My new BFF

Isn't she beautiful?!?! She's called a Silhouette, and Santa delivered her to my door last week. I'll wrap her back up on Christmas Eve and be super-excited on Christmas morning, and even pretend to be shocked and surprised. But until then, I am going to play. :) This is the very first thing I made with her. It took maybe 3 minutes. I changed out the plates on the plate rack in my kitchen with red ones (they were less than $2 each) and printed out JOY and stuck on the vinyl...it was real hard, haha! I love how it turned out, and once Christmas is over, I'm going to put EAT on plates to match my kitchen for the rest of the year. I'm thinking I could do BOO or EEK for Halloween...so many ideas spinning in my head... This pic totally reminds me of how tired I am of my mustard-colored walls, though. They will be changing REAL soon.

Project #2...I cut out snowflakes from white vinyl and stuck them on the glass panes of the office French doors. Again, so easy and so fast. It would have been even easier if I had make one huge snowflake for each door, though. Next year...

This picture is a craft I did before I had a new BFF. It's just an idea I saw online and decided to try. It's a coffee filter wreath, and cost me about $4. I still can't decide where I want to put it, so for now it's on the inside of the front door, but I think it will move to the entryway once I get it repainted...soon!

Project #3 with the Silhouette...new Christmas throw pillows. I only used my machine to cut out the template for my Heat and Bond, but that helped a lot! It was more work than I thought it would be, since I had to sew around each snowflake once I ironed them on to make sure they'll last, but I'm so happy with the results, it was worth it. Especially since I can reuse them year after year.

Here are two pillows on one of the couches. I made 4 total, and I love them. And yet more walls that need painting...I can't believe I was this boring when we built our house...

I have so many more ideas spinning in my head to make with my new BFF, but I also still have wrapping, baking, and last-minute Christmas stuff to do, so I don't know that I'll get to have any more fun with her til after Christmas.

And whoever says happiness doesn't come from a store, they're right...the UPS man brings it to you! Just kidding! Well...mostly, anyway. :)

For Carolyn...

My sister Carolyn asked me to post about this like months ago...better late than never, I always say. :)

This is what my master bathroom used to look like. I can't believe I lived in it for 7 years... When we built this house, I was scared to paint different rooms different colors, because, "What if I get tired of it...?" Well, I'm definitely tired of beige... Sure, I changed the color of the towels or rugs once or twice, but I never tackled the wall color...

until a couple of months ago, that is.
Oh, and this beauty was a gift from my MIL years ago. I was sure I could find some way to make it less awful...I finally decided to spray-paint it to match my new bathroom decor.

{Dear spray paint inventor, I love you.}


Ahhhhh, MUCH better!

I went w/ white towels and sewed on blue and brown ribbon to match the room as a detail at the bottom. Pretty happy w/ the results!

Here it is all done--or at least as done as it's going to be, for now. It could still use a few accessories, but for now, it's a big enough improvement to make me happy.

Brandon is officially a teenager!!!

I guess it had to happen someday. I would become the mother of a teenager. I can't believe it happened this fast! Six short years and I'm the mother of a missionary. Crazy!

Brandon's 13th birthday was last Sunday, but with the craziness of having the kids home for almost all of last week, I'm just posting about it today. He had a party last Saturday night with a few good friends. He requested an ice cream cake, so I took a stab at making one. It was o.k., not really great...I need to work on it for next time... I was worried that candles would start to melt the ice cream, so he and his friend Richard pretended to blow out the candles instead, haha! He was really great about letting Sydney and Ryan hang out with him and his buddies for a while (very un-teenager-ish). Here they are all playing Apples to Apples. For the last hour of the party, I made Ryan and Syd go to bed, so Brandon got some party time without them around. I have come to the decision that throwing a party for a 13-year-old is WAAAYYYY easier than for little ones. I pretty much just let him choose what they were going to do and caught up on some DVRed shows while they hung out and played football outside in the freezing temps (much more teenager-ish).

Sunday morning just before church, he opened his presents. He has really wanted a guitar for a while, and he finally got one. He's had fun learning a few chords already. He also got some new clothes, new shoes, and some spending money. He just bought a new video game with his birthday/saved-up-allowance money...some things never change...

I think he really enjoyed his special day. Please pray for Tim and me as we enter this new phase of life...

Mr. Vice President

You are looking at the new vice president of East Canyon Elementary!!! Ryan decided a few weeks ago that he wanted to run, and Tim and I were very encouraging. But I didn't want him getting his hopes up too high, because his older brother had run the same race 2 years earlier with different results and a few tears walking home from the bus...

But that's another story...

So we helped him make some cute posters ("DON'T PICK YOUR NOSE; PICK RYAN" among others :)) and write a little speech and wished him luck...and didn't really have high hopes... Then last Tuesday, I had honestly forgotten that it was "election day," and he came home from school with a dejected look on his face and said, "Guess who won for vice president...." in a mopey, sad Charlie Brown-ish sort of voice. I was so sad for him and asked who. He then put on the hugest grin and said, "ME!!!" I was so shocked! And excited! He's just always been such a shy, reserved kid, so I think this will be awesome for his self-esteem and social life. I was definitely one proud momma!!

New calling...

On Sunday our ward Primary presidency was released, including me, the old secretary...what a great calling that was! Partly because I didn't really have that much to do, and partly because I absolutely love the ladies I had the pleasure of serving with, and partly because I got to be IN Primary without having to PREPARE much for Primary...pretty sweet. But the only thing constant is change, so whatever...

The good news is that I'll be staying in Primary. I'm the new chorister. It's been over a decade since I've had that calling, so I feel a little rusty, but not completely overwhelmed (I was pregnant w/ Ryan last time I had this calling...). I'm excited to stay in Primary and work w/ a whole new group of ladies in the new presidency...hooray for a new adventure!

Halloween '10

Here are the pictures of the kids' Halloween costumes. Brandon originally wasn't going to dress up, but changed his mind last-minute. He made a pretty sweet hippie. Ryan has been begging to be something creepy and scary like the Grim Reaper for years, and I finally gave in. Sydney decided to be Dorothy so she could have some sweet sparkly red shoes in the end. What can I say, she knows how to work it... And Jake was an alligator, just because it was so stinkin' cute...and warm. They had fun at Trunk-or-Treat, and we went around to some friends' houses on Saturday night, too.

Tribute to G-ma

Sydney and my mom share the same birthday. Pretty sweet, I know. Last year when my mom was visiting, she and Sydney spent some quality time together coloring huge Tinkerbell pages she had gotten for her birthday. She was so impressed w/ her grandmother's coloring abilities. Syd loves to hang pictures and drawings all over her room, and they can change quite often...and sometimes I don't even notice... Last week, I saw these pictures above her bed. The one on the left is Sydney's work, and the one on the right is my mom's. "How sweet," I thought. Then I looked a little closer and started to chuckle... Sydney's has her first and last name and a number 6 for her age...Meanwhile, G-ma's name is spelled like a 6-year-old would spell it, but that's not what made me laugh. It also has Grandma's age, or what Sydney guessed as her age...89!!! My mom might not be 20-something anymore, but she's a far cry from 89...have I mentioned how much I love my little girl?!?!? Makes me laugh every day...

Pumpkin crafts

So even w/ reading so much in October, I still found a little time to do a few fall/Halloween-ish crafts. One of my new obsessions is blog-hopping different crafty blogs, and I had to try out a few ideas. My absolute favorites are the glittered pumpkins on my kitchen table. I saw them on Martha Stewart several years ago, and always wanted to do them, but you had to special order her super-fine glitter and it was pretty pricey. Fast-forward a few years...now they sell her glitter at Michael's, and it was 30% off a few weeks ago, so I splurged. I pretty much want to glitter everything in my house now, and I'm already wracking my brain for what Christmas-ey things I can glitter...so many possibilities! And super-fast and easy! Love them! I also copied a few other ideas and made some scrapbook paper pumpkins and fabric pumpkins. They turned out pretty cute. And I love that they will be able to be stored and re-used year after year. And that they're a little different... I also love that they're not Jack-O-Lanterns, so I can keep them out through Thanksgiving. Cause I hate having to change things out...too lazy.

I did it!

So I finished the Book of Mormon this afternoon. All in one month. I still almost can't believe I did it! My mother probably can't believe it, either. If there's one thing I don't like doing, it's reading. But I did it! Wait, did I say that already? Who cares, I'm pretty proud of myself! And more importantly than proving to myself that I could do it, or not having to be ashamed on this little blog that I gave up...more important than that--I really enjoyed it most of the time and was reminded of what I already know. It's true. The whole thing. And it made so much more sense since I read it all so quickly and didn't have time to forget who was who, etc.

I hope that now reading for 15 minutes a day will seem much easier now and my scripture reading habits in general will have improved. I learned a few things in case you ever want to do this yourself.

1. Missing a day is really hard to make up!!!
2. Pick a month with 31 days to give yourself the best chances!
3. You CAN do it!

It was a great experience, but I am glad it's over and I can have a little more time to blog and craft now. Almost any extra time this month went to reading...so unlike me... So Mom, hopefully you can look forward to many more posts in November than I was able to fit into October. :)

Karate kids pictures

As promised, here are some pictures of Ryan and Sydney in their karate uniforms. What's cuter than Syd in that uniform??? And after lesson number 2, they both seem to like it even more--especially Syd. They haven't really learned much yet, but they sure like to pose as if they have. :)

October Rush

Wow, check me out--3 posts in one afternoon!

In July, the Young Women in our ward did what they called a "July Rush" and all read the Book of Mormon in its entirety in that month. They all talked about how wonderful it was and I thought, "Wow, I should really do that." But it was summer and life was crazy, and I just knew it was not a good time for me to try and tackle that. So it's been on my mind that I still wanted to do it, and October is my month! It comes out to about 20 pages a day, a little less, actually, which took me maybe 45 minutes today to read. I found a little chart online that shows what you need to do. I'm excited to read it much more quickly than usual and really see all the stories come together like never before.

Halloween Sneak-Peek

Can you guess what Little Miss Sassy-Pants is going to be for Halloween?? We saw these shoes at Wal-Mart and she was coveting them, and I suggested she could be Dorothy for Halloween, then we just might have to buy them for her costume. She's no dummy! She realized that she'd end up with some sweet shoes out of the whole deal...so I bought the fabric today and am excited to sew up a cute little dress. She's already talking about how she needs to carry a little basket with one of her stuffed doggies inside. Well, duh!

Sage Valley Football

This year, Brandon is finally able to play for his school football team, instead of in Optimist. For those of you unfamiliar with Optimist, it allows younger kids to play flag and tackle football, which is great, but they practice 4 nights a week for 2 hours and have games every Saturday--rough! Now that he plays for the 7th grade team, he just stays after school and practices and is home by dinner. And games are on Tuseday afternoons! It's been a fantastic change! We actually have dinner around the table most nights now. :) BTW, he is #33 in the navy jersey and while pants.

That's him with his hands up in the air, just before a tackle, haha!

Going in for a sac--watch out, Mr. Quarterback!

Here he is starting to take a guy down. He still really loves to tackle. This year he has been playing mostly defensive end, but then last week he started at fullback and even got to carry the ball a couple times. It's always so fun for me to watch him and cheer him on. At the particular game, he had a nice run at fullback, a great sac, and was in on several tackles. Go D-backs!

Karate Kids

Ryan and Sydney started an after-school karate program today. At first, only Ryan was going to do it, since he isn't in anything else right now...but Sydney has been bugging me and bugging me about it. I kept telling her that she couldn't do it because she was already taking dance, and every time she would say, then take me out of dance. But I really didn't want to rip her out of something that just started back up a month ago... But is it fair to not let her choose what she wants to do??

So today, I signed Ryan up (he's been wanting to try this for a while, and this year it finally works out, schedule-wise...) and Sydney, Jake and I were just watching. Sydney started in again with the "pleeeeease" and those big brown eyes... So I told her she could try it out and see if she liked it and the instructors. She loved it, of course. Long story short, ballerina-girl has been replaced by karate-girl.

I should've known this is the type of thing a girl w/ 3 brothers would want to do. She can be so girly sometimes, but it's not that way most of the time. She loves worms, frogs, getting dirty, and helping her daddy with all things manly. And she can't wait til she's old enough to go hunting w/ him. Go figure.

But I really can't wait to see her in her little uniform...should have pics of that in a couple weeks...

Jake's 2nd Birthday

Where has the time gone??? I know people say that a lot, but it's so true... How did all the sleepless nights, dirty diapers, first smiles, and runny noses turn into two years? Little man turned 2 years old yesterday. It was a bittersweet day, as all my kids' birthdays are. I think I was a little more nostalgic that normal, since he's the last one. I remember SO not wanting to admit that we should have another one before Jake...and finally submitting to the Lord's will...and all the blessings that he has brought to me personally and to our family. What do you know, Heavenly father knows best...I know, it shouldn't be a surprise. I just think it's amazing that he can know what we want or need before we even have any idea that we would ever want it. I remember at Time Out For Women last week, a speaker talked about "What's the WORST thing that could happen?" She said we may even find out that we LOVE the worst thing. There was a time in my life that I thought having a 4th would be the worst thing, and now it's hard to imagine that I ever even felt that way...

Long story short, I'm So glad I listened to those feelings about 3+ years ago, and I truly cherish the time I have with Jake--just the 2 of us for most of the day. He has been the happiest, funniest, sweetest, cutest thing I could have ever hoped for. I love him more every day. O.K. Enough sappy talk. On to the birthday...

He had fun opening his presents and tearing off "BIG" pieces of wrapping paper. Anything "big" is awesome in his book... His favorite present is the ball hopper-thing...I can't remember the name...but he LOVES it! He loves all kinds of balls right now--and throwing them as hard as he can--and throwing anything, for that matter, but that's another story...

Since he loves balls so much, I made him a ball cake. When I brought it to the table, he goes, "BIIIIGGG BAAAALLL!!!" and was uber-impressed. Just the reaction I was hoping for! He blew out the candles all by himself, with a little coaching from Tim. He also tried to eat a candle afterwards when he saw Sydney lick one...we need to work on learning the difference between licking and eating, apparently... I love the pic w/ his hands up high--he's showing that he's "SO Big" now. :)

My favorite part of babies' birthdays is watching them eat their cake. He decided a month or two ago that he's way too big for the highchair, and he wants to sit at the "big kid's table" now, but he can't really reach, so he just stands on a chair most of the time. I'm sure he'll be falling off any day now...awesome! He loved every bit of his cake and ice cream cone, though, and ended up w/ a cute little blue "Hitler" mustache in the end.

Today while I was posting pictures online, he was playing with all his new toys being so good, when he came to me whining, saying something about balls... This is what I found when I got to the family room...he had stuffed Trix cereal all in his ball toy, and didn't understand why it would no longer work. Go figure. The more I thought about it, I realized, he probably just thought they were itty-bitty balls, so they should work right??

Jake Walker Bryson

So, this is my sweet boy. Jake and I went to the park last week so I could get some cute photos of him...a few turned out pretty good. This one is by far my favorite! He just looks so big with his jeans and big boy belt. I think we might try again once the leaves start changing colors...

He really is the sweetest thing! Tim's parents came over to watch him and Ryan Saturday night while we went to the BSU game, and when we got home, they went on and on about how sweet and happy and good he is...I can't dispute any of that...we got a special spirit with this one!

BSU Football Time!

Well, after a long wait, it's finally time for BSU football again! This is our 7th year as season ticket holders...Sydney was just a few months old when we first got them...time sure flies...

Here is a photo of me and my girl all blue and orange and ready for the first home game! She was super-excited for the Bronco tattoos!

I bought her these orange leggings as part of an outfit a month or two ago. I never imagined she would think to wear them with her BSU shirt for the game, but I'm SOOO glad she did! It was sweeeeet!

She had to make sure I got a picture of the side with the face tattoo. :)

The whole fam (minus Jake who was napping) ready to leave for the game. Actually, Ryan stayed home with Jake and Tim's parents, and we took the other two. It was an intense game, but lots of fun. Sydney got bored and whiny after about an hour, so I bought her some kettle corn. Once we got back in our seats with the kettle corn, she gave me a big smile and said, "This is the best football game ever!!!" Amazing what a little (or a lot of...) sugar can do for her. Tim suggested next time we just go by ourselves...he may be on to something...

Grasshoppers make great fish bait!

We went up to Grandjean over Labor Day Weekend for one last visit and to bring the trailer home. We went fishing at Lowman Ponds, but couldn't get any bites. Tim saw a grasshopper, and told one of the boys to catch it. On his hook it went, and grasshopper-baiting was born. Suddenly fish were being caught!

It was seriously the BEST entertainment watching Tim and Brandon trying to catch grasshoppers! Wally had a rake for them to use, which helped. They would stalk the little things, try to get close enough to strike, and hit them with the rake to stun them. They worked like a charm, though, and that reminds me--we still have trout in the freezer that need to be eaten!

Sydney wasn't too interested in fishing. Instead, she wanted to do what every little girl dreams of--catch frogs! I knew she had no chance of being overly-girly with 3 brothers... She caught like 30 or 40. It was crazy! She even shared some of them with her cousin, Hunter. They were pretty cute--for frogs.... They were only about an inch long each.

She needed somewhere to keep her growing collection, so she improvised and used her camp-chair sack. I'm guessing not many girls use their Disney princess camping chair for that use!

What good would a post be without a picture of Little Man?!? And yes, he's really that cute!

Time Out for ME!!!

Last weekend, I put myself in time out. I highly recommend it! I went to Boise with several friends and attended Time Out For Women, an uplifting, super-enjoyable women's conference. We had so much fun! We left Friday afternoon, got dinner at Pita Pit, went to 3 hours of amazing-ness, then went hot-tubbing at our hotel til they kicked us outta there at 11:15. Then we ate goodies and chatted til the wee hours of the morning. Nice.

Then Saturday morning, we got breakfast and went back to the conference for more awesome-ness. We got awesome tote bags while waiting in line, and had lunch along 8th Street in downtown Boise. There was a street fair going on, and we shared some yummy freshly-fried doughnuts after lunch. Pretty perfect.

Then it was back for the remaining session of the conference. It was just so great. I especially loved listening to the live music from Jericho Road and Mercy River. Gonna put their cd's on my Christmas wish-list. Once it was over, we left for home refreshed and recommitted to be ever better mommies and wives.

I'm so glad I was able to go and so glad Tim took care of everything while I was gone. He's basically fantastic.

Thanks, Kim, Raquel, Deidre, Pam, and Chantelle for an awesome time!

P.S. This pic shows me just how badly my hair needs a trim...

Apparently I have allergies...

So for the past 3 weeks or so, I've been a mess. Sneezing, runny nose, crazy-itchy, red, watery eyes. Not to mention feeling like crap! After speaking with some friends, they all thought I was suffering from allergies. WHAT??? I've never had a problem with them, and I'm 35. Isn't it a little too late in life for me to just figure this out?

So, first I tried some Claritin--for about a week--no change. Then I tried Benadryl for several days. It helped a little, but wiped me out. And when you have an almost-two-year-old, you really should try and stay conscious. :) So then I tried Zyrtec--again no change. And frustration mounting by the minute. Seriously wanting my mojo back...

So yesterday I finally drug myself to a clinic and got a Rx for Allegra. Today was my first day on it, and so far, it looks like this might just be the magic pill I've been looking for. I still have a little bit of a runny nose, but everything else is WAY better. Hallelujah!! I'm just afraid that today will turn out to be a fluke and tomorrow will be crappy again. Saying a little prayer that won't be the case, though...

So if indeed I do feel better tomorrow again, I can get back to blogging. I know you're all excited about that! I just haven't had the energy to do the dishes lately, let alone blog. But I'm so ready to be myself again...here's hoping this good feeling lasts.

Pork Noodles

There are a few things that make a Woodman a Woodman (and for those of you whom I've met within the last 15 years, that's my maiden name).

You must LOVE these things:

1. Papacitas in Longview, TX...mmmmm
2. Watching "So I Married an Axe Murderer" or "Better Off Dead" (or any number of other awesome oldies but goodies...)
3. Playing Spades
4. Singing around the piano on Sunday afternoons
5. The New Years' Eve family dance, haha!
6. Pork Noodles

The list is actually much longer than this, but I don't have that much time, and these are the things that popped into my head--and made me a little homesick, for that matter... Anyways, my point is that although Tim is 0% Woodman, I still want him to love what I love. And have these things make him as happy as they make me.

I have made him pork noodles before, and he was less than thrilled, to say the least. So I hardly ever make it...VERY discouraging... Well, on Sunday, I had some leftover pork chops in the fridge that I didn't want to just grill like usual, so I decided to make pork noodles. Tim asked me to leave one pork chop for him to just grill because he didn't like pork noodles and had no desire to eat them. Fine. More for me.

So I made those noodles, and boy, were they good!!! Probably the best I've ever made. I think Dad would've been proud! In the meantime, Tim proceeded to grill his chops, while the kids and I devoured our pork noodles. As I got up to get a drink, Tim apparently took a bite off my plate, cause next thing I knew, he was dishing up what I had hoped would be my pork noodle leftovers for lunch the next day. I said, "I thought you don't like these."

He has been converted!!! So the bad news is, I didn't get to have leftovers the next day. But the fantastic news is that Tim now likes the quintessential Woodman comfort food and I will now be making it much more often. This makes me very happy. :)

I guess now I'll just have to keep hoping he wants to join in my Sunday afternoon music-fest to become true Woodman material. Not very likely...

Sydney is SIX!!!!

My sweet little girlie turned 6 last week. That means she starts first grade soon and will be going to school ALL day EVERY day in a few weeks. I have really mixed emotions about that. I'm excited for someone else to have to entertain her all the time, and I know she needs the stimulation and social outlet. I will just really miss her every day. And so will Jake! It's just he and I from here on out...

Anyways, here are some pictures from her birthday. She had a luau themed party and it was great! She greeted each girl at the door with "Aloha" and a lei and grass skirt. They all looked super-cute! She wanted to help with everything for the party, and she did. I got some pictures of her helping with the fruit skewers for lunch. I think it turned out to be a little harder than she had anticipated. And Jakey was so stinkin' cute just begging for some of his own. They turned out really cute and REALLY delicious. For her cake, I made flip-flops. I was pretty dang proud of myself! I don't do cute cakes...but this time, I did. A lot of work, but totally worth it. She picked out the colors and everything and loved it. And of course, she licked the bottom of the candle.

For her luau, I "taught" the girls how to do the hula a little, as if I knew what I was doing...haha! They ate it right up, though. We also played the Limbo, and who knew what a hit that would be!! The biggest fan, though, was Jake. He just giggled every time he came out from under that stick. He LOVED it! The girls did, too. Definitely gonna have to do that at all our parties in the future.

Once we were all done with games and a little craft, we had snow cones in the back yard--also a big hit! Sydney had a great time and loved having all her little girlie friends over to celebrate. I can't believe how big she's getting. We're already halfway to Young Womens!!! Help!!!