This weekend was my birthday weekend and honestly it was probably one of the best birthday’s I have ever had. The reason this was the case was because I was surrounded by most of my favorite people and felt completely loved.

The fun started on Friday night as I spent the evening in Provo with Laura. We were going to have dinner at Zuppa’s but then while we were waiting in line Laura found out that I love Indian food and since she loves Indian food too (and her hubby Peter doesn’t) we decided to change plans and headed to the Bombay House for dinner. The Bombay is one of my favorite places to eat and it was absolutely delicious! After we left there we went to Chuck E Cheese and met up with Laura’s hubby Peter & their daughter Kaylee. We had fun running after Kaylee and having our picture drawn by Chuck E.

Saturday morning started out with a trip to the new Oquirrh Mountain Temple to attend the temple open house with Brig & Dev and our friend Cathy & her daughters Megan & Rachel. This temple is so beautiful and it was such a great way to start the day.

Next was a “surprise” luncheon that mom had planned for me at the Cheesecake Factory. There were 16 of my friends & family there and honestly it was awesome.

One of my favorite restaurants and all of my favorite people were there. Afterwards Mom, Laura & I went shopping and Laura bought me these super cute crocs! They are beautiful and I am wearing them right now! ;o)

The rest of the day was spent with mom and we finished the day off with ice cream at Leatherbys & movies at mom’s.

You may think this is the end by nope. The special day spread into Monday as I spent the day with Clark, Bethany & Elinor. We went bowling and then had special desserts at Applebees. I have to say that the time I spend with these special munchkins is always some of my favorites.

This weekend was truly special and I feel completely blessed.

To see all the pics follow the following links:

06.05 - Fun at Chuck E Cheese
06.06 - Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House
06.06 - Lunch at the Cheesecake Factory
06.08 - Bowling at All Star

JR has a great love for music and one of the things I enjoyed the most from our friendship was being able to sit down and listen to him perform his original songs. And this love of music was the theme of this party. We were supposed to dress up as a musical artist from any time period or genre. Well with the move my creativity was limited and therefore I was just going to wear regular clothing. Well as I started to go through my closet looking for a shirt I came across my old LD Singers polo shirt and decided to wear that. Kind of cheesy but it worked. JR was dressed up as Michael Jackson, his wife Kristin was Haley Williams from Paramore and we had everything from George Michael, Dolly Parton and the Phantom & Christine. It was a good time! I will say one of the highlights of the night was watching JR become embarrassed as they showed a video of him and his brother Aaron when they were younger dancing and singing to Michael Jackson’s Bad. Lesson learned: if your mom has embarrassing footage of you – DESTROY IT!

So anyway … happy birthday JR! I am grateful for your friendship!

Pictures from the party can be found here.

This one is showing how she knows her body parts and has learned a new word thanks to her dad!

Also added pictures from last night to the gallery.

GHOSTS OF GIRLFRIENDS PAST
You can't always run from your past
Release Date: May 1, 2009
Rating: PG-13 for sexual content throughout, some language and a drug reference
Genre: Comedy/Romance
Length: 100 min
Director: Mark Waters
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Michael Douglas, Breckin Meyer, Lacey Chabert

I went with two girlfriends to see the film Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. I have been a fan of Jennifer Garner since her days on Alias and I own quite a few of her films. This is a film I have been looking forward to for quite some time and I must admit I was disappointed. It’s the story of Connor Mead a famous photographer who is a free spirited player. He is a committed bachelor who enjoys women and women enjoy him. He goes home for a weekend to attend his younger brother’s wedding. His pessimistic attitude about weddings and marriage almost ruins the wedding and sends Connor on an adventure. He is visited by the ghosts of his jilted ex-girlfriends and failed relationships of the past, present & future. While on these visits Connor must learn if he can still find true love or if he is destined to be alone forever.

The fun has some fun and memorable moments and the casting is great but the sexual innuendoes and crude comments were a real turn off for me. What would have been an over all good film ended up having one too many flies in the soup.

Then I spent a few hours with Betsy & Abe and their family.

I borrowed Faith and took her out for ice cream and a fun outting that included a stop at the shoe store and the grocery store. She helped me pick out treats for each of her family members. She knows what candy everyone likes!

My mom then came over to my apartment and graciously donated her time and energy to helping me trim up my lawn. Then I spent the night with my fun little bundle of energy, Kaylee.

Sunday I spent time with Betsy & Abe's family again. We had dinner and watched The Velveteen Rabbit. This was one of my favorite stories as a child and if you haven't seen it I recommend it. It is a new Feature Film for Families Film.

Cannon has this fun new obsession with this orange and blue ball. He carries it with him everywhere and loves to roll in back and forth with you.

My apartment is a disaster and a half. It seriously looks like a great big hurricane came blowing throw it. Right now if you were to come visit my apartment you would notice that you can't see the top of the kitchen table due to the piles of magazines, cds & mail. You couldn't get anywhere near my desk because both the desk and chair have been taken over by clothing. And in order to get in to my closet you have to straddle a large box of magazines. The door to the laundry room is blocked by a large laundry basket over flowing with my summer clothing that I need to figure out where to put them. The one room that you could find sanctuary in is probably the bathroom.

See here is the thing, I like to start projects but then I get about half way done and I get tired or I run out of time and creativity and the piles get left where they were or thrown on my desk or kitchen table.

I have decided that it is time to conquer the madness and get a bit more orderly. So I am asking my dear friends to share any tricks they have learned to getting organized. Half of my problem is that I live in a small space with a lot of STUFF. So please share your tidbits of wisdom!

What are your thoughts? How do you feel we can help children understand the nature of baptism better? Or how would you (or have you) teach your children about baptism and what it means?

Then on Saturday I had a day of productivity as I did some cleaning, laundry, and running errands. Now those things aren’t the most fun adventures but they sure alleviate a lot of stress and I like it when my apartment looks nice. Now if I could just learn to find away to leave it that way, life would be even better! ;o)

Sunday was my nephew Brigham’s blessing. First off, I always enjoying the spiritual experiences that come from these events, but I love that it brings families together. I had fun sitting with my nieces in church and talking to my nephew afterwards.

Last night I had Bonco night which is always fun. I love spending time just enjoying the company of other women and getting to know them better.

Today I have some fun lunch plans to catch up with one of my friends. And tonight if all goes according to plans I am hoping to catch a softball game.

I have decided that the simple things in life can really bring a lot of joy and that as we appreciate those simple things life is truly good.

About two months ago I signed up to be a consultant for a company called Scentsy. It wasn't something I was planning to do, it just kind of fell in to my lap and happened. So here I am. I was encouraged to share this with those of you that visit my website. Scentsy is a company that sells high-quality wickless and flameless candles.

Scentsy has all kinds of fun scents and warmers. They have something for everyone ... I even managed to order a giraffe themed warmer. It is awesome!

If you are interested in learning more about Scentsy and their products go to my consultant website.