Matchy, Matchy

Cudos to my mom for scanning in the photos from my childhood. Below you can see that there are many sets of kids wearing these matching outfits...

My older brother and I wore these cute outfits when we were kids. Either mom or grandma made them. It isn't so much the way they look that makes me feel warm and fuzzy, but the memories they are attached to.

Lucky enough Dylan and Ashlyn got to wear them too! Can't find a picture yet.

Nate and I with my mom...

Jameson and Carianne in them with the whole fam...

Teacher Appreciation

Since we are on year round I have more time to put together teacher appreciation gifts. We had fun this year...

We made them custom notepads that say "from the desk of the awesome Ms...." and silly pencil toppers.

We appreciate all the hard work our teachers put into each student!

Free K'NEX

FYPI (For your playing information)

From Monday, June 13, through Friday, July 15, 2011, K’NEX Mario Kart Wii fans can register online to receive a free Mario™ or Luigi™ K’NEX figure. 300 figures will be distributed for each day of the five week promotion. Of the 10,000 figures, five lucky grand prize winners will receive a Mario figure plus a Golden Ticket that entitles them to a special prize package including: a Wii™ console (a $150+ value), the entire K’NEX Mario Kart Wii product line (18 toys featuring Mario, Luigi, Yoshi™, and their favorite karts and bikes on two popular Mario Kart Wii tracks -- a $632 value) and a trip to tour K’NEX headquarters in Hatfield, PA. For more information, complete rules and to enter the sweepstakes visit www.knex.com/mariogoldenticket. No purchase necessary.

USEFUL LINKS

Ø K’NEX contest page - http://www.knex.com/mariogoldenticket/

Ø K’NEX Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/buildknex

Ø Info on the NEW K’NEX Mario Kart Wii products - http://www.knex.com/mariokartwii/

If You Give A Mom A Mop

You know those books... "if you give a mouse a cookie", "if you give a mouse a muffiin", "if you give a pig a party", "if you give a cat a cake", " if you take a mouse to the movies", "if you take a mouse to school"?

After many years I finally was able to relate how I feel when I am cleaning up my house- I get super distracted. I start doing one thing and before I have finished it I have started another thing. This continues until I have many half finished things going on at the same time. Maybe Laura used her experiences at home to help her write her books. I should do that!

Spain

What you have all been waiting for...

Connor and I got back a week ago from Spain. I know, exotic. Also exhausting! We saw so many amazing things. Our reason for going was to see Connor's parents on a mission in Mallorca- and Island off of Spain. But while we were all the way out there we also had to see Madrid and Barcelona. This is the short version (in pictures), if you want more pictures contact me directly :)

After not sleeping for 30 straight hours we drug our luggage to what we thought was an English speaking branch in Madrid. Never was I so happy to see the name of our church, even in a different language...
Well, it wasn't exactly an English speaking branch but we did attend the English speaking Sunday School. In our very small ward we did meet someone who lived in our current ward before we did!! We had a tough time staying awake in sacrament meeting due to the warmth of the room and the inability to understand what the speakers were staying combined with the lack of sleep. I am sure we were quite the sight.

I loved the adorable buildings in Madrid...
All of the places we stayed had cards, or in this case, gigantic metal plates, that activated the electricity in the room. Without it nothing would work. And next to it is a classic light switch...In case you were wondering, yes, there is a Hard Rock Cafe in Barcelona and Madrid. Here are Michael Jackson's red shoes and Madonna's awesome outfit...
I made Connor take me to see some Flamenco dancing. Behind us is a big group of Japanese tourists. Connor loves doing the white guy surprise by talking to them in Japanese...
Maybe I should take up this form of dancing next...

We met up with Connor's sisters, Cami and Jenny, and Whit and Will (niece and nephew) and did baptisms for the dead in the Madrid Temple...

We immediately flew to the Island of Mallorca. It was wonderful to see Roger there to welcome us. In Palma they had a beautiful Cathedral...

We stayed at the most quaint little villa. I would stay there for every vacation if I could, it was dreamy...

Inside our haven...

Our view was amazing, open farm land all around us...

We finally (after trying for the last 10 years) won a doubles match against Connor's parents. I won't mention their age, that makes me look bad. We played on Rafa Nadal's courts while he was away winning the French open...

The view from the top of Formentor, the mountains drop into the sea...The adorable, little town of Soller...
We flew to Barcelona for one las stop.

The famous Sagrada Familia. Gaudi's master piece that is still being constructed after 40 years...My favorite place we went was Park Guell, also by Gaudi. It was a magical park...

Behind me is the view Barcelona out to the ocean...
Our tiny little washer in Barcelona almost ate our clothes (it wouldn't give them back). Funny enough it also dries the clothes. It would be hard to have a big family living on one of these...

As amazing as it was, I appreicate my family more and I am so grateful for the blessings of living in this great country. Thank you to Kamrah who watched our 4 kids for 9 days with the addition of her busy toddler and 8 month pregnant belly! YOU ROCK GIRL!