{See Ya Next Week!}

Hasta Luego Mi Amigos!

[Brock's Birthday Celebrations}

Cake anyone? Brock's request this year was an Indiana Jones cake. I'm not a cake decorator, that's my sisters job, but she had to go and come down with a sinus infection (how dare she). It's a good thing we have a basement full of Lego's or I know I couldn't have pulled it off. Even as simple as the cake was, I still ended up making two, since the first cracked and fell apart when I took it out of the pan. I highly recommend parchment paper, it's amazing!

Is that a masterpiece or what?

The birthday boy with his cousin Kamryn. He was so cute to just hold her and play with her.
Gram and Papa got Brock a dress shirt and two ties. The yellow tie has monster trucks on it and Brock thought that was perfect, he said it will remind him of Monster Jam. Good pick, Papa!
Have you seen these fun slides carpet skates on TV? The kids were having fun experimenting and thought I was mean when I said they couldn't try them out on the stairs! He got some pretty cool gifts along with his favorite thing, $$money! He keeps reminding me that a package is still coming from Grandma Jeannie in the mail.....what a spoiled boy!
The Birthday Boy is NINE!
Monster Jam Hot Wheels Track....are you sensing a pattern this year?
And finally.....the one and only thing Brock really wanted for his birthday was a suit! I think he told us thanks at least 10 times after he opened it. Doesn't he look handsome, not to mention, he's looking pretty grown up to this mom. Next thing I know he'll be turning nineteen and we'll be taking mission pictures!
Last night we told Brock he could choose where he wanted to go for dinner tonight and if he wanted us all to go or just him, mom and dad. He thought for a few minutes and then said we could all go, but I could tell he was a bit hesitant. When I asked him if that's what he really wanted, he admitted that he'd rather just the three of us go, but then said he really didn't want Carlie and Kaleb to feel bad! What a sweet boy I have. We decided to see if K and Carlie could go to Great Grandma and Grandpa's while we went and then it would be something fun for them too and everyone was happy!

{9 Years with One Great Kid}

Happy Birthday Brock!

How can my little man be NINE years old already? Where has the time gone? I'm going to share 9 cute pictures and 9 facts about Brock.

**Brock is a very caring and loving boy and Great Grandma Beckstrand always says he gives the best hugs, and I agree!**

**Brock is a great big brother! (Kaleb came up with this one). He and Kaleb are buddies and he plays so cute with Carlie.**
**Brock loves to explore and is always up for something fun!**
**Brock is kind to everyone.**

**Brock enjoys building, and he and Kaleb spend hours building with Legos.**
**Brock is helpful.**
**Brock likes to play sports, in fact, his favorite part of school is football at recess.**
**Brock has a great memory and often reminds us of things that have happened that we've forgotten.**
** Brock has the cutest grin.**

Brock is just an all around great kid, and I'm proud to be his mom! Happy Birthday Buddy!

{So Much to Do....}

Do you ever feel like you have SO much to do, and not enough time to get it all done? That's me this week. We leave for our cruise on Saturday, so I should be excited right? Nope, not me, I'm wishing I could either slow down time, or even postpone our vacation for a week or two. Why is it that this particular week is so busy? It Brock's birthday Thursday, we are having cake and ice cream tomorrow, and I still need to make the cake, and of course he didn't pick something easy....he wants an Indiana Jones cake. I have two bulletin boards I need to get finished for Primary and the birthday cards for March. A friend asked me to help with a project for her Young Women's and I need a haircut terribly. Then there is Visiting Teaching, Bookmobile mom at the school, not to mention packing for not only me, but all three kids, (Derrick has to do his own, I'm not a nice wife) then getting the kids schedules figured out. And last, though I'm sure many more things will pop up, is getting the house cleaned. Is a vacation really worth all this trouble? Maybe I'll just go climb in bed and pull the covers over my head....that will make it all better, right? I'm sure by Sunday it will all seem worth it, but right now, AHHH!

{Who Can Resist....}

A Fantastic Deal?

Not I! And who can resist sharing when they find a fantastic deal? Not I! I have to give credit for finding this deal to my spectacular sis, who was kind enough to share. I've decided I want to be more organized, thanks to my BFF, Ann for inspiring me with her organization posts, check them out, she has some great ideas. Anyhow, I told Derrick just Saturday that I need, yes, need a label maker so I can organize..... so here is the spanking good deal!
Pretty cool right, well wait till you hear how much it was......drum roll please ~ $9.99 and that's shipped! Ok, maybe I don't know what the average label maker costs, but I thought that was a pretty sweet deal, am I wrong? And of course when someone is nice enough to share a deal with you, you must pay it forward so here it is, hopefully there are still some left. As soon as I get it, I'm for sure going to get organized, I swear, no more excuses!

{What a Great Date}

I feel bad.... I know I'm going to make some of you really jealous when I tell you about my Valentines day date, but, well I'll just apologize in advance. Are you ready to hear about this most fantastic date? Derrick, the romantic sweetheart that he is, took me (oh, yea and our boys) to Monster Jam for valentines day. I mean seriously girls, what could be better than great big huge noisy trucks and lots of rednecks all packed into a stadium? Just add in a little bit of motor cross and it's a pretty great date, right? We really didn't plan this as a valentines day date. The boys both have birthdays coming up and we took them for their birthdays, it just happened that it was valentines day also. The roads were horrible and it was a long tense drive, but the boys were so excited and I'm glad we got the chance to take them.

What could be better than a date with THREE handsome guys?
AWWW, look.....♥Hearts♥ on the cars and the ramp, how sweet!
Franken-Freak! What a silly boy, hehe!

(he came up with the name Franken-Freak)

And another silly boy!

Well heck, if we're all pulling faces, top that!

Maximum Destruction
I think the freestyle motor cross riders were both Derrick and my favorite. It's amazing to me the way they can flip, and jump and the tricks they do. I think we may be in trouble though, now all Kaleb wants to do is learn tricks and he's sure he can do it, no problem! UMMM, mom thinks NOT!
Aren't they cuties?
Of course we had to spring for the souvenirs......how could we not, they were a bargain?
Spoiled Rotten Dang Cute Kids!

We had planned to go out to dinner, but spaced that it was not only Saturday night, but Valentines also and everything was super busy, so we settled for Fazolli's and the kids thought that was great. I have to shout out a big thanks to Sheri for keeping Carlie. I knew there was no way she would sit through the show not to mention 5 hours of driving is too much for a little girl, so I was super happy when Sheri offered to keep her. Even after being there all day, she cried when we got there to pick her up, she just wanted to stay with "my Siney" (Sydney). In Derrick's defense, we did go out last weekend for a great dinner. We went to Monroe to Sagebrush Grill for Ted's birthday. We'd heard rave reviews and I must say it was very good, so if you are ever in the area, try it, I think you'll be glad you did!

{Happy ♥VALENTINES♥ Day}

♥A Virtual Valentine for all my Super Sweet Bloggy Friends!♥

XOXOX~Monica

In honor of the day of love I thought I'd share some facts about my sweetheart and I.... Enjoy! (this was a tag I got from Ann, you should all do it, it was fun!)

♥ Where did you meet you hubby? He moved here at the start of our Senior Year, of course in a school as small as ours, you notice the new guy. I though he was pretty cute, but the more I saw him around, the more he annoyed me. Sorry, but it's true!
♥ Who asked who out first? Derrick asked me out, but our friends were pretty tricky in setting it up. One of my friends was with Derrick's best friend on our Senior trip to California. James got sick of hanging out with the girls all the time, so he decided to hook us up. He told Derrick that I liked him, and the came and told me that Derrick really liked me. We were kind of forced together and then just kept going out. Pretty soon it was just a given that we'd be together.
♥ What do you remember most about him? That he was always up for anything, and still is! We had a lot of fun while we were dating, actually we still have fun!
♥ What did you do on your first date? We went bunny hunting....Awww, romantic, I know! We actually ended up just driving around and hanging out with James & Heather. I was super embarrassed when we were together the next night and one of his friends noticed the new box of bullets Derrick had bought and not one was missing. Needless to say, we got a lot of crap for that.

♥ What was your favorite thing to do while dating? We did lots of different things..... four-wheeling, jet skiing, just hanging out. When you live in a small town, you learn to be creative.
♥ When was your first kiss by your sweetheart? Umm, can I just skip this one? Ok, it may or may not have been on the above mentioned bunny hunting trip?!?
♥Who said I love you first? Derrick did. We hadn't been dating long (like 2 or 3 weeks) and he went to Yellowstone on a guys trip. When he got back, he was telling me how much he had missed me and that he realized he was falling in love with me. I was NOT ready for that one and just sat there with a stupid look on my face, I honestly didn't know what to say!
♥When did you first realize that you loved him? All through the summer dreaded leaving for school and wondered if this was it, but when I finally left at the end of the summer and was miserable after 2 days without him, I knew it was real.
♥ How did he propose? It was on my 19th birthday in June. I had hoped for a ring for Christmas, and then Valentines....we kept talking about being married by the end of the summer, but there was no ring. The night before my birthday I told my sister that if I didn't get a ring for my birthday, I was going to be super mad. Thankfully he picked my up from work and took me to our favorite secluded park, and sure enough my present was a ring, but he didn't ask me to marry him??? We talked for a bit and finally I said "Are you even going to ask me if I'll marry you?" OOPS!
♥What do you remember about your wedding day? Mostly that I was SO happy, but scared at the same time. I was pretty young and though I was ready to be married, I wasn't sure about being a grown-up!
♥How long have you been together? Since we started dating, it will be 15 years in May. We will have been married 14 years in September and I can't imagine my life with anyone else!

♥Monica & Derrick♥

Sept. 9th, 1995

{Yum, Yum, YUM!}

Mmmm, I'm not bragging or anything, but I made a yummy dinner tonight. Everyone ate, there was very little complaining and hey, that makes for a happy mom! So, I'm going to share one of my favorite recipes. My mom always makes this and it's one of our family favorites. So check your pantry, grab what you need, tie on an apron and get cookin'!

**Hearty Chicken Soup**

2 Tbs. chicken bullion

4 cups water

3 cups chopped carrots

2 cups chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 cups chicken breast, cubed

**Cook chicken in water while you chop the veggies. Add vegetables and continue cooking until they are almost done.Add 1/2 package of Kluski Noodles and cook until noodles are done. (you may have to add more water) Add 2 cans Cream of Chicken soup and 1/4 cup evaporated milk. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook until heated through- about 10 min. or so. Watch the noodles, they will stick. Enjoy!

Yum, yum, yummy! (I don't know why the color on my picture is so weird) Trust me it was good! I'm excited for leftovers tomorrow.

{Lady, What's in the BAG?}

Let's be honest, I'm not really a girly girl. I try, but I don't really secede. But one thing I do love is purses. I have an entire tote in my closet full of them (yes, I really do need to clean it out and, gasp, get rid of some). You can learn a lot about a person from just a little peek into their bag. You know you want to right, snoop, that is. Well, here's your chance. I was tagged by my bloggy friend Tierra to take a look in the bag, so here goes.....

*I L.O.V.E. my red purse! I won it at Bunko and was one happy girlie that night!

*My wallet, nothing spectacular. I'm thinking I need to be on the lookout for a new one, but I love how everything fits and has a spot in this one.*My favorite hand lotion, Moisture Therapy from Avon, it's super thick and rich. *A red change purse (that money seems to disappear out of lately, kids??). *Assorted pens, but only pens that I deem "good", I'm kinda picky. *Glasses cleaning cloth. *Mail & house key, on my cute ring with my kiddos on it.

*An airhead (or as Carlie say a taffytaffy), there were two...wonder which kid's been sneaking?*Gum, you gotta have fresh breath. *A Cinderella polly pocket, in case I, ok, Carlie gets bored.

*My lipstick (or lips, in Carlie speak) pouch and all it's contents.

*Random stuff; blotter papers (that I forget to use), drugs (all legal, I swear) eye drops, for the contacts and Imodium (you never know).
*My old camera, you never know when the kiddos will do something cute. *The handy dandy cell phone.

*Random papers that came in the mail, a list for Primary and one of the notebooks I made for girls camp this year that is the perfectly purse sized and I must say cute.

There you have it, my purse. Believe me I have much unused space, which comes in handy.... I never need a bag at the store lately, hehe. Actually, it's a joke at the Chevron, but I swear only things I've paid for go in. Okay, it's your turn my friends, share so I can snoop, pretty please? P.S.~ Tierra, not one hand sanitizer, GASP!

{Bobcat Brock}

It was Cub Scout pack meeting tonight and Brock earned his Bobcat award. They had Derrick and I come up, and while they talked about the Bobcat trail they painted his face. I love that in scouting when the boys earn the bigger awards, the moms are recognized too (they know who has to do a lot of pushing and prodding). Now we only have until his birthday at the end of the month to finish his Wolf requirements, nothing like leaving it till the last minute, but he really is close. Way to go Brock, I'm proud of you bud!

The boys told us some riddles and jokes! Kaleb of course had to be up in the middle of it all.
Brock getting his face painted. My Dad is the cub master (by the flag) and it's been fun for Brock to have his Papa involved in Scouts too.
Brock giving me my pin, he didn't even stick me! Bobcat Brock!

I just have to share what Missy Carlie said to me. I told her she had to clean her room if she wanted to play with Ty, since it was messy. She looked at me with her little serious face and said, "My will just go shut the door." What? Seriously, she's three. She really shouldn't be learning that trick until she's at least ten, right?