children shelter there. Ours boasts of it quite openly, the signs are everywhere. For smears are on the windows, Little smudges on the door; I should apologize I guess, For the toys strewn on the floor. But I sat down with the children: We played and laughed and read. And if the doorbell doesn’t shine, their eyes will shine instead. For when at times I’m forced to choose The one job or the other, I want to be a homemaker But first I’ll be a mother." --author unknown

I do love a clean and organized home, however I love the time I spend with my children more. I love the little marks that they leave behind as well. If you came to my house you'll see smudge marks on the glass doors to our office and entertainment center. You'll see hand prints on the back door. I love them there and it takes me weeks to clean them off. I know that the past few posts I have done have all been about being a Mother, but I can't help feel very grateful for this responsibility that I have. It's overwhelming a lot of the times, but the most rewarding thing that I do on a daily basis. I wouldn't trade it for anything.