That's How We Roll

All business on a Friday night

Tri colored rental shoes

Game faces on

 Throwing fools off with that sweet and innocent look

Warming up with a little bowlers yoga

Keeping loose with a rub down

Fueling up with the dinner of champions

The Frame Slayers 

Challenged the Madres

A little black light action and it was game on!

Master Duck Face and Guy Smiley thought they had this one in the bag

But this my friends, is the look of victory  

Its business as usual on a Friday night 

Thats how we roll 

Miss Clause Came to Town!

You'll be shocked to hear that Brynne had some strong opinions about her costume for her winter dance showcase!

She insisted she wanted an outfit that looked like Mrs. Clause.  She wanted red velvet and white fur.  

I had been to almost every store in town and nothing matched the image in her head.  

 All of the outfits we could find online looked more like something you would find in a Playboy magazine. It was disturbing,  and I was so tired of looking.  

She convinced Jeff to take her out in search of her outfit one last time.  I sent them to the only store I hadn't been to yet and they struck Mrs Clause gold!! 

I found cute fur trimmed socks and a scarf. She insisted on the white ballet slippers instead of black and a sequined santa hat and the ensemble was complete.  

And when it was time to hook up with the girls in her class center stage, she had all the confidence in the world!

She snapped with sass,

proudly pouted,

shimmied with a smile,

raised the roof,

posed pretty,

and stretched those limber little legs!

She latched on to her brothers like a little monkey when she had finished.

And basked in the attention from the older girls.  At one point she had a group of five or six of the girls Garrett's age all surrounding her and she was in heaven!

She and our latest helper Diana had become very close and have the sweetest relationship.  Brynne was probably happiest that she had come to see her.  Brynne had been talking to her all about the outfit and recital for weeks!

And a dance recital wouldn't be the same without a picture of Brynne and her favorite friend in the whole wide world, Clara.

They weren't in the same class this last year and it really had Brynne bummed out. I think Clara must have taught Brynne her dance routine because I saw Brynne doing all the moves along with Clara as she watched from the sidelines.  

What she lacks in size she certainly makes up for in spunk!  I adore my Miss Clause!

Dashed Hopes

I have several posts still to do before I feel caught up. I even have a few in the que almost ready to go, but I decided this one was of the utmost import.  The Hostess union workers had no idea what kind of power they really had.  Not only were they successful in putting thousands out of work and shutting the doors of a huge business, an american institution,  changing the landscape of minimarts across the globe, they have even made the Twinkie a high priced hot commodity on ebay.  As for me, I still have not recovered from the loss.  

The zingers and chocolate cupcakes were always sure to get me through a rough day.  The pies always brought me back to my childhood.  They were good for anytime of the day, I even know people who ate them for breakfast!  But probably the thing I miss the most are those little white powdered donuts...I used to buy them by the bag.  Those babies were a mess, but they practically melted in your mouth!  Imagine the joy I felt on a recent road trip, as I glanced over at the Hostess racks out of habit,  to see that they were actually filled!  Mrs Freshley's has stepped up and is making generic versions of all our Hostess favorites.  I bought my powdered donuts and almost bounced back to my car I was so happy.  Even took the above picture. I was having a moment.  But friends, I'm here to save you from bitter disappointment.  They're nowhere near as good.  Not even half! I'm not even going to try the rest of the line.  Maybe Little Debbies can fill the bill... I wonder how those union members are feeling about all that power now! I hope they're missing their twinkies too!

P is for Party, A is for Alright...

This year I barely squeaked through the Christmas season. Not all of the decor made it out of boxes, no cards went out, and all of the shopping happened the week before.  My annual Christmas party was a no go as well. That is until my sister decided to come to town.  

She insisted I'd feel better if I spent some time with friends.  It didn't matter that it was thrown together at the last minute, or that so many of my favorite people weren't going to be able to make it. The party just needed to happen, and so it did. And whaddaya know, my sister was right!

Just having Tara and Jason back home for a few days put the smile back on my face, and the timing couldn't have been any better!

A night with these lovley ladies was just what I needed to boost my spirits. 

My house was aglow with christmas lights and candles. The smells of warm food fresh out of the oven   lingered in the air.  The buzz of laughter and chatter were all around me.

My heart felt lighter than it had in a couple of months as I was enveloped in that familiar comfort of being with good friends

These friendships are ones that have lasted through the years. Mike and Emily have been friends since before I was married.  

Corey and Kirsten have been in our ward most of my married life except for when we each served in Pioneer Park.

I met Jason when I was 14 and I love that my sister is married to such a fabulous man!

 I met Josh days after he came home from his mission and Tiffany at the end of my senior year in high school.  Jeff and I were married just 3 days after they were.  Chris and I have been friends since Wes was baby.  Having all of these people together for a fun night is always a highlight of my Christmas season, and I was so glad Tara had pushed me to do it.  

I was even more grateful when we started opening the white elephant gifts!  We have been doing this for so many years, (I think this was year 9!) it seems like it gets harder and harder to come up with fresh ideas.  But I think this years gifts may be some of the most creative I have seen yet!  The Remingtons opened a Thug life starter kit complete with wife beater tanks, tattoo sleeve, and a do rag!

Natalie our traveling doll was on Maternity leave last year but was back again with a wee one in tow.  Rod really tried to convince Alison to open another gift but you can see how that worked out, they're hosting Natalie for a second time this year!

About twenty boxes of movie candy were in the New Years Resolution Relief kit

Jason literally had a ball while we shot baskets into his new hoop hat

This white trash gift basket came in a bowl covered in Fruit of the Loom tighty whities and consisted of Mason jar goblets with Kool Aid packets, pork rinds, Slim Jims, and the National Enquirer

Tiffany got a pair of pink flamingo lawn decorations

I opened a set of lovely wood totems adorned with feathers.  

The Soldani's hit the jackpot with a garden gnome that whistles at anything that passes by!  

We laughed til we cried playing Reverse Charades but I still can't figure out how the guys won the game by such a huge margin!  We may need a rematch...

P is for Party and we definitely had one

A is for alright. It may have taken some convincing but I'm grateful for the nudge

R is for ready.  Just goes to show that all you really need to be ready for a good party, are great friends.

T is for tonight.  With just a weeks notice and only a few days before Christmas I somehow pulled it off!

Y is for you cause you know what to do... I guess I did know what to do I just didn't know if I was really up for it.  Thank goodness for little sisters and amazing friends!