layouts

Gabe & Aunt Ashley layout:

Parker Kit
One Photo Wonders (template)

Read layout (products are mostly from):

School Days
A Little Eclectic 5 (template)

CUTE store!

I came across the cutest store today. It has funny things, cute things, and things that made me smile.

Check out the list for some of my favorites:
http://www.spoonsisters.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=OTWISH&Store_Code=100&CustomerID=44993&LP=510j3QX4Xc&Category_Code=1009100

(digital scrapbooking links)

Sorry I didn't post this with the layout last night. Here are the digital scrapbooking credits:

Kit - Wildflower @ www.littledreamer.com



Template - {Still} Mixin it up - by ChrissyW @ Elemental Scraps (I moved it around a little bit)

The day in Panguitch

We had a really fun day yesterday on a great Ranger ride. (Have I mentioned here that Cory recently bought a new Ranger? I'll need to post some pictures of it soon....) We went up to Panguitch and rode to Peterson Point - about a 3 hour ride. It was fun to see new rock formations, some great GREEN rocks, and just fun scenery!

The whole thing was great until the last 20 minutes when it started to rain. No - I take that back - it started to POUR. The poor boys were drenched, we could barely see the trail, and I felt so bad for the kids! We ended up stopping at a house that was under construction and I waited in the (unfinished) garage with the boys while Cory went and got the car. (Thanks to the family who let us crash there!) The boys were asleep when the rain got bad and poor Gabe woke up saying, "Mommy - the rain is slapping my face!" But they both handled it really well for the circumstances.

Afterwards we had fun getting together with some friends up in Panguitch, ate dinner, and headed home. It was just a fun day - even with the rain. When we were driving home I said, "So - who had fun today?" Gabe and Cory yelled out "ME! ME!" and then Hunter cried out "YAY!" It was the cutest response, and really just felt like we had all had a great time.

And this layout is of my fancy new shirt from the day :)

Gabe-isms

• Gabe & Hunter were wrestling and climbing all over each other (a daily occurrence lately!). Hunter had Gabe pinned down and was sitting on Gabe's head. Gabe said (in a muffled voice, as he was being sat on), "Uh Hunter - I think you are stinky. Yup - you're VERY stinky - you need a new diaper!" (this was hilarious to hear as Hunter was sitting on poor Gabe)
• A couple of weeks ago when I took Gabe up to spend time with his cousins and Grandparents we were driving past the Mt. Timpanogos temple. When we pass temples I like to sing, "I Love to See the Temple". Gabe isn't huge on singing, but if he's prompted he'll fill in the blanks. So I sang part of the song, "I love to see the temple. I'll......go......" (waiting for him to respond). He responded exuberantly with, "Go on vacation with my daddy!"
• We were driving home the other night and I was complaining to Cory about being invited to so many shop-at-home parties (you know - jewelry, pampered chef, Scentsy, etc.) and feeling pressured to buy stuff - even if the hostess isn't pushing. Anyway Gabe yelled from the back, "Mom - don't talk like that!" I asked him - "like what?" He said, "Like you're frustrated! You're talking louder."
• Today at lunch Gabe made a HUGE mess with his lunch. I came into the kitchen and said, "Ugh Gabe! You made a huge mess." He replied, "Mom - it's not a mess, it's a party. And when a party is fun - it makes a mess. This is a REALLY fun party - not a REALLY big mess!"
• We were talking a few weeks ago about what we wanted to be when we grew up. I asked Gabe what he wanted to be and he said, "An outerspace guy." I asked what Dad should be and he said, "An outerspace guy too." I asked if I could be an outerspace guy too. He said, "No, somebody has to stay and feed Hunter. And somebody has to be the counter and say - BLAST OFF!"

Cute free kit

Just thought I'd point out to you digital scrapbooking fans this cute FREE kit I found earlier today. So cute!

What do you remember about me?

I saw this on several blogs this week, and I thought it looked like fun. So I'm joining in (or copying - however you want to look at it.)

1. As a comment on my blog, leave a memory that you and I have together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, anything you remember! (You can play this even if we're just blog friends... something that you remember from the blog)

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see what memories people have of you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses.

So PLEASE post something - I don't want to look like a total looser who no one has memories of :)

Tuesday's Ten

• I went to this movie last night. LOVED it! I laughed so hard - and it was (generally) very clean humor. Not something you find all the time now-days. I loved how funny Steve Carrel was - he cracked me up!

• When I was walking into the movie theater I felt water running down my leg. I realized that my large (32 oz) water bottle was leaking in my purse, and pouring out the bottom. So I trailed a stream of water into the theater and soaked myself. Slightly embarrassing - drip....drip.....drip.
• When we met up with Gabe at the family reunion this weekend (he'd been at my mother-in-law's house for the previous week with his cousins) I asked him what he missed the most. He came over to me, grabbed my cheeks and said, "Oh Mom - the kisses!" and gave me a great big kiss. (ahhh....my melting heart)
• We did a little skit at our family reunion about some of our ancestors. There was this cute little cowboy/western outfit that was just about Gabe's size - so he was assigned to be Brigham Young in our skit. He went on stage and said, "This is the place." The next day he wanted to play this little trivia game (which was too old for him, but he was insistent). I asked him some questions about the great state of Utah - trying to prove my point that the game was too old for him. One of the questions was something to the effect of, "Which Mormon leader came to Utah in 1847 and said, "This is the place." Gabe looked at me with all seriousness and said, "I did Mom. That's what I said. See - I know these answers!" I guess he was right...he was Brigham Young.

• Hunter was fussing and crying when we were camping this weekend. Gabe came up to us and said, "Oh Hunter - what are you whining about now?"
  
• Today Gabe went to play at some friend's house while I ran a couple of errands. I asked him if he played with their new kitties. He said, "Oh mom I didn't. They just made me too nervous."
  
• It is funny how many new babies have been born in Cory's family this past year. At the reunion alone there were 8 at the reunion this past weekend - and there were quite a few more that didn't make it.

• I found this sunscreen recently and I am in love with it! I generally hate sunscreen because of the yucky smell - but with this stuff it smells like you're wearing some yummy lotion from bath and body works or something like it. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find it anywhere else in town - so I'm going to need to order some on-line as ours is almost gone.

• Have you tried these? Yummy! I have only tried the molten chocolate cake and the hot fudge brownie - but I LOVE the hot fudge brownie! Especially smothered in whip-cream!

• And if you have time for the real-deal - you can make your own from scratch. I don't know if I've shared this recipe on here before - but it's one of my all-time favorites. We're having dinner at some friends house tonight and I'm bringing dessert, so I am going to make this:

Hot Fudge Pudding Cake (aka – Brown Betty's Armpit)

• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 3 Tbsp cocoa
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup milk
• 1/3 cup butter melted
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla
• ½ cup sugar
• 4 Tbsp cocoa
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 ¼ cup hot water

Heat oven to 350. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Stir in milk, butter and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Pour into a 9 inch square baking pan. Stir together remaining sugar, brown sugar, and cocoa. Sprinkle on top over batter. Pour hot water on top. DO NOT STIR. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes. Garnish with whipped cream, walnuts, or vanilla ice cream.

Family Reunion

We spent this past weekend with the Ellis Family for our yearly family reunion. It was held in the mountains around Preston, Idaho (Franklin Basin to be exact) - which I have decided is possibly the most beautiful place on earth.

Hunter and I slept back at my in-law's house at night because he had been having teething issues, and I didn't think camping with him would go over terribly well. Gabe and Cory did campout though - and enjoyed it. We also got to enjoy the trails around the area and do some Ranger rides on our new Ranger (Cory sold our red ranger, and bought a new one last week - it's orange and pretty cool.)

The scenery was great, the weather was almost perfect, and the company fantastic.

This weekend I felt an overwhelming gratitude to be a part of the Ellis Family. Truly - marrying into this family was one of the best decisions I have ever made. Grandma and Grandpa Ellis are seriously some of the best people I know on this earth. Loving, non-judgmental, kind, close to the Lord, all around awesome people. I really think that people from Idaho are just that way (in general) - they are just down-home, good people.

So thank you Kim and Tammy for putting on such an awesome reunion (Cory's parents were in charge this year). Thank you to all of the family members who traveled to attend the reunion. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Ellis for raising awesome children who have also raised pretty stellar kids. I hope and pray that Cory and I can carry on the legacy of the Ellis family and raise upstanding children who are strong in the gospel and who honor and value family.

Ten for Tuesday

1. Poor little Hunter...he woke up yesterday with a fever of 102.7 and hasn't felt great since then. I've kept him taking baby Tylenol and baby Ibproufen, and it helps - but he's still just uncomfortable. I think it might be teeth, but I've said that before and been wrong....any teething advice? It looks like up to as many as 6 teeth could be trying to pop through, but who knows... (edited to add - he seems pretty happy after his nap and not quite as warm. Hope that's a good sign!)
   
2. When Cory bought all that stuff from his friend (see this post) one of the things was an Intelligel Bed. I was hesitant at first, but it's very comfortable and kind of bouncy. If you like SOFT beds, this is awesome. If you're more used to a hard bed it would take some getting used to. So far, so good. Cory loves it because it's the California King and now his feet don't fall off the end.
   
3. Hmmm.....yummy smells....ahhhh......I LOVE a good smelling house! Whether it's a candle, smelling good from cooking brownies, or the smell of a clean floor or bathroom - smell is what it's all about. That's why I'm super excited that I spent some of my birthday money on some new Scentsy goodies. I know about 100 people who are consultants, so I haven't ordered since my initial order for fear of hurting someone's feelings. But I bit the bullet and ordered from my SIL Ashley (because she's family right?).
   
4. Gabe is still at Grandma's house...I'm glad he's having fun, and I've been grateful for the "potty training" vacation I've gotten - but I miss the little bugger. Can't wait to see him soon and smother him in kisses!
   
5. Hunter has been saying his own version of Dad and Gabe. SO cute! And he's tried saying duck - and quack. I think he likes not having someone to talk for him all the time.... :)
   
6. Last week when I took Gabe up to spend time with his cousins I got to go to lunch with one of my favorite people - Jessica. We had lunch at my new favorite restaurant - Rumbi Island Grill. WOW! They have the most amazing salads and I can't wait to go back soon to try more (although mine was so great that I'm not sure I want to mess with perfection....)
   
7. We just got the information about our trip to Hawaii that we earned from one of our suppliers. I can hardly wait! The last 2 times we went to Hawaii included newborn babies, so we're psyched to be leaving them on the 'mainland' and having a bit of a honeymoon together. Check out the hotel we get to stay at!
   
8. Speaking of our trip to Hawaii. Check out the one main thing we are excited to go do - a powered parachute ride!. We saw it on the travel channel a few years ago and can't wait to try it ourselves!
   

   

9. Just picked these up for my kitchen from http://www.pamperedchef.com/ - on clearance. My kitchen is Americana and I thought these were perfect when I saw them at our friends over the 4th of July.
   
   
10. I found this blog today - "Seriously, so blessed" and it cracked me up! So often we blog just about all the great stuff in life. Read this blog - it's bound to give you a few chuckles. (it's a joke - so read it as such)