Probably Not the Smartest Thing I've Ever Done...

So Mady and her two best friends all have birthdays within a couple weeks of each other. This year they decided to combine their celebrations into one big bash. And since I am the easy mom and because we have a basement, we got to hold it Chez Mac.


It started out with me hearing the three girls making plans in the back of the car on the way to Young Women's one night. They discussed handing out flyers all over the school (or something to that effect...) to which I recommended they make a list and invite only the people on the list. I also told them they need to have an actual plan of what would happen at this party. No just-everyone-come-over-and-hang-out business...


So they made a list--of 60 people! I, of course, said absolutely not, so they narrowed it to 30 "but not all of them will come." So I agreed...


Fast Forward to the day of the party...the girls beg to come home at lunch to prepare for the party. It's Friday, it's the end of the quarter, they're all caught up, AND they plan to clean my house...so I give in (with other moms' permission, of course.) Mady only gets to help for a couple of hours (the cleaning part) before she has to go to dance (it's close to show time so she isn't allowed to miss...teacher's orders) and the other girls get the fun decorating part.

The other moms made cakes and bought snacks...cute


This is my favorite decoration. Seriously hilarious! Especially since they were very serious...

Dave and I bought marshmallow roasters, s'mores fixins, and fire starter stuff for those who would like to make s'mores in the backyard, along with millions of boxes of pizza, then we sit back and brace ourselves for the crowd of teenagers who will soon invade our home. There is no way we could have imagined how the rest of the night would go...

Are you ready for this??????

So, kids start coming...and coming...and COMING!!! It didn't stop!! The following photos give a general idea, but they are not a true indication of HOW MANY KIDS were at my house! We had to enlist Curtis and his two friends to help chaperone...watch bedroom doors and such...

You must also know that all of these photos were taken at basically the same time, which means that all of these rooms are filled with different kids.






By this time Dave makes the decision to go and get Mady (who is still at dance) and bring her home early. She is missing the party--and the craziness!

I thought this stuff only happened on TV!!!

Something We've Never Done Before...

We rented the Manager's Suite at the Grand Lodge at Brian Head Ski Resort, took all the kids plus a couple of friends, and played in the snow. The lodge was so nice and the kids had a lot of fun! Actually, we all did. I could have hung out in the room the whole time and had a groovy time.

We went tubing the first day. I will admit...it was fun. I don't enjoy snow activities because I HATE being cold! But it makes a huge difference when you actually have snow gear! Dave took us all the night before and got us all prepared and decked out in this latest snow fashion. :)

The hardest part about tubing is getting off the lift. I never quite figured out how to exit gracefully...




Mady is a natural athlete and loves a challenge. She fell her share of times, but seemed to be the leader of the girls in snowboard success.

Don't' get me wrong, Mekenze and her friend, Shanelle, weren't far behind Mady's skill level. Mekenze said she couldn't believe how fun it actually was...

Curtis and Karter owned the slopes! They even went on the bigger hill! Karter was the surpise of the day--he is a natural! but of course he is. Just like all of my kids, he takes after their father when in comes to physical ability, and Karter has zero fear mixed with tons of enthusiasm.

Here he is, the man Dave. He really loved being able to take his family on this trip. (It was all his own doing.) He tried snowboarding for the first time and liked it well enough, until he fell and fractured his collar bone (self diagnosis,) and then he traded in his board for skis, at which he is a master. As for me, I spent this day studying for a test, making sandwiches, and taking photos from the bottom of the hill. I was lucky to have a "bad knee" as an excuse because Dave would have forced me to try otherwise. Not a pretty sight...

Arielle and Braxton are not pictured on the slopes. They boarded for awhile, but Arielle was pretty banged up so they took a nap in the lodge.

Aww, aren't they cute?

More 2012 adventures--Musical Pursuits

I hoped to have more photos and a video of this adventure...

Mekenze had an exciting (we thought) opportunity to perform at the Hollywood Bar and Grill in LA. She prepared 3 cover tunes and we made a quick weekend trip (yes, I drove in LA--thank heavens for the GPS invention.) Let's just say, without going into details, that LA isn't ready for Emee-Kay, and we will never be ready for the type of environment that we endured (for way too long) and then finally left--without Mekenze ever taking her turn on the stage. It was a sad, eye opening, heartbreaking, etc etc etc experience, but it was also a VERY good learning and growing experience that helped Mekenze see her path more clearly...so be ready to hear more from Emee-Kay in the near future!

Arielle and I went to San Francisco--a last minute decision--so Arielle could try out for America's Got Talent. This experience was much different than her American Idol audition a year and a half ago. For one thing, she got to sing for 90 seconds instead of 10...and she felt very good about it. You never know what the judges are looking for and there are lots of talented (and some really strange) people in the world--she didn't get called back, but she did leave with a good feeling about her performance and isn't hindered in continuing to give it her best shot until she finds her niche.

We did spend the rest of the afternoon really enjoying San Francisco!!! We didn't have time to see the wharf or the Golden Gate Bridge, but we did enjoy the shopping and some really yummy food! We WILL go back! (Maybe for the X-Factor...???)

Catching up on 2012 (January)

Dave and I went on the Heritage Makers TAC trip. This year it was a 5-day cruise to Belize and Cozumel. It was nice escape from reality and COLDness. Dave had been traveling a lot, so we needed the time together. Mission accomplished!! We didn't spend a whole lot of time with the HM group so I have almost zero pictures of my Heritage Makers leader friends.

We went snorkeling in the most beautiful water near Belize (hence this gorgeousness of this photo. Some people can come away from water adventures and look so beautiful. Not I.) We stopped for an hour at a private beach on the way back to the ship. This is where I got to soak up the sun and bring back a tan of sorts. Enjoyable!

This was Cozumel. We had been here before, so we almost felt like natives. ;) We rented a scooter, ate lunch on the beach, went shopping and just enjoyed the day.

Dave bought me this ring!!! Since I lost the diamond out of my wedding ring, my finger has been so lonely! This is not a diamond, obviously, but a tanzanite. I guess it is rare and supposed to be valuable. I think it is pretty. It will do until we are able to find me a new diamond for my original wedding ring that I am apparently very attached to.
I thought I had a picture of the necklace that another vendor talked us into because it would look so pretty with my ring, but alas, I can't find it. I came away from Cozumel adorned like a queen.