Night Owl Sleep Over Party

A year ago I promised Kirstee, Makadee, October, and Michelle (my cousin's little girls) that we would have a sleepover together. A promise is a promise so when the girls made a comment about it a couple months ago I knew that if I didn't start planning I would never do it. So off to work I went. I have a thing for owls, I just think they are so cute. I found an owl party online and it spark the idea for a night owl sleep over.
My ideas came from http://snowybliss.blogspot.com/2011/02/night-owl-party.html.

Last night was the night! I had delivered invitations earlier on in the week and the girls started to arrive at 6:15. I don't know who was more excited, me or the girls. We started the evening with a scavenger hunt which lead us to some very fun gifts. We then had a dance party outside. We watched a movie outside on my laptop and then we went to bed. The sleeping part is much easier said than done. The girls were so excited. I finally told them that if they couldn't sleep together than I would separate them. I didn't hear much after that! To say we had fun would be an understatement! We had a blast and we can't wait for the next one!

Our Owl Haven. This is where we slept, underneath the halo as the girls called it.

I made these pillows for the girls. Our scavenger hunt lead us to theses! Each girl got their own special owl. (From left to right) Makadee got Princess Owl, Michelle got Giggle Owl, Kirstee got Sweet Tooth Owl, and October got Sunshine Owl.

These felt owls I made out of styrofoam balls. Only one is pictured but there were 5 of them hanging from the ceiling. The girls loved them and each took one home!

Each owl came with its own description. This was the first time they saw their pillows. It was all worth it to see the girls faces. They were so excited and so grateful! What gracious young girls they were!

Makadee loving her owl!

Dancing the night away!

The girls with their pillows and their owl junior pets!

The next morning under the Halo! After this picture the girls braided and twisted all the strands. They thought it was so cool!



Crazy pictures of us! We were having so much fun!
I love these girls and am so grateful for the opportunity I had to have them for a night. I can't wait for the next time!

Sundays

Finally the weather is getting nice. I have felt like I was in Florida lately because of all the rain! A few Sundays ago Scott pulled out his hammock and put it up in the back yard. We also pulled out the lawn games. It was so peaceful and nice. I love having my family close and for the opportunity we have to have them all over for dinners! Sundays are my favorite day! It is a day for the Lord and I love just focusing on Him and His plan! It is also the day we get together as a family (we usually try and skype Todd and Deedra and Hunter).

Marley and Mom reading a book!

Sam and Marley enjoying the hammock. Marley is enjoying a movie as well.

Scott got this hammock on his mission! It is so great!

Marley and Scott swinging in the hammock

Marley is so adorable. She insists on wearing her rain boots and
necklaces. I just love her so much!

Sosa's Visit

The Sosa Family

A dear family from my mission came and visited Utah. I was so happy that I got to see them. I love them so much. The Sosa were always ready and willing to help. We had many that were willing to help but not all were ready like the Sosa's. They helped us move, with lessons and most importantly they helped us with member work. They are such a good family. They examples of Christlike love will always be with me.
Their little girl, Bella, had brought me a handful of rocks from one of their outings. She was so happy to give me a gift. We were able to have dinner together at Texas Roadhouse. Bella wanted peanuts so badly and we didn't have any on our table. When the manager came by to see how we were doing, Bella said she wanted peanuts. The man came back with a brown paper bag full of peanuts. Bella was so happy that she ripped open the bag, only to discover that she doesn't like peanuts! It was so cute. I am so thankful for my mission and for the wonderful people I am associated with! Thank you Sosa's for making time for me. I love you.

Bella and her peanuts

Bella asked if I could have a sleepover. We tried to explain to her that it would be hard with the miles between here and Florida. She said it would be okay because her family could just move here1

Oh, to feel loved!

Last week my mom's class went to the Bean Museum on a field trip. I was really happy because I could come help because it was on campus. I did my work and then headed up to the museum. I was there before the bus came. As it turned the corner you could hear the bus erupt. But it wasn't because they were at the museum. Almost all of the children were yelling my name. It was so cute. They were really excited to see me. I have been to class a number of times but it has been sparse the last little while. One little girl cried because she wasn't in my group. It was so good to feel loved. It made my whole day. Nothing else mattered to me but the 50 hugs I got that day! I love her class and am so glad that I get to associate with little people. They make life sweet!
This post was written about a month ago. Since then I went to the movies with my mom's class. We had so much fun! If you ever want good entertainment just fill a movie theater with 100 kindergarteners. It is pure enjoyment!!! (only half are in my mom's classes. The others are from the other Kindergarten classrooms)

Spring Break

At BYU we don't officially have a spring break. This is the first year I have been okay with not having one because I realized that we get out earlier for summer and we have 4 semesters at BYU instead of 3 like most universities. But my mom has always had spring break so I just kind of take a break with her. Mom was able to come to two of my classes which we both enjoyed. Then on Friday she came to work with me and then we went to go babysit Marley. I have been babysitting Marley on Friday for the last semester because Ryan has an art class. I have really enjoyed it because Marley makes me laugh. It has been a nice break on Fridays to have her and I will really miss it when it is done.
Anyways mom and I decided we would take Marley to the aquarium. We had so much fun. Marley's favorite things were petting the sting ray (she laughed so hard), the bright colorful fish (she sang a song to the Nemo fish), and the big sea turtle. She wouldn't touch the starfish though. I guess they were to hard for her. She wasn't too interested in the anaconda and by the time we were almost finished, she was done.

Singing to Nemo
On a toad (she wasn't at all interested in the Bull Frog)
This is how tall Marley is compared to a penguin.

After the aquarium we went to eat. Marley ate a corn bread muffin and made a huge mess. When we got up from the table she looked at the floor and said "Big Mess." She is so funny and we couldn't help but laugh! We then did a little shopping and by the time we got back to the car we were all ready for naps. Marley fell asleep in the car.
We stopped by Cabella's to see if they had any nice winter coats on sale. They did but we didn't buy one because they didn't have the right sizes. Marley soon woke up and we let her find the trout in their pond. She loved it almost more than the aquarium! She would throw the food in and then make eating noises. It was a nice finish to our day. We loved spending the day with Marley and are so thankful that Ryan and Sam would let us take her!

Pretending to be asleep at Cabella's

Easter

Easter was really fun this year. It could have been our special guests (Todd, Deedra, and Hunter) or that Marley is old enough to understand what an Easter egg hunt is; I believe that it was a combination of things. We had a really nice Easter dinner with all of the family. Then we had an egg hunt for Hunter and Marley, followed by a hunt for the older kids. We then played some games and just relaxed. It was so fun to be with the family and we hope that we will be able to do it in the future!

Marley in her new clothes that she got from the Easter Bunny. I didn't get a picture of her Easter Dress but it was beautiful!

Marley was sooo excited when she found this egg!
Marley and Hunter collecting eggs in the backyard
Enjoying some Brother Time. Mom asked for a serious picture, this is the most serious they get.

Deedra and I
Hunter and Grandma
Hunter in a huge egg. He was our Easter Present. I bought the huge egg for Scott and filled it with healthy treats! It was really fun.
The Grandkids! They love each other so much!


The adult hunt. Why, you ask, is Scott running for his life? It isn't because he wants to find an egg. Sam found this great idea to empty out raw eggs, sterilize them, and then fill them with glitter and sprinkles. There was one egg with gold glitter. You had to smash the egg on someone to see if you had the gold egg. Todd found it and smashed it on Dad. The prices were fun things like a slinky, a kazoo, and a golden chocolate egg. It was fun to get the young at heart involved as well.
Hunter trying on Grandma's prize.
Marley got into some Easter Eggs that were within reach. Who knows how many she ate before we found her!

Best.Week.Ever.(and weekend)

This last week one of my best friends from Florida came to visit. When I was on my mission, this friend would fix us dinner, help us with our work, and most of all, party with us on P-Day's. I have gotten to see her twice since the mission but both times have been quick trips and we haven't had much time to just hang out. This last week, since the first of the month, Dallas came into town to house sit for her uncle and train his dogs. I was sooooooo excited when I heard she was coming. Her uncle lives about a 30 minutes from Provo so I would be close enough to go visit. Dallas didn't tell very many other people that she was coming to town and, although it is selfish, I had Dallas pretty much to myself!
Dallas got 8 tickets to General Conference, 4 for Saturday afternoon and 4 for Sunday Morning. My parents came with us on Saturday and Ryan and Sam came with us on Sunday. We had really good seats, the best we have ever had! We loved every minute of it and were so excited to be together at such a marvelous event. We also got to hang out with my mom, Sam and Marley during Priesthood session. We went to Roberts crafts. We had so much fun!

After spending the weekend with each other, we talked everyday. Dallas came down to Provo for a class performance I was having. We then went and had ice cream. Then we decided we better have dinner. We ended the night by going to the movies and even though it wasn't my favorite movie, it was fun to have a friend to hang out with.

Thursday, Dallas invited my family up to her Uncle's house for dinner. My family was super excited about this because we were going to watch Tangled(I was the only one there that had seen it) in her Uncle's theater room after dinner. It was so much fun and the food was amazing. After my family left Dallas helped me work on a few of my school projects. We laughed and talked all night.

Friday we tried to sleep in but it didn't really happen because we are so talkative. We watched t.v all morning and into the afternoon. We only stopped once for yummy breakfast burritos. We finally got dressed and ready to go about 2. We then jumped in the car and headed to Logan. Why to Logan, you ask? One of my favorite companions, Sister Stephanie Walton, lives there. She was my companion in Dallas's ward. Stephanie didn't know that Dallas was in town. Dallas was her birthday surprise!
We drove for what seemed like a minute. I think it was our anxiety to get there. We were both so excited! We finally made it to Stephanie's apartment and ran out of the car to her door. Dallas hid on the side of the house while I knocked. Stephanie answered with a big grin on her face. She began to hug me when Dallas popped out. It took Stephanie only a minute to figure out who was standing there. She then grabbed Dallas and starting hugging her. They were both screaming and jumping up and down by this point. It was the best part of the evening! We talked for awhile and then went to dinner at Texas Road House. Of course Stephanie got to sit on the saddle. But Dallas and I had come prepared. We had bought a crown for her and confetti poppers for when they sang to her. It was quite the experience. At one point during the night we were laughing so hard that we had to pull the car over to the side of the road!!! After dinner we walked around the temple. We finished the night by getting ice cream cones and trying to watch a movie. I was asleep within the first five minutes of the movie. The other two only made it half way through before we were all in bed. We had so much fun. That night will always be a very sweet memory for me!
We woke up on Saturday and had to head home. We cried and laughed and cried some more. It was hard to leave to leave Stephanie in the drive way. Stephanie is very dear to my heart. She makes me want to scream for joy when I get to see her or talk to her. I want to make a better effort to go up and see her more often. But I knew the hardest part would be saying good bye to Dallas at the end of the drive back to Utah County. And I was right. Dallas has become one of my very closest friends in my life. I love her like a sister. It was so nice to have a friend here in town. What a joy to pick up the phone at any time and set up a time to just hang out together. I thank my Heavenly Father for His beautiful and tender mercy for sending me this time to spend with not only Dallas but also Stephanie. I love them both so much and miss their friendship when we are all busy. It was nice for life to slow down for a few days and just relax! Defiantly on the top 20 best week/weekends ever!