HAPPY THANKSGIVING

a little late! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I did! I was so fun. We spent the afternoon and my brother's house. It was quiet and peaceful!

The sisters spent the post thanksgiving dinner hours planning our shopping for the next day! Well, come to find out, AZ Mills was going to be open at 12 midnight. Hmmmm, shopping all night???? Well, it sounded like a good idea. Go shopping, finish shopping by say, 10 am. Sleep for a few hours! No big deal, right? WRONG!

First off, EVERYONE in the state of Arizona decided to shop at AZ Mills. I'm not exaggerating! We left our house at 11:30. We did not get to the parking lot until 1:00. There was so much traffic on the freeway off ramps that we were moving like snails. (think coming home on the 4th of July from up north.) When we got to the parking lot there were NO parking spaces. Every time someone would come out of the mall towards their cars six vehicles would come out of nowhere all trying to get the space! It was insane. To top is off we were in a HUGE SUV! (should have brought a toyota!) We finally scored a parking spot just before 2:00 am and were entering the mall shortly thereafter!

The mall was a madhouse! If you have ever been to Disneyland on an especially busy day. This would have been worse! It was very disappointing! And an experience that I will not repeat! The highlight of the evening was being with my sister and my daughter! Now that was fun! We laughed and made fun of ourselves until we cried we were laughing so hard!

After surviving that experience we decided to head to Kohl's. Hillary and I parted ways with Cindi so she could join up with her hubby, who apparently likes to shop with his wife! Kohl's was a great experience! We did enjoy a disneyland type line, but that's ok 'cause Target wasn't open yet! We got to Target just after we they opened, which was the plan, and purchased the items we needed. By 8:00am I was fading fast! But not Hillary! Oh to be young again! She wanted to go to Michael's! So I drove her there. She also wanted to go to about 3 other stores! My body was willing, but my eyes were not! They were having a hard time staying open! By now, I had been awake for 24 hours and I didn't have it in me to stay awake much longer! I waited in the car while she went in Michael's. I thought I could take a cat nap and maybe feel rejuvenated! But that didn't happen!

We drove home. I crashed, almost before my head hit the pillow. Hillary took Heather and went to finish her shopping! She's such a die hard! I slept so good! (despite a few interruptions!) When Hillary came home she laid down on my bed and that woke me up! It was about 12:30. So I decided to get up and shower - thinking maybe I would go out again and finish up! But, that didn't happen! And I'm perfectly fine with that! There is alway next week to finish up, and I really don't have much more to do!

All in all it was a pretty successful day! But I did learn - staying up all night to shop really wasn't worth it! So, next year I'm back to my traditional shopping experience!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We had our 2nd Thanksgiving that evening with the Durfee's! It was fun visiting and seeing everyone. Like I said before! I love Thanksgiving! Now it's on to the next fun holiday! CHRISTMAS! I guess I just love holidays!

Mmmm, It Smells SO Good!

I LOVE Thanksgiving! All the yummy food and family! Today is baking day! (Also known as the day before Thanksgiving!) I've started my pumpkin pies and they are in the oven baking! I have a few more pies to go and LOTS of rolls to make! I have to get all the baking done so the turkey can cook tomorrow! How fun is that!

I will probably be making rolls most of the day... that means SCONES for dinner! YUM -O! I've been tempting my family all week with thoughts of those hot scones coming out of the fryer!

This is definitely one of my favorite day of the year! And to top it off, It's RAINING! Love, love love it!

It's Finally Here!

Today is the day I've been waiting for! It's chilly, cloudy and looks like RAIN! Can you believe it? Finally, a fall day! It feels good enough to set up the Hot Cocoa Station! Every year I set up this cute hot cocoa/apple cider bar that is nothing short of yummy! It usually comes out when I decorate for Christmas! But my kids have been asking me for it for two weeks now! I keep telling them it's TOO HOT! But I'm going to surprise them today and set it up for when they come home! How fun! Bring on the cold weather! I am ready!


















Everything you need to make a yummy cup of hot cocoa - peppermint sticks, hershey kisses, marshmallows and chocolate sprinkles!

If you choose apple cider - don't forget to add the red hot candies! YUM! And eat a yummy butter cookie for a sweet treat!

For the weight watchers there's herbal tea! Come on over and have a chat and a cup of warm yummyness!

Home Away From Home Daycare

That's what I've decided to call my daycare services! And YES! I'm going to start doing day care out of my home! Just a few kids! So if you know anyone who needs babysitting services send them my way!

I've got to get some "grandchildren" some way! And it will help us make those financial ends meet!

Today it's YOUR Birthday!

(Vaughan's Birthday last year!)

So today is my honey's birthday! Vaughan turned 47 years old! (He's older than me for 9 whole months!) I thought I would post a few of the things that I love about Vaughan! Not in any particular order! (I'd do 47, but I don't think I can stay awake that long!)

1. Vaughan is the most amazing father! I often hear "poor Vaughan - all girls!" But I know Vaughan has never felt that way! I don't know a more perfect man to have all girls! He is so patient and sensitive to their *ways*!

2. PATIENT. Need I say more?

3. Kind. I don't think there is a mean bone in his body! He does like to tease, but it is never done with unkindness.

4. Sense of humor. Ok - so I think his *jokes* are pretty ha ha funny (sarcasm in the ha ha funny), but he is pretty good at telling them! His ability to quote funny movie lines is hillarious!

5. Beautiful voice! I love to hear Vaughan sing! When we were first married I used to ask him to sing to me whenever I couldn't sleep!

6. I love how Vaughan honors his priesthood. He serves whenever he is asked - willingly. I don't think I've ever heard him complain.

7. Smart! (I was going to say intelligent, but I wasn't sure if I could spell it! :)) What would we do without a smart Dad? He helps the girls with their homework almost every night. Sometimes there is a line up - Heather with college math, Heidi with chemistry, spanish and algebra, Holli with history, math and science and Hope - yes, even Hope won't let me help with her 4th grade work. (Look - I graduated from HS. I got pretty good grades too! I can read!)

8. He puts his family first! I know we are number 1 on his list! Not that other things don't have to come first sometimes, but even when they do, I know he would rather be with us!

9. Date night! We have had a date night once a week since we got married! Vaughan makes this a priority! I love knowing that I will have at least one night a week that we can talk and just spend time together. This saved me when Vaughan was going to school! I used to live for Friday nights!

10. Hard worker. I know - no matter what comes - Vaughan will always provide for us! He works hard to provide our family with all that we need - both spiritually and physically!

11. Spiritual Giant. Vaughan is constantly studying and learning. He reads books that are to heavy for me to pick up let alone read! I love learning from him. I love having him explain things to me and helping me understand what I'm reading in the scriptures or studying.

12. Which brings me to the next one - Amazing Teacher. He is such a good teacher. This is probably what makes him good at helping the girls with their homework. He has even helped tutor a couple of his nephews in math. He can pretty much teach anything. If you want to know something in the scriptures... ask Vaughan, if you need help with your outdoor cooking skills... ask Vaughan. About the only thing I wouldn't ask him is measurements of cooking. Like, "honey, how many cups are in a quart?" I do remember asking that question and having a cooking fiasco! I solved that problem! I made a chart, so I just refer to that now to jog my memory! Hey, you can't be perfect at everything!

There are so many things I could say that I love about Vaughan! But mostly I just love him! So Happy Birthday honey! You are the best! Thanks for the best 25 years of my life and for being my one and only!

Baby Shower Fun!

For Young Women's tonight we held a baby shower for "Mother's In Need". Each of the YW brought a shower gift (which they signed up for). Most of them only cost $1 up to $6.00. They put together these *gift bags* with gifts in them. Each gift bag had a fleece blanket, onesie, hat, pair of socks, 5 - size 1 diapers, a small toy, bib and outfit or pajamas. They made a cute gift tag congratulating each of the new mothers on their new baby. We then played traditional baby shower games and ate yummy cake! The cakes were so cute! They were in the shape of onesies! A cute blue one and a cute pink one!

What a neat service project and fun evening! Thanks Cyndi & Jamie for a job well done! We need to repeat this one for sure! I hope the girls had as much fun as I did!

Coupons = Savings!

Who says using coupons doesn't pay off? Many of you probably know that I have been a subscriber to Coupon Sense for 7 years now. For those that do not know what Coupon Sense is, it is an online subscription service that tracks the coupons that are in the AZ Republic and they also track what is on sale at 8 stores here in the valley! The way to save money using coupons is to use a coupon when the item is on sale! Whala! Savings! Anyway, I've been a *user* for 7+ years and an instructor for 6+ years! (instructor: one who teaches people how to use the Coupon Sense program!) OK - this post is SO NOT meant to be an advertisement! (But if you want to know more... I'm your gal! :) )

The grocery stores around here have been having the BEST sales lately! Of course this is the BEST time to shop and stock up for you pantry. I usually do most of my shopping in the months of October and November. It's when I stock up on things like flour, sugar (white, brown and powdered), chocolate chips, veggies, fruit, pumpkin, canned milk, tomatoes, tomato sauce, soups, oatmeal, oil, and many other items! If I work it right I won't have to buy most of these things until next year!

So Fry's is having a MEGA EVENT - buy 10 participating items get $5 off at check out! It is an amazing sale with many items! If you have coupons, it gets even better! So please indulge me and check out these pictures! On Friday, when I was suppose to be cleaning my house - getting ready for a family get-together at my house on Saturday - I went to Fry's - 3 times! It was SO fun! My first order cost me $1.98 - I bought 30 items. My second order cost me $8.88 - I bought 34 items. My third order cost me $21.25 - I bought 35 items. I spent a total of $32.11 and got $320.88 worth of groceries! WHOO HOO! It was so fun! This is my kind of roller coaster ride! I know I'm easily thrilled, but I really do enjoy this stuff! Anyway - my food storage is looking great and I'm enjoying the fun of shopping the deals!
























These are my $1.50 items!




















These are my $1.00 items!




















These are my $.50 items!




















These are my FREE items! That's right I said F R E E !

Family Proclamation

Tonight for Family Home Evening we read the Family Proclamation and discussed it and what it means as a family. Sometimes I think my kids *know* this stuff. It's been around for awhile so why wouldn't they know it! But all day I have felt like this is what we needed to do as a family tonight. Nothing remarkable happened. It was pretty much like any FHE. Someone fell asleep (besides me... and I only slept for a couple of minutes.), it took us 15 minutes to actually start FHE because there was so much giggling and silliness, and someone's cell phone kept vibrating. (no names - I'm protecting the guilty!) But there was a sweet feeling as I heard my kids answer the questions Vaughan asked of them and they really did seem to "get" it.

What an inspiration this document is. How inspired. Who would have though in 1995 when President Hinkley read this that we would be where we are today. I'm so grateful for "watchmen on the tower". For living prophets to follow and be guided by. For families. And especially for five silly girls and one terrific son in law! (And one absolutely AMAZING husband!)

In Loving Memory

Yesterday Hillary, Heather and myself had the privilege of attending a funeral for the husband and son in law of some friends of ours. Officer Shane Figueroa was killed in a car accident while on duty as a police officer. It happened in Phoenix, Arizona.

I have never attended a funeral for a fallen police officer. It was very interesting with all the "pomp and circumstance" that takes place. It was very spiritual and made me think about what was really important in my life. I learned what an amazing young man he was. He was only 25 years old. Married for not quite 2 years. He left a beautiful wife and a three month old daughter. He served an honorable mission and led an honorable life. A good example to those he came in contact with!

This is when I am so grateful for the knowledge of eternal families and for the knowledge that we will see and be with our loved ones again. Shane and his family have this knowledge and belief. I'm sure it has helped them through this very tough time.

My thoughts and prayer have been with them this entire week and will continue. This experience has hit me close to home. I keep thinking about my oldest daughter (who is the same age as Shane's wife) and what she and her mother must be going through! I hope they are feeling our love and prayers that have been uttered in their behalf! I have always thought much of this family, and I still do! We love you guys and pray for you!

Stars of Excellence

I'm still floating on air over our excellent Evening of Excellence that we had on Wednesday! Everything turned out so perfect and so right. There was such an amazing spirit there. The YW did such a great job. Our theme was "Stars of Excellence". We had gold star balloons and twinkle lights under white tuille on the display tables. Cute star decorations on the tables that everyone sat around! The refreshments table had a cluster of three gold star balloons. We served *finger* desserts! Little cheesecake bites, brownie bites, butter cookies and mini eclairs with ice water to drink. One of our YW sang a beautiful song "To Be Like Him". It totally set the spirit! And then eight of our YW dressed up as women from the scriptures who have been "Steadfast and Immovable" read a narration about their lives and how it applied to one of the YW values - Faith, Divine Nature, Individual Works, Knowledge, Choice & Accountability, Good Works & Integrity. Between each of the girls parts we showed some of the girls on dvd telling about what they displayed for Evening of Excellence. They did such a great job. There was such a sweet spirit. It was just amazing. I've been to MANY Evenings of Excellence and this one will always stand out as one of my favorites! I am so grateful for this amazing opportunity I have to walk among these Young Women. They do so much for me and help me so much! I'm also grateful to have the YW program and the Personal Progress program as a mother! What a wonderful way to help our daughters return to live with a loving Heavenly Father! We are so blessed to have these tools to help us as parents raise our children in righteousness! Enjoy this song! I've been listening to it alot! (Thanks Jamie H. for finding it!)