Play Ball!

Friday and Saturday we were able to go watch my cousin, Alex play baseball. He is on the BYU team and they played 3 games against UNLV.
It was so great to see a bunch of my family again. They are all so much fun to hang around with :)
Parker had a fabulous time hangin' with Wyatt (of course)

BYU lost the first two games, (but the second was very close going into 11 innings)
The third game they whomped UNLV 19-7! Alex even hit a home run scoring 2 for BYU!
Go Cougars!!

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels

While I was away at Women's Conference Miranda had her first play at Arbor View. They did the musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. I can't tell you how bad I felt about missing it. Thankfully I was able to sneak in to the dress rehearsal earlier in the week to check it out.
Ryan was a dutiful father and took some photo's and videos for me. Unfortunately this is the only photo that wasn't blurry that he took during the play. He did get a wonderful shot of her and her friends after it was over though :)And.... even better.... he was able to video a few of her numbers during the play yeah!!!
Miranda was in the ensemble, so she filled many roles throughout the play.
These videos show just a few of the parts she played... I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
(be sure to pause my play list music before watching the videos)

Oklahoma Dance

Hotel Manager


Alleluia


Sailor


Monkey in a Suit

Women's Conference

I was able to get away with my friend Nicki, and new friend Minette, for a wonderful weekend at Women's Conference. We headed to Salt Lake about 3pm on Weds, Apr. 28th and would you believe when we hit Beaver it started to snow!
It was VERY slow and low visibility so we decided to stop in Fillmore for the night instead of being stressed and tired trying to make it to Salt Lake.
We lucked out with the last room they had. Here is the view from our window ... just look at the snow!
Thankfully the next morning (bright and early) was crystal clear skies and clear sailing on the roads. We were able to make it with time to spare!
The next two days were filled with wonderful speakers that uplifted everyone in attendance.
It was amazing to be in a room filled with so many women who are all striving for the same goal.
Thursday Evening they always have a concert. This year Michael McLean was there
as well as Hilary Weeks.
I just love both of them and enjoyed the concert a ton!
I had a wonderful weekend and I'm thankful that Ryan was able to hold down the fort so I could go "fill my bucket". I can't wait to go again next year!

Sophie Tails...

...Get it?...tails/tales (he he)

So Sophie has been her usual - must get into as much mischief as possible- self.

The other day I was at home and she was quiet... too quiet... hummm

So I looked for her and found that she was perfectly content playing with her new collection of scrapbook items and a golf ball that has seen better days. She is constantly tearing up paper plates, napkins and anything she thinks might make a big mess! (Thankfully she has avoided shoes and other expensive leather items lately)

As you might notice from the photo, it's time for a trip to the groomers, so today I took her to a new place and she looks so cute! I just love it when she goes to the groomers. I just love the bows in her hair, but they don't last very long.

I've decided she is really a tom-boy and prefers the un-lady like activities instead of being the dainty little thing she is....

Oh well, she is still cute & cuddly when she wants to be!

Pretty in Pink

When Miranda told me she needed a light pink cocktail dress for her play... I started the search. I went to 5 different thrift stores looking for the perfect pink party dress (say that 10x fast)
But came up empty handed.
I really didn't want to spend too much money on something she may or may not wear again....so we decided to check at Ross since they are pretty reasonable. After much searching she tried on a couple dresses, but nothing that was perfect... just something to get her by.
As we were leaving the store we both saw this dress at the same time....
It was almost perfect....well, at least it was pink. So she tried it on.
She fell in love with how it fit so I opened my big mouth and said, "I can alter it if you like"
What... really.... did I just say that out loud?

Like I said before, the only positive thing going for it was the light pink color. It would have to be shortened to cocktail length (not too difficult)
It needed some kind of sleeves for modesty and so it didn't fall of when she danced the tango (ummmmm... ok)
and it was a size too small so it didn't zip up all the way in the back.
What was I thinking when I thought I could alter it to work?
I really haven't sewn anything except paper since Miranda was 10. But like they say, it's like riding a bike right?
Since the dress was only $20 I decided it wouldn't be a complete waste of money to at least give it a try.... Oh, and did I mention that we bought the dress on Weds night and she needed it for school the next day? ...nothing like a little motivation

Here is the dress before I started...... Like I said, sleeveless, floor length and pink.
It had a sheer sparkley overlay thing that I thought would look neat flowing like a train once I cut it shorter. Well, at least in my mind it looked cool... so we would see. After having Miranda try it on and I measured and pinned, I first cut and hemmed the skirt and slip, because that was the easy part and I needed to boost my confidence level a bit.
Then I decided to tackle the back. I just folded, pinned and secured the top part of the zipper to make a V-back style. (remember it wouldn't zip up all the way)
Then I moved on to the sleeves.... pinned one in place, had Miranda try it on... whew.. this just might work!
Ok, to make a long story short... here is the finished product
Front.....
and back... I added the bow to cover up the V-back section so Miranda's undershirt wouldn't show.
And guess what... it actually turned out how I pictured it in my head! And Miranda loved the little sheer train in the back! And it didn't fall apart at dress rehearsal!!
Miranda is even thinking of using it for a Halloween costume this year as Glinda (from Wicked)
Whew! Another motherly duty checked off the list for now!
Wonder what will be next?

B-E-A-U-tiful!!

That's what comes to mind when I see this face! She is beautiful both on the outside and the inside. Everyday I look at her in amazement with what she has accomplished in her little life. She has a beautiful smile, beautiful hair, beautiful personality, beautiful voice, beautiful friend, beautiful love for others, and such a beautiful spirit! She is growing up right before my eyes .... (and I don't think I'm really ready for that)
Everyday I look at her in amazement with what she has accomplished in her lifetime.
I love you my beautiful little girl!

I've got the fever

Oh yeah... and I'm not talking about the sick kind of fever...
I have SPRING FEVER!!!!

So usually every spring I go to the nursery and buy tons of flowers to plant in my little flower bed in front of the house. As all of you who live in Vegas know... these flowers usually last a couple months before they look dead and you start over again with fresh flowers.
Well, honestly, I was tired of wasting money and energy on this process so I decided to plant something more permanent in the flower bed.
So first stop... the Nursery!
There were so many beautiful flowers and plants and I truly felt giddy just thinking about the possibilities before me :)
After much debate (in my head) I finally decided on this....and this.....And instead of a pot garden (which we have not had success for the last two years)
I went with this....
Aaaaaahhhhh!
Now I can relax and enjoy the beautiful spring (and hopefully summer) blooms!