little bit o' this ... little bit o' that ...

Oh hey ... again!

It has been a crazy busy week ... and I just have to share! First ... well ... I didn't put two and two together that this weekend really was this weekend ... and so I double booked ... actually triple booked ... our family for Sunday! My wonderful, amazing, sweet grandpa (on my daddy's side) is leaving Utah for five months ... yeouch ... but his wife Suzy is from Louisiana ... and I understand the need to go spend the holidays with your fam ... I mean ... I really can't even go three months anymore without seeing my mommy, daddy, and baby brother. But that doesn't mean that we won't miss grandpa ... so my sister was asked to plan a family party! She did ... I said I would go ... but what I didn't realize was that today was the 18th ... I had committed over a month ago to going to my mother-in-laws birthday/Thanksgiving hybrid (they will be leaving the day after Thanksgiving on a cruise ... I know ... I'm jealous too!) ... yea ... not to mention that we planned on having our primary class over earlier that day (I'll explain that later).

That was just our Sunday! The rest of the week was just as hectic. From school to ballet to the library to playing to making decorations ... It felt as if we were constantly going. E went over to grandma's house on Friday for a sleep-over ... R and I thought we were gonna get a super chill night ... which is what we find exciting now-a-days ... what ended up happening was I got food poisoning ... yay ... just what I wanted ... a night full of unappetizing bodily functions ... and so I won't expand on that ... just know it happened ... and it was so bad that I could barely move the next day. But I had to ... we had a practice for the primary program (again ... I'll expand later) ... We were going to hang out with our friends (which we had to cancel because I was just not up to socializing because of how tender my tummy still was) ... we had to go and set up for the party ... and I had to bake ... and bake ... and bake ... for six hours (maybe it would have been better to not cancel with our friends ... that meant I didn't get much sleep last night either ... instead I made cake, mini pumpkin pies, caramel apples, and sugar cookies). Needless to say I am exhausted (blame that if this blog is blah).

Since I did forget about wonderful KaeDawn's birthday ... well ... mistook it for another weekend ... I felt a need to make is up to her ... and so I decorated her house (the kitchen/dining room area)! I think it is worth a look ... and a pin ... because I think it looked great! Wanna see? here (your gonna want me to plan your next party ... I'll do it too ... contact me and I'll do it for free [minus supplies ... but you should know I did all of this for thirty dollars]):

Remembrance tree! We sneaked into their house earlier this week to find these fabulous pictures!

Caramel apples I made as party favors! 

I used the free printable from here for the banner.

kinda a look of the whole thing ... don't hate the picture momma K ... you look FABULOUS

table settings and centerpiece

close-up centerpiece

Centerpiece all lit up!

only shot I got of the food place ... sad day ... it was super whimsical and pretty ... we are going to use those lighted jars for our front door for Christmas decor ... since we aren't decorating the inside this year!

That was the party ... love! Happy birthday pretty mother-in-law! Because you were for my dear wonderful amazing husband was born ... and for that I will always be grateful ... I love you so very very very much and am so blessed to be your daughter in law.

Next ... I really want to talk about is how proud I am of all of my little kiddos! R and I teach the oldest children (aged 9-11 ... we have two 12 year olds because there is no class for them) in primary ... Primary is the Sunday school that we have for children in our church. I am proud of them for multiple reasons ... first we had the primary program today ... what that is is instead of having speakers in sacrament meeting (the first hour of church where we take the sacrament) we have the children up on the stand each saying a part! It is so phenomenal and spiritual ... the kids do great ... E had a part as well ... she did so great!! she was super nervous ... but she still did it ... and I am so proud of her! Our class sat in the front row and I was so amazed at how much of a good example they were for the younger ones behind them ... the were reverent and paid attention ... I always knew they had it in them!

The other reason I am proud of them is because of the good decisions that they make ... R and I are required to go once a month (well ... not required ... just suggested ... it's a goal) to visit all of our kids ... even the ones who are less active. Well ... before we even had our first visit with the kids we were just kinda talking about the less active that are in our class ... there they told us that they wanted to all go as a class to visit them ... well ... can you believe that ... it almost brought me to tears ... these children are so brave and so strong and so spiritual ... I am so grateful for the example they are in my life ... I cannot believe how much they love the gospel and how motivated they are to share it with the world ... to make sure that everyone is together in this! I love it!

And so we did it ... we sent out permission slips and invited the kiddos over to our house right after church ... we walked in the rain ... we crammed into cars ... we visited everyone who wasn't there today ... brought them cookies ... beaming faces shining for every person who opened the door ... sending love and good vibes straight through the entire house ... then we went back to our house ... ate homemade mac&cheese (I should have taken a picture ... it was fantastic ... every kid wanted seconds ... I'll have to give you the recipe) and sugar cookies (another recipe to come). It all may have only lasted an hour, but because of these kids it was one of the best hours I have ever had ... I seriously love them ... I mean ... just look at their cute faces:

serious

funny ... love them!

Last ... but certainly not least ... I did it ... I took the plunge ... I dyed my hair ... dark ... chocolate ...  I have the most fabulous hairdresser ... she helped me make the decision ... not through worlds of pushing ... but words of encouragement ... and she was never without compliment when styling is (remember I am stuck in glasses ... so I could not see the entire hair appointment ... needless to say it was a shock when I was finally able to put my glasses back on) ... I needed it to sit for a couple days ... she how I liked it before I posted pictures ... electronically confirm that I am no longer blonde ... and well ... I must say ... I think I love it ... it is different ... I love being blonde ... but this is great too ... makes my eyes pop ... I don't have a great picture ... but this one will have to do:

I hate my glasses

let me know what you think ... because I love it!

Ok ... I think I am finally done for the night ... I will blog sometime this week about the fit throwing ... I want to get to where E gets a present ... I want to see how that changes things with this final trial ... It is going well though ... be excited for the final wrap!

Have a good night my friends ... it is bedtime for bonzos over here!