Bryant and Shelbi Owen -Loving Every Minute of it.

Cody's Playing Basketball

2012-01-30T20:10:00.000-08:00

Cody is playing basketball for parks and rec, and Bryant is assistant coaching.
Team: Lighting
Cody is loving going to practice, and being a part of the team.
And last Game he made a basket!! WHOO HOO!!

A little off the top!

2012-01-29T20:08:00.000-08:00

Here are the boys with fresh hair cuts after church today!

WHO WHAT WHEN A family Organized!

2012-01-14T00:39:00.000-08:00

When I have tried organizing the family in the past I have tried, planners, calanders, chore charts, sticker charts, menu board etc... I have a problem with each one... THERE ISN'T 1 place for everything!

I have a big problem with a chart/ calander that I'm the only one who can read, one that can get left in the car, one that isn't big enough to fit everything on, one that looks good all the time. And one that makes sense to EVERYONE! I refuse to be the only one who knows whats going on!

Why I made this board...
Well I needed a place that this unorganized mind (of mine) could function with my organized life. I needed something that I could pass by and recall that "Piano was today", with out getting my planner out. I need one where I can say..."Have you gotten your jobs done yet? and they can check the board (themselves)... I know it sounds horrible but I needed the magnets here so that I could remember what jobs needed to be done, and who was going to do them, week after week.
I needed magnets with out top 40 meals so I wouldn't have to think of what to make. And as sad as it sounds so that I would remember to make dinner.
And it had to be big so I can't lose it or forget about it! ( I know I Know I have lost or forgotten them in the past)

This chart hangs in the heart of our coming and goings... THE LOFT. I see it first thing, I see it before bed, I see it at nap time, I see it the whole time I'm on Pinterest and should be making dinner. So It really works out perfect!

Here's how I did it!
I took a large peice of MDF 3/4" thick and routed the edges.
Total size: 20" X 48"

Coats of Magnetic paint: 3
(It had instructions on the can but I really took them to heart and I think that it made a world of difference.
3 Thin layers of magnetic paint, rolled on with a foam roller)

Coats of Enamel Paint: 2
Why Enamel Paint: High Use, washable, no finger prints, looks great

Total cost for Vinyl Cut: $6

I measured the center of the board ( marked it with pencil) and made all my decisions based on the center of the board.
When I had my Vinyl word strip I carefully folded it in half and pinched the top of the protective covering to make a mark where the center of the word was. This did not ever fold the vinyl word, just the application strip that the vinyl is stuck onto.
I measured 5 3/4" from each day of the week at the middle point and marked it for the next day, allowing at least 4 responisbility strips to fit in each day under each persons name.

From here I went down the board measureing and applying one at a time till all the days of the week were applied.

When all the days of the week we on I applied the pinstriping. I got this at Napa Auto Parts, it looks just like the black vinyl lettering I ordered in gloss. it was just under $3. It's very forgiving and was not to difficult to ad to the sign. I measured one spot at a time, cut and applied so I didn't waste didn't loose my place as apposed to cutting all the stripes at once.

2 4Pks of Magnet Circles: .99cents Each ($1.98)
The name circles at the top are, from Ikea.
I kept the ribbons simple on the top. The Letters are metal scrapbooking letters glued on.

A little about magnets:
I am super cheap... I mean frugal :) and I had quite a few of those magnet calandars that are about 5X7 and used all of those for this next project:
Money saved reusing/saving magnets: MILLIONS OF DOLLARS! ( ok it was probley at least $20)
A roll of magnet tape dosn't work, looks to bulky and wants to curl because the paper lends no support. Magnet paper to run through your printer won't hold up to the wear and tear unless you have a laser printer.

The responsibility magnets.
I have dinners, Family Home Evening Lessons, family fun activites, cleaning jobs, And calendar events. Keeping it simple to these helps everyone to know whats going on. and Keeping them color coded helps when I am restarting the next week, or making changes, or taking a quick glance.
I made the color coded word strips on Illustrator printed these off at Costco.( Because nobody can beat the price of full color on cardstock prints!)
I used a heavy duty glue ( Gorilla Glue) to adhere the sheets of magnet to the sheets of words AND THEN cut them! Simply on my paper cutter and they are great! Easy on, easy off, not to sticky, not heavy at all, super inexpensive and they look great. you can't even tell that they aren't printed on magnet sheets and they cost about $2 total.

A month of a lifetime!

2011-10-30T22:33:00.000-07:00

In the past month our family has done sooo much I thought I was sick to my stomach of all this fun... but NOPE.... thats just morning sickness :)

It all started because Mallory and Kevin were married September 30th, 2011. We traveled down to Utah to share that crazy time and were running every second of it!!

I drive to Utah alone with all the boys and a Suburban full of wedding decor and legos.
Get a Ticket after Driving for 2 hours... POOP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Get to Marpleton at G&G Labrums around 2AM
Get 3 shakes and 2 fries on the way... more shakes and fries than we have had all year!
Bryant Flies in on Thursday at 3
Mallory goes to the temple for the first time
Kayla and I put on a Lovely Shower for Mallory and had alot of fun doing it!
Family Dinner to meet Kevin's family at Olive Garden
Mallory and Kevin get married
Bryant and I take Cody to General Conferance in SLC, we get to hear the Prohpet speak and spend the afternoon walking around temple square
We drive to california. Stopping in Las Vegas...YUCK!!
We get to Anaheim and check in to the resort around 11PM ( it took way to long!!!!!)
We play, splash, shop, chill, play with Cousins.
Bryant attends the Temple with Chris and Melissa and does baptisms for 41 relatives that have died without the sacred ordinances of baptism.
Dallan and Kayla meet us a Downtown Disney for fun!
We meet up with Mallory and Kevin on thier honeymoon, and all 3 of us and our families go out to dinner!! SOOOOO yummy!
Dallan's Family and ours go to Disneyland together and have a seriously super fun day right down to the last minute when we left them at Disneyland :) at 12:30AM
Grandma and Grandpa are stranded at the orange county airport because my phone is off and we slept in... but don't worry... mallory and kevin go pick them up :)
Pool day with the cousins at the Resort.
Beach BBQ at Aliso Creek where many of us (not me) got drenched my sneaker waves... Sadly it was Bentley and others and HONESTLY I'm thankful he's here today... it was scary!!
Beach day for Eastons B-Day
Cody and Daddy and Grandpa Body Board till the literally...ok till grandpa literally can't walk :) LOL (Just kidding dad!)
Mallory and Kevin's California Reception
Start the Drive back to Wasshington
Make it to the Golden Gate Bridge within Eye shot at 6PM, make it to the Bridge for photos... 9PM Disappointing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you Can't even see it in our pictures!!!!!
Make it to our hotel around 2, after getting pulled over for "sleepy driving" we were so dead!!!!!!!!!!!!
We leave ready to go thinking we will get home around 9PM.....
We drive through the redwood forest...which I wouldn't change for the world...but we didn't leave the forest (in CA) till 5PM.
We examine our heads and realize we are CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!
Shelbi Drives from 2-10PM... (thats amazing!) Drive home around 2AM only 5 hrs off schedual!
We are home for 2 seconds and I'm not sure what I did exacltly because the next thing I knew I was at the airport picking up grandma.
Bryant and I leave for a 5 day ALL inclusive trip to Riviera Maya, Mexico. Oh boy.... this was amazing! THANK YOU Shelf Reliance!
We don't know how we had so much fun but it was awesome

swam with the dolphins
walked on the cove walls as the ocean waves beat the rocks
got a spa pedicure
went on an extreem excursion where we took our lives into our own hands

rappeling
ziplineing in the jungle
snorkling in a cenote
open ocean snokling ...with turtles
laid out on stark white sandy beaches ahhhhhhhh

2nd time letting a salon color my hair! I LOVE IT!
all while drinking unlimited virgin lime margaritas, golden smoothies, daiquiris....
Pool Volley ball
I got to read a whole book...start to finish... in just 3 days ????? Awesome!!

Now we are home and don't know what to do with ourselves :)

More pictures to come but I need to sort and edit here are Disneyland ONLY photos...
Thanks for going Dallan it was a blast!!!!!!!!!!

Pikachu for the pinewood derby!

2011-09-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

Cody and his dad worked hard to get this little guy racing fast this year!
I love that He was able to see his idea to completion! Cody searched endless pictures to find exactly what he wanted to design his car after for the Pinewood derby.

For those of you who don't know what a pinewood derby is, it's a project that Cub Scouts work on with thier parents. In the end there is a race that they get to compete in on a 4 lane race track with other kids who have done the same thing! The goal isn't to be the fastest car, but to work together with your parents to accomplish something, design your car and have fun!

In the end Cody did a great job at the races. I was judge and I will never do that again... It was so hard to give the win to someone else when it was close, but I couldn't favor him if there was a question! That was super hard! (he has since had a hair cut by the way!!)

Cody came up with the idea's for this!
you might think to yourself... this dosn't look like a 7year old painted it...here are some tips so they can do a great job and do it themselves.

We preped cody ahead of time that it would take several coats of paint!
we taped off areas and let him paint and remove the tape... thats a huge sense of accomplishment and he(any kid) loved it!
I made the accents in Illistrator and printed them out and cut them for him.
Cody and I worked together to glue the face and cheeks on.
Cody covered it in 3 coats of modge podge which gives it a finished coat look like a real race car!!
He is so stinkin' proud of that race car!
We are so stinkin' proud of HIM!!

We love the Scouting organization and are so happy that Cody has a desire to be active in scouting!! I'm sure with all our boys that this is only the beginning :)

Please forgive me :)

2011-09-11T20:43:00.000-07:00

I have been so busy posting or thinking about posting with my THRIVE blog that I have put this one on the back burner. But never fear the excitement and adventure hasn't gone! We've been busy busy busy this summer! I'm going to attempt to post about the past few months :) Thanks for all of you would have checked in on us between then and now! We love you!

WARNING...extreem cuteness....Easter Blessings

2011-04-24T21:54:00.000-07:00

With these smiling faces comes a knowledge that we have a Heavenly Father that loves US!

We believe with all our heart that God the Father sent His Son Jesus Christ to the Earth to Atone for the sins of all! For those who are willing to come to him and forsake their sins he gives a promise of new life. At Easter we celebrate this new life. Not only may we return to live with our Father in Heaven, but we can recieve new life here in this life. Life that brings freedom and Happiness that only He can give!

I know that my Redeemer lives!

Happy Easter and May the love of God and His Son

touch your life today and everyday!

Easter Morning Sweeties

2011-04-24T16:32:00.000-07:00

Poem by Cody

2011-04-04T17:11:00.000-07:00

Spring looks like

red roses.

Spring smells like

warm air.

Spring tastes like

good potatoes.

Spring sounds like

robins singing.

by, Cody

We thank thee...

2011-04-03T17:25:00.000-07:00

Bentley's using 2 hands to sustain the Prophet!

This weekend was the 181st General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. In case you're wondering what this picture could have to do with this you need to know 2 things:

1) We have the privilege of having the Conference broadcast on Live television. (You can also view it on the internet.)

Since we were home on a Saturday...Bentley didn't change out of his Jammies :)

2) The purpose a sustaining of the leaders of the church, something that we take very seriously, the opportunity to raise our hand in support and sustaining of the Prophet of God, and his Councilors as well as Apostles of God and other Church leaders.

Why is this so great? It's a uniting of Family and Gospel. There was a time well know by the whole world, documented by the Bible, known as the Apostasy when there weren't any left, who sustained the apostles that Christ himself appointed and left in his stead. We know that as we have a prophet today that is guided and receives revelation from the Lord himself, that we will not see another apostasy where the gospel is removed from the earth. In raising our arm in a sustaining of the Prophet President Thomas S. Monson, it is a personal commitment and a uniting in our hearts, an exercise of our religious freedom and privileges.

I do love General Conference! I love listening and receiving guidance for my family and personal goals. There is no aspect of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that does not point us toward becoming a better person.

I want to share all my tidbits, but I will limit it to one small bit of learning.

Richard J Maynes a member of the Quorum of the Seventy read this Poem by C.C. Miller.

'Twas a sheep not a lamb
That strayed away in the parable Jesus told,
A grown-up sheep that strayed away
From the ninety and nine in the fold.

And why for the sheep should we seek
And earnestly hope and pray?
Because there is danger when sheep go wrong:
They lead the lambs astray.

Lambs will follow the sheep, you know,
Wherever the sheep may stray.
When sheep go wrong,
It won't take long till the lambs are as wrong as they.
And so with the sheep we earnestly plead
For the sake of the lambs today,
For when sheep are lost,
What a terrible cost The lambs will have to pay.

This poem resonated in my heart and soul what a great responsibility as a parent that I have. To teach and love, but also what a great responsibility we all have to lift and strengthen each other as parents and brothers and sisters in this world. As we are ALL Sons and Daughters of a Heavenly Father who loves us. In loving others and teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, we give the great blessing of lifting the heads that hang down and strengthening the families of the world. A family built upon the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ will without a doubt, better withstand the temptations and evils of the world.

My heart is full of gratitude to my Heavenly Father for my knowledge that I am a Daughter of God, that I have a purpose and that I have a place to turn in my sorrows and triumphs. Truly the Lord has blessed me greatly in my life and I owe all that I am to him. My heart longs for my family both immediate and extended to rejoice in these blessings for now and eternity! I am grateful for the knowledge and the covenants that make it possible to be with my family for eternity.

So I with Bentley, raise 2 hands in the sustaining of our Prophet President Thomas S. Monson, and am thankful that we have a living prophet who guides not only this Church, but who is a beacon of Truth and Light to all the World.

Thank you for allowing me to share the most tender thoughts and feelings of my heart.

I would be so selfish if I didn't Share!

2011-03-28T14:53:00.000-07:00

iHEART jen and she hearts organizing...and I heart organizing...

I really have a bad habit of saying how crazy i am and how unorganized I am... I might not be able to find my keys or my sissors... but at this house everything has a place...and a good place. I have installed more wire shelving units in house than they carry instock at home depot, clear tubs, cute bins, hooks or drawers for everything!

From organizing my food storage to my kids clothes I've really made it a priority.

I might be a few days behind the avaerage OCD mom when it comes to doing Laundry but I really like to have everything organized and in it's place. I have tubs that are marked and don't have a junk drawer! That took a little determination but I just went for it a while back and haven't looked back...it's either trash for it has a place :) if I have to much...I donate it!

Jen at iheartorganizing.blogspot.com is my hero. Esspecially this month! She has made all those things I planned to do... a reality this month with her Family organization binder and all her sheets are free this month.

In one place (which is the key) you have a place (that looks good) to store all the information that you wish you knew, which you could remember, or have tucked away in your head that no one else knows. It also gives a place for that information that is needed but gets forgotten because it's tucked away nicely in a file drawer :)

You've got to check it out. I have to say these aren't unheard of concepts it's just she pushes you to do them...then helps you do it right and it looks good too!! Check it out!

A little Rock Star!!

2011-03-27T20:13:00.000-07:00

This is so long over due...BENTLEY!

What doll! We love this little guy so much he brings endless smiles

and joy to our home every minute!

OH Bentley is such a joy!!

I don't think that I can describe the fun this little guy brings :)

Those big puppy dog eyes melt my heart into puddles!

You can see here that he's a sweetie!

When He's not pulling the

vacumn cleaner along by the handle, he's usally playing the drums or guitar from Rock Band.

He's so fun to watch, he

really likes to rock out!

Bentley is relentless and demanding as well!!

Don't let this chocolate face fool you! You can see the mischief in that little grin of his! He's a rascel!!

Here's a Picture of him from tonight! He's one of the funnest babies ever! He shares and loves (after he knocks your lights out of course)

He loves to read books!

This never gets old: Backing up from 2 feet away to sit on my lap to read a book!

He loves "CARS" loves lightning McQueen and Sally. He hadn't even seen cars be he started toting around the books we have and the little McQueen Hot wheels car. Every time he see's McQueen he gets excited and say VROOM with his little hand waving by fast like a race car :)

He LOVES to dance and rock out! I have to thank New Years eve for that and the fact that he had no other option for 3 hours than to find his own groove to move too...and ever since then he's got a beat in his head and it only take one note to get his little head bobbin' to the music!

Does bentley talk? Last week I would have said NO.

He has a few goo standby words like NO! and mOM! ( I ment to spell it like that "mOM"!)

But today we had a fun time telling bentley...

Can you say... Car? cAR!

Can you say... go? go!

Can you say... truck? Kuk!

Can you say ... ball? Ball

Can you say ...Daddy? dAD!

Can you say I love Maxwell? *blank stare*

and if we ever asked him to say something that he could see he just pointed to it. We were pretty much done after the boys got him to say a few words because then they would ask him to say words like "Alphabet"...and "Lightning McQueen"... yeah.. He's definitely still learning :)

His little guy loves to love. When he wakes up he just snuggles for how ever long I can!

So thats a little bit about Bentley!

iHeart good food!

2011-02-26T12:38:00.000-08:00

So I can't believe that it's taken me this long to make a post about my new found love with Shelf Reliance. Honestly I dream about this stuff in my sleep :) I have been able to help so many people get started or add to their goals of long term food storage, that the energy is flowing on all cylinders. Plus I have been able to stock up on my food storage a lot! That's how I found this stuff anyways... I was just looking for a place to buy hard to find things for my own food storage and I couldn't help but pass the info along ... I would have done it anyways since it is so great I figured I might as well get credit for it.

What went from Long Term Food storage is now an everyday staple at our house. WHY?

It has ZERO preservatives and Zero Salt and ZERO Sugar!

So it's the perfect snack and a great ingredient in my meals.

It stores in the pantry...not the freezer so It's always ready and never freezer burned or going bad.

A brief Overview of why I love the Products:

They filled all the gaps in my Long term food storage
Healthy & Delicious
Price I could afford...at the pace i want to go at! ( I joined the Q Club)
LAST FOR 25+ years ( I have had so many things go bad already I was getting frustrated)
SO convenient for everyday cooking and Healthy Snacks
They store so well!

I just wanted to have it posted here that I'm in love with these products.

Some are great for everyday(saving time & money) & some I just store for long term.

Our favorite everyday Products:

Germade (Cream of Wheat)

Why? Less expensive (than even win-co) and tastes better and of course stores better

Strawberries

Why? The boys beg to put these in their cream of wheat and Cherrios everyday and on their pancakes on Pancake Friday!

6 Grain Pancake Mix

LOVE! Fluffy and delicious and stores great. EVERYONE likes this at our house!

Pineapple & Mangoes

Personal Favorite for a snack and so easy to put in a bag and go.

The kids aren't sticky when they have them as an on the go snack and they will store in my purse forever before they go bad...

If you've ever found sliced apples in a baggy at the bottom of your diaper bag or purse you can see the benefit in this (if you haven't your lucky!)

Apples

100% organic and super cheap!

Freeze Dried Onions and Red and Green Bell Peppers!

I add these to an avocado at lunch for a super fast delicious guacamole eat it with chips or put it on my sandwich.

HONESTLY I use onions ALL the time with practically any dish I make... and I put these onions in and it saves so much time, they are chopped more finely than I take time for which means less complaints from the peanut gallery(3boys). I heart these Onions!

Eggs, Milk, Chicken TVP and all veggies are so great to have on hand and make dinner a snap. And make running to the store for something last minute a thing of the past...(which always costs more than you plan!)

If you want to browse and see some of the cool products we have check out my website :)

http://www.shelfreliance.com/inthekitchen

Christmas Sunday with Mathesons

2011-01-11T19:28:00.000-08:00

It was so nice to have Grandma and Grandpa Matheson to share our Christmas with!
The boys were really looking forward to thier visit! Seriously!!

we love visitors!(aka: people to entertain!)

You'd think that these boys would love to put on Hawaiian shirts and dance around

(...but this was after a short cohersion period)

AM...anticipation....

2011-01-10T19:31:00.000-08:00

Worth the wait

A Minute to Win it Christmas Eve

2011-01-09T19:19:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas EVE!!

Schedule of events:

10:00-11:00 Family Decorate Christmas Cookies

12:00-3:00 Last minute errands and pick up take-out

4:00 Daddy takes the boys last minute shopping

Mommy prepares house for Christmas Eve Celebrations

5:30 Family Delivers Christmas Cookies

6:30 Dinner: Panda Express on Christmas paper plates (I'll never go back)

7:00 Christmas jammie unveilings

7:15 ...3...2...1....begin! Minuite to win it games!!

Perfect Jammies for everyone! (maxwells say :"I'm a crack-up")

Before this point we played:

"Hanky panky" and maxwell rocked it!!

With the empty tissue box empty: "Jingle in the Trunk" Cody did it in about 5 seconds so I think there was an error in the set-up.

Bentley then took his turn at it and refused

to take the tissue box off for the remainder of the night.

Next: "Christmas Ball Conveyor", executed by Cody and Maxwell!

They did a pretty good job and got one ball the correct way all the way to the tree.

We did use the plastic candy canes so i don't know if that's cheating but it was fun! I did it and then everyone else tried... it is pretty tricky!

Face the ginerbread man. This one is just how it looks... Starting the gingerbread man cookie on the forehead you inch it down to your mouth with ONLY facial movements.

The boys did pretty good, on the second try cody got it like a champ...

one of the benefits of being the photographer is that my photo wasn't taken at this time but I have to say I mastered it!

(Bentley:"This is weird...")

I'm sure you can imagine what happen to bentley's cookie with in his minute time line :)

Here's Bentley still running and climbing everywhere with his tissue box strapped to his bum... he LOVED it!

The Boys did a great job with "Extreme Christmas Nutcracker" having to stack 6 bolts on top of each other using only a candy cane to balance and place.

We tried to get video but failed, so we have no photos.... Bryant did a pretty good job and was a good sport to try the "Rudolph Scoot", where you have to get a red pom pom to stick to your petroleum jelly covered nose.

This was a very successful Christmas eve! We loved it!

It was very fun to have structured activities to make memories with!!

I've tried a few other things other years and this was a favorite... it might just have to become the tradition! The boys LOVED IT!!!!

Dream Vacation 2010

2010-12-31T19:01:00.000-08:00

Tulum Mexico 2010

Bryant and I went on a week long trip to Tulum Mexico the First week of December.

Thanks to great planning, Perfect Weather, Good friends, A Great sister-in-law, and a sense of adventure,

we had a fabulous time!!

We are sharing some of our photos here and since we see very little of our family we have posted more photos than necessary for a blog post :) so please forgive us :)

At this fun place we walked about a mile down the beach and found a bubbling spot about 15 feet out into the sea, it was likely a place where there is an underground cave, that alows the fresh water to empty into the sea, it was so warm where i was standing but the water closer to the black spot in the photo was freezing cold. It was so cool!

A great feature about the place where we were visiting was that this resort wasn't on a "strip" or near alot of other hotels or resorts. We walked about a mile or more on each side of the resort and the beach was empty except for people from our resort. The farther we walked we ran into a few huts that looked cool to check out but were likely "eco" rental homes, so we stayed on the beach.

We played beach volley ball and had a ton of fun, this is a picture before we went in to play so you won't find us in this photo. Bryant was a hero, and made tons of good plays... I was there for a good time!

We went to a class that taught fruit carving, I was a natural ;) and it was realy fun and totally easy to do! Bryant and I both had creations that turned out lovely, (as you can see here).

Here's Bryant signaling to a "colectivo" that we wanted a ride.

We saved tons, I dare say hundreds of dollars by taking the local bus service as apposed to a taxi service. It's nice that bryant speaks fluent Spanish, and it took only a conversation or two for the language to come back to him full force and he was talking to everyone. You could tell that the locals were glad and somewhat relieved that he could speak the language.

One of the first things people would ask us when they had heard that we went to an all-inclusive resort was a hesitant... "so...how was the food?"

The first night I got filet mignon, it was so good, I had to send my compliments to the chef... outstanding. We had salmon, steak, chicken, veal, Asian, French, Italian, and of course Mexican.

The food was the BEST FOOD I'VE EVER HAD at a restaurant, I of course have made food as good here at home but thats expected ;)

This little number was outstanding, the shell you see there is a caramel crisp it was insainly good. This night I decided to get dessert first since I was always stuffed and couldn't really enjoy it before.

Here posing like you can only do on a ritzy vacation ;) with the beautiful Hibiscus that bryant picked for me on the way to dinner.

The shows were entertaining and were always different every night.

They were a bit random, and one of the photos at the end is of the american Whippit champion, doing whip tricks and songs it was cool, DAD you would have LOVED it!!

Bryant my cute little husband was such a sport when they pulled him onstage for a dance!! He was awsome!

Here's me showing the animal in me as we get on the freeway in Mexico.

Driving a stick-shift is a little like riding a bike, it only took a few minutes and we were up and at em :) We rented a car and took to the City of Coba. We love doing tours off of the beaten path so to speak and did something similar when we visited Jamaica a few years ago, so we were ready for what ever adventure was waiting. ( going on a spendy tour where I have to eat a tuna sandwich and down it with a juice box, and wait in line with 40-60 of my closest friends I have yet to meet just isn't my idea of a good time)

We laughed all the way there and loved every minute exporing this cool city. Knowing that the City's in the Book of Mormon, could have been alot like these made the exploring even more enjoyable. It's amazing to see this and that it's lasted for so long and even more amazing that it hasn't all been discovered yet.

Here's quite a few photos from our journey...enjoy:

There ants were huge and there walking left a huge trail that you could see just walking by.

This was an amazing view... breath taking... I cried.

I'm sure we'll come back so we can take the boys to the top!

After Deciding to sacrifice bryant to the Vacation Gods, in hopes to never have to leave I realized last minute that I'd loose my comrade and that I'd rather stay just a few more days and have him forever... so They allowed him to come back down and we ran away before they changed thier minds.

OK Miracle story: The whole trip I've looked forward to going to Punta Allen and walking along

the beach and picking up Conch Shells.

The sun was setting, we were in a natural habitat Sian Ka'an which contained jaguars and over 100 other species of mammals. We were on one of the worst roads in a little rental and were thinking that any second the car was going to loose a wheel to a pothole and there were 2 for every 10 sq. ft. on the road.

So we stopped a bit short of the goal and pulled over to walk on the beach as the sun was quickly vanishing, and walked around, my spirits were a bit low I have to say since we had driven for sooooo long (I was driving) on the horrible road, and the realization that we couldn't possibly make our goal with daylight to guide the way was hitting hard. So we walked around and I was kind of taking in the sights while the wind tried to blow me in to the sea. We turned to go home empty handed and Aparently had been looking in all the wrong places for the conch shells because on our way back we found a pile of 15+ conch shells some small some huge not all in perfect condition but all amazing!!

We gathered a few and found that the shells get washed up in the high sand and brush area... we left hundreds of the shells on the beach the sight was amazing!! What a fun day!!

A horrible Photo of us, but we didn't get another, we had to return the rental car and wanted to get a photo of the LDS Church meeting house in Tulum before we left. We forgot our camera on sunday... sadly! The building was so great and must be pretty new, it was defiantly nicer and newer than my building here.

Finaly Saying good bye to our room. We loved this place... it was amazing. SO quiet, so kind, yummy and peaceful.
We will miss you Tulum!!

Hopefully we will have more great experiances like this one on our next travels... and suggestions as to where to go?

Maxwell is 4

2010-12-29T23:28:00.000-08:00

It's Maxwell's 4th Birthday!

We love him soo much! Here are some fun shot of the day! I hope to do a follow up post about maxwell in the near future! Enjoy!

The boys were very excited to share this special time of year with Grandma and Grandpa Matheson! Christmas and Maxwell's Birthday! I think that you can tell from the smile on Maxwell's face that he's Thankful she's there!! Love you! Thanks for making a stop in Seattle!

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa Labrum! I love my new toy story 3 activity set... I especially like all the characters that were on my cake... THANK YOU!!

Thanks for coming everyone! Maxwell had a blast thanks for sharing this fun day!!

Who's the real wizard around here?

2010-11-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

Cody has just blown my socks off with his reading and comprehension abilities!

I'll catch him reading in between chores or after he puts his shoes on if he has 2 minutes... luckily he hasn't caught the... reading in the bathroom bug, because he'd go in there and lock the door and I'd never see him again :)

He has finished the first 4 harry potter books in the past 2 months and is now well into book #5, but in between he throws in a little sSar wars, Pokemon and read the whole diary of a wimpy kid and reads the scriptures...

As a family we finished Jacob 5 in the Book of Mormon, where it tells the allegory of the Olive tree, we took 3 days to read and talk about it. When we finished Cody says " I really Like that story can we read it again?" So tonight we finished it for the second time. He comes up with insights that I haven't even thought about before, I think I understand it better after hearing Cody analyze it. I love you Cody and I can't wait to see who and what you will become!

Halloween QT's

2010-10-30T18:00:00.000-07:00

Can I have the cutest kids ever? Well I know I should think that... and so I do!

But the cuteness is upped 10x when bentley puts his buzz wings on...

Here are a few quick shots of the boys. Happy Fall everyone!

Here's a little peak at how spooky our house is :) It's fun at halloween to get he web up. it stretches from the house to the light pole at the street... the web it huge and we have a big lurking spider at the top of it!! It will be sad to see it go...

Maxwell was trying to convince me that woody DID have a bat on his cheek in the movie, and that he should have one on his cheek also...

Luckily some time passed and I got by with him merely taking my photo of the bat mark :)

this picture is weird... I'm not sure who that is but I do remember maxwell taking a picture of my cheek with the bat on it...and this is the only one I have on my memory card...

this must be me...

Surprise!

2010-10-29T22:23:00.000-07:00

Surprise your getting in the car and we are taking you somewhere for your birthday!

It's fine... you can be sick!

We've had this planned for months now.

Get your book we have a long drive ahead of us.

And with that we were on our way to an undisclosed location...

(I hate blogger and how it puts my pictures in a random order and then it's so hard to rearrange them...so here is a mix of all our fun pictures.)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM...

We're at the GREAT WOLF LODGE!!

Bryant had more fun than anyone seeing his well laid plans come in to perfect order.
Accomplishing eerything on his list (if he had a list like this... it would have all been checked off ☺)

pack up with out shelbi knowing (3:30 AM)
load up without shelbi knowing where we are going.
pack everything that resembled a swimming suit or similar materials
locate yummy Mexican restaurant nearby shelbi's favorite
locate a yummy breakfast cafe so shelbi can have her favorite french toast!
give shelbi plenty of time to read with out interruptions
keep everyone smiling

Thanks sweetie for such a fun Birthday!

The next 30 years...

2010-10-10T15:52:00.000-07:00

This year is not so much bitter sweet, as I embark on my journey to my 30's. This is my last year in my 20's ;) I'm 29. You know I'm now in my 30th year...having lived 29 years.

I'm actually not afraid of being 30 at all... I'm really quite looking forward to telling people I'm 30, so I can see their face. I get asked how old I am or get looks with all three boys rather often. I Have recently been asked if I was over 18. So not even being in my 20's... it will be fun to tell people that not only am I over 18... I'm in my 30's... It's a good thing.

Hear are some things I've learned this past year that have helped me be a better person:

Love more unconditionally

Forgive as soon as possible

MAKE time for the important people

Remember the Savior more

Take a walk in someone else’s shoes

I don't expect people to know everything about me,

I not going to assume I know everything about them.

Give people the benefit of the doubt.

Things don't make you HAPPY. (Beautiful things do... j/k(well kind of ))

I Read the scriptures out loud...it's like they're speaking to me.

I bring the rain- to what ever vacation I go on!!

I was going to list people that have been a huge influence over me for these past 30 years, but I wouldn’t want to leave anyone off, but If you think you would have been on here then you probably were. So Thank You.

Since the list would be to long to list of all the things that my parents have taught me I’ll limit it to the top 5 things that come to mind first:

Mom:

Support your family in all they do! ♥ Put things back where they came from. ♥ Have fun! ♥ Keep smiling even when things aren’t great. ♥ Make things big… go all the way!
Dad: Work Hard ♥ Study the scriptures ♥ Forgive others ♥ Be Generous ♥ Don’t take to others too seriously ♥ You won’t die of too much salt... well at least not before your time!

Mom M: Work Hard ♥ Be Organized ♥ Plan ahead ♥ Print mailing labels ahead of time… it’s ok to be a little OCD ♥ Make memories.

Dad M: Be wise. ♥ Share your testimony. ♥ Always be working on something that will make you better. ♥ Show people often how much they mean to you. ♥ Use your money wisely.

There’s nothing that I could say about Bryant that he doesn’t already know. I tell him often how much he means to me. I love him. I can’t believe that he puts up with all my shinanagahans and loves(or seems to) love every minute… If I were him I’d be going nuts. I do change my mind at a moments notice and am the only one who is allowed to do this. I am emotional, sentimental, and extremely hard on myself. He’s always there to give me perspective. And that’s one of the greatest blessings he brings into my life. I'm thankful there was a good man like Bryant out there! Just hope he wasn't the last one. I hope my son's can learn from him.

As I look back on the last 30 years I have little regrets, I could count them on 1 hand. But more than that, The Lord has made more of my life than I ever dreamed. I hoped that he would have something great in store for me, and so with all my Faith and Hope I went forward. I have found that he has blessed me beyond my wildest dreams. I give thanks openly to the Lord here for the world to see, but in all I do. I am still human and often error, but I hope to praise the Lord in all my actions, I hope to be someone he can use to now bless the lives of others, strangers and friends.

My goals for the next 30 years:

Travel: Visit the Holy Land’s stand where He stood, Knee where he knelt, and feel the spirit of the Savior of the World in the Holy Tomb.
Visit the Place where the Prophet Joseph Smith Saw God the Father and Jesus Christ.

Become: More Reflective, More committed, more holy, more thoughtful, Slow to anger, Slow to take offense.

Learn: to put things back when I’m done with them. How to keep my house clean(I’m glad I’m giving myself 30 years), More about the Scriptures, How to keep perspective. Go back to school for to be Psychologist.

Well This last 30 years has been pretty good to me. I would be half of who I am with out my knowledge of the Love and Plan of my savior Jesus Christ.

So to the next 30 years… here we go… but please don’t go by as quickly as the last 30…I don’t want to be THAT OLD!!

To celebrate our turning "30" > Bryant last year and me next year we are taking a full week off... and going to Mexico. Just the 2 of us...all inclusive Paradise!

Three's Company

2010-09-26T21:08:00.000-07:00

Here are my three little guys after church... since I might not ever get them to wear the same matching sweater vests again I thought I better take a picture :)

Cody was very upset about not wearing his suit jacket.

I am seriously in love with these boys... how is it even possible to love them this much??

The Wedding...

2010-09-26T20:38:00.000-07:00

Maxwell: "Mom, I need a photographer."

(I'm still in bed) Shelbi: "You need a photographer?"

Maxwell:" I'm having a wedding, can you take my wedding pictures?"

Maxwell: "MOM, I'm having a wedding, it's right now, everyone is there..."

Shelbi: Right now? I better hurry, ... Who's getting married?"

(Of course my 'what are you thinking jump up your child needs a photographer' energy kicks in and I jump out of bed and Grab my camera.)

Maxwell: "Oh there's alot of 'em getting married"

Here's the details waiting for me :

These were just a few of those to be getting married. Can't you tell...

I'm not sure who is marrying who, but anyone who gets Jingle Bells (the penguin) is a lucky girl!

And the wonderful cake, which sings the wedding march!

Just one of the lucky Brides :)

He kept adding to the pile, early morning weddings can get a little flustered, it seemed that many of them forgot that they were getting married and he had to go round them up :)

Now he may have planned a wedding, but he's still a boy, not so much in on the details.

Cake, friends and family... thats all they needed.

I think he's been waiting for this day his whole life...

2010-09-15T11:56:00.000-07:00

Getting his pre-preschool hair cut.

Maxwell quickly re-intoduced himself to all of the girls at preschool.

"Remember we were playing lego's together."

"Remember we were playing fake food the other day."

He realy liked having a day to come and meet the teacher and students,

on the first day he was ready to start.

"Oh I love the little mermaid, thats a great lunch box, Mine's speed racer."

He was talking to everyone showing off his lunch box and gett

ing everyone ready for the doors to open for the first day of preschool.

Before we left we took the classic back to school photos in the traditional spots, but then maxwell also had a few other ideas for shots of his own, "mom take a picture with me and Bentley", "mom get a shot of me here"... "I'll walk over here you can take my picture here"

... smiling and hamming it up the whole time.

Walking in to class and showing the bentley the way...

After class his teacher came up to me and said, Maxwell says he hasn't ever been in a preschool class before. I told her that he hadn't that he was just 3 (as were all the kids). She said Maxwell is "the perfect student", I'm amazed that he hasn't been in another class, he's so helpful and cleans up and does just what he's asked. He's a dream to have in class....

To Maxwell...he's got her right where he wants her! :)

Maxwell is such a good boy, and such a little pleaser, he wants everyone to be happy and love HIM and LOVE everyone else.

He bring so much joy (and exhaustion) to my life. We are constantly on the move.

I'm so glad that he's enjoying his first day and looking very much forward to all the other days ahead...thing is he has 3 years till he can start real school...

Thanks for taking time to read up on us :)

Love-

Let's Celebrate GRANDPARENTS!!

2010-09-12T20:27:00.000-07:00

We think that we have the coolest GRANDPARENTS and here are some of the reasons why:

Cody: I love all the different things we get to do at Grandma Labrum's House. I really Love the treasure chest! My favorite part of being with Grandpa Labrum , and I've only done it twice, but I hope more-- is the Liahona Hikes, those are sooo fun!

Maxwell: I like going Sledding with Grandpa Labrum and Playing with his dog with him.

I love the Grandma bag. And I love just going to Utah and going to their House!

Cody: It's so cool that they have a pool, it's realy fun when we get to go swimming or get in the hot tub with Grandma Matheson. One of my favorite times was when I got to go hang up flags in the morning with Grandpa Matheson.

Maxwell: I love all their toys especially the hot wheels and when she plays with me. I love swimming with grandpa and getting in the Hot tub!

Bentley says the best Hugs and Kisses come from Grandma's and Grandpa's!!

Change is a good thing....right?

2010-09-08T20:57:00.000-07:00

So here's our little bentley boo as cute as can be :) There are a ton of pictures but how can ya choose when he looks like this in all the pictures. I can't believe that I actually feel a little sad about the hair cut, I was just saying how I loved his hair to the girls the other day, then i the spirit of school haircuts I cut it all off... of course he's the cutest thing you've ever seen, but I still miss that baby baby look. But he had the same old hugs for mom afterwards and was such a good boy.... I think we will like the change :)

So close to so much beauty

2010-09-08T09:21:00.000-07:00

We live so close to so many beautiful Places, Lincoln Park is one of them, located in white Center District next to the ferry to Southworth & Vashon. It's so pretty there. it has pebbly Beach's where you can find beautiful shells and other treasures washed up. Plently of solid logs to sit on and meditate as you listen to the wonderful sounds that surround you as low waves rush up and back out to sea. It's a awesome sound with the water over the pebbles instead of sand or gravel. Walking paths that wrap around just long enough for a good walk.

The play area is old school and has a swing style zip line that's not for the light of heart or GRIP! This thing nearly sent maxwell and Cody flying 50 yards down hill, but they held on tight!

I just love ADIDAS mom.

2010-09-07T17:10:00.000-07:00

Here's a little update on Cody :

Started 2nd grade!

(He says it's alot like 1st grade)

Like's his teacher: Mrs Pang-Ching

If your looking for Cody you might find him: In the playroom closet building star-wars Lego creations. On top of his bed with his head in a book: Currently Harry Potter #3, He already finished Harry Potter 1&2 and nearly all the Magic Treehouse books. Or out on the trampoline. He's constanly wanting to play on the PS3 or go on lego.com which we try to keep to a minimum :)

If it's has 3 stripes (ADIDAS) Cody loves it :)

He recently learned to blanch peaches with dad and did a better job than Natalie and I :( He asked if there were more peaches to blanch 'cause it was so fun :)

He's having a hard time with all these little people around trying to help build his legos(which are already built)

But he's the best brother a boy could hope for!

He watches bentley for me all the time and takes him out to the trampoline and is constantly keeping maxwell IN and OUT of trouble.

Just a few photos to prove:

2010-08-29T14:58:00.000-07:00

We are ALIVE and WELL.

Cub Scouts on Parade :)

2010-07-25T21:12:00.000-07:00

Renton River days parade. It was fun watching and waiting for Cody. And it was definately worth the wait! He's the cutest little cub scout in TOWN!!

Cody's Birthday

2010-07-22T23:59:00.000-07:00

SEVEN YEARS OLD

Before:

After:

Cody's Birthday party was a success with all the little ones!! Lego building and eating a cake that realy looked like legos was super fun!

Cody is an amazing Child. and it was a pleasure to give him a party that he'll remember forever. His friends and grandparents were VERY kind and he got some awsome Lego "stuff" for his birthday. He's been a lego mess ever since the day in fact :) I cleared out a walk in closet so he'll have a creation place to store all of his cool creation away from the littlest creator in our home :)

Happy Birthday to One Fun Boy!!

2010-06-17T09:20:00.000-07:00

It's Bentley's Birthday! And I believe that this is the most unbelievable year...it's goneby so quickly. Bentley is truely a one of a kind sweetie and this family wouldn't be the same without him. To quote Cody a few days after bentley's birth "I didn't know he'd be this cute."

(Snapped a few photos as quickly as possible before heading off to the gym... :) )

Grandparent visits!

2010-06-09T14:30:00.000-07:00

It was good to get a dose of grandma and grandpas this spring but the visits were to short!

Grandma and grandpa Matheson came up for a short weekend visit.

Here are from left to right: Grandma Labrum, Maxwell Owen, Thor Labrum, Steele Labrum, Normandy Labrum holding Easton Labrum(Dallans) Cody Owen holding Bentley Owen, Grandpa Labrum and Cassius Labrum :)

Cute cousins together to celebrate Thors baptism. Too short of a weekend, but lives are so busy and hectic right now we will take what we can get!!

Crossover :) Cody's a wolf :)

2010-06-09T14:27:00.001-07:00

Cody had his cubscout crossover on may 28th. He's a wolf now. He was so excited and proud as wekk as nervous and shy about being presented the awards and esspecially when the other cubs put the new scarf on him and took of the tiger scarf for him :)

Cody loves Cub scouts it's a joy to see him work and scoplish things and belong to such a great organization!!

Welcome to the new Life

2010-06-09T13:29:00.000-07:00

I have had to do some realizations recently:
1- I have never been the mother of 3 boys before
2- I have alot of work to do just to keep the house in order
3- Prefectionisum = ethier doing everything amazingly or doing nothing at all.
4- I have wonderful gifts I'm not taking advantage of
5- Having a clean house is something that I'm not willing to part with
6- I must excersize
7- I must study the gospel more
8- Go and do...not sit and stew

I haven't blogged in forever... I never have the perfect photos or time to edit them right, or frame them or write the perfect post that I ran through my mind as I was shooting hoops or driving to and fro.

I'm excited to have a regular fun blog, and sit down {for a controlled about of time} and check into the lives of friends and family that are so far away. When I sat down in the last week or two to check blogs for the first time in forever I found that One friend had had a baby and I didn't even know they were expecting, another friend had moved houses completely, another had her daughter cut her hair completly off AND posted a picture of the growth over several months... I've been way out of it and I'm sad that I've missed out on so much.

I know that my moms have missed out on the fun little things that my babies are doing so I vow to be a little better blogger...not daily... but better!!

If anyone has advice on how to do it all... that would be nice.

But for now my motto is going to be: (Please keep in mind it take at least 21 days to form a habit) "Doing it all...one step at a time"
I'm going to blog, but not perfectly, I'm going to clean, a little each day, I'm going to excersize even if it's not the whole hour and a half... and I'm going to read and study my scriptures more...even if theres a million other things to do.

My to-do lists are going to be real lists not hopes and dreams!!

My posts are going to be positive joural entries into our lives.
Thanks for reading my ramblings :)
~Momma

2010-01-25T14:16:00.000-08:00

Fun at Newport Beach

2010-01-25T08:50:00.000-08:00

Lined up to see...

2009-12-01T10:02:00.000-08:00

Maxwell is so sweet, other than the fact that these nativities will most likely never be in their correct places, I think maxwell has the right idea :)

Mom- "why are they all lined up?"

maxwell- "they are all in a line to see baby Jesus." (look of confusion as if there could have been another reason)

Little Indian Babies :)

2009-12-01T09:49:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving. My intent was to upload these for thanksgiving and have them here for THE day. but alas...this did not happen. The boys made these indian headbands for family home evening before thanksgiving.

1st grader!

2009-09-17T16:58:00.001-07:00

First It's maxwell on Cody's first day of school, he carried around his "journal" all day! we love you Maxwell!
And here is my first grader!!

Cody is just adorable, while he is going through many phases right now which are a little frusterating, some of the great ones are pouring his own milk, holding bentley, and reading complete sentances with expression :) As apprehensive as he is to be a 1st grader he sure is a cute one!! (below) This day imparticular he stayed home "sick" till about 11:30 before deciding that staying in bed all day is for "really, really sick" people :) We love you Cody!!

Bentley

2009-09-17T16:50:00.000-07:00

Bentley looked so cute in this little shirt! He is such a fun baby to have I love him so much!! Just wanted to share his precious little face with everyone!

Deception Pass & Fort Casey

2009-09-01T23:27:00.000-07:00

Here we are! We had so much fun going up to Whidbey Island. We drove straight there and found a beach and walked along and had lunch. Maxwell found lots of treasures as you will see.
at the bridge we hiked up from a camp site below and then cody wanted to take the hiking trail to Goose Rock. We had a great hike and got some great views of the olympics and the sound. It was beautiful!!
We went to Fort Casey and enjoyed looking at the WW1 fort. The boys are still talking about it!

Getting bigger everyday!

2009-08-27T23:22:00.000-07:00

Here are a few fun pictures on little Bentley- Mostly for the benefit of Grandma's and Grandpa's :) (just in case you were wondering why I possted so many :) WHy not!

Splash Park Cuties

2009-08-27T22:39:00.000-07:00

Bentley Ray Owen is Born!!

2009-07-13T21:55:00.000-07:00

Sunny Weekend Pictures

2009-04-19T22:56:00.001-07:00

Alot of Cody's friends were here for kite flying so I hardly got close enough before he's run away again! Maxwell wins for getting the kite up and the highest for our family!!

Sunny Weekend Pictures!!

2009-04-19T22:49:00.000-07:00

2009-04-19T22:13:00.001-07:00

Just a bunch of cute pictures of the boys!!

Good NIght! I need to sleep!

ANGELS FANS!!

2009-04-16T20:10:00.000-07:00

Bryant and Cody got tickets to the Mariners VS. Angels game tonight at 5:10- exactly 2 hrs before the game. But they got 2nd row seats in the Homerun section for $10 so it was a steal.

Before I knew it they were out the door and having a blast. I just called to make sure they got there and Cody was WhOOPin' and Hollerin' in the back ground and totally into the Game!!
I LOVE IT! (Probley not as much as Bryant)

The Boys Enjoying the SUN!

2009-04-16T18:39:00.000-07:00

So everytime the sun is out so like once every 6-9 weeks Cody says it's so sunny can I get hte pool out? NO, the answer is always the same, but today since the temp was 59 degrees outside I figured I'd let them run through the sprinkler. So here they are! They had so much fun! I HATE RAIN!!
Would someone please remind me what the heck I'm doing living in seattle?

Cody Goes to State for Reflections Art Contest

2009-01-25T20:52:00.000-08:00

"This is a story of 5 snakes.

They are inside thier house,

they sing and dance together.

A camel walks by,

He hears the music

and wants to come and dance with them."

Cody with the PTA Pres, Riley Martin, Principal Olsen & Other teacher

2009-01-19T10:05:00.001-08:00

We made smooties for breakfast this morning. As you can see maxwell tried to enjoy every last drop but in turn ended up saving a few drops for a Raspberry & Peach Facial Mask. Cody on the otherhand didn't spare one drop and his was gone in record time. Hope this little picture made you smile...it did me!

2009-01-17T19:47:00.000-08:00

It's so funny to me to post this, but I am anyways...I just framed a picture of my baby's "bottom". Anyways...the others don't prove that the child is even human. From every picture it looks like it will be a visit from an extra terestrial. Not a very good utra sound, but it was clear and eveident that IT'S A BOY. Cody and Maxwell are every excited to hear the news... Cody had fun as the tech pointed out toes, head, heart, spine and Peeper.(thats what we call it). My boys are ALL boy and I love every minute of it. We are anxiously awaiting the arrival of this precious little gift from God.

Christmas Time!

2009-01-17T19:18:00.000-08:00

Maxwell's 2nd Birthday-

2009-01-17T19:09:00.000-08:00

2009-01-17T17:06:00.000-08:00

The Boys on Halloween

2008-10-31T21:53:00.000-07:00

2008-07-23T14:44:00.001-07:00

What 'Twilight' character are you?

Alice!

You try to make yourself and others happy. You always find a way to get what you want. Caring for others is your major duty, and you do it without complaining. You have real grace with everything you do, and people fall for you easily. You make a great caretaker and friend to those you feel the need to.

2008-07-12T22:31:00.001-07:00

Cody's 5th Birthday has come at last :) I'm so proud of what a great boy he is and how his little spirit is so full of Love and adventure and excitement. He truly loves everyone and is excited about their successes and is saddened by their disappointments. He is such a good example to our family and we are BLESSED to have him.

Entrance to the enchanted Kingdom

Personalized Shields

Sugar Cube Castle Building

The Miniature Knight

You have NO idea how long it took to get the streamers up and I would say it took 1/5748497062th of the time to take them down

We had a mid evil feast with Chicken legs, Grapes, Cheese squares, Rolls and Juice

The Pinata was filled with coins with numbers and they got to come and buy a prize with the coin. WAY better than candy!

2008-06-12T22:13:00.000-07:00

I have to say that this was the most fun thing I have ever done! ( Seeing Cody at disneyland is a close close second...) My mother (Bless her!!) took 11 days off and flew up to seattle from Utah to stay with my boys! (they want her to come back by the way!) We couldn't have done it with out her!! I hope she can pencil us in for a bit each year!

We did everything I could have imagined and more! The food WAS great, Everyone has asked about that...but I'm more into the unlimited ice cream, sweet land tours, late night shows and the friends that we made than the food! But If the food was excellent and all the other things were better than the food you can Imagine what a great time we had!!
We miss Dan and Melissa already!! We were lucky to meet some new friends and had a great time with them.

Bryant is incredible and made sure this was the most amazing experiance ever! He surprised me and doted on me and I felt like a queen the entire time!

2008-05-15T10:18:00.000-07:00

So... I posted about school pictures a while back.... I did decide to get them and to say the least I am glad that I did. I can't imagine missing this little shot and Ihave been so busy lately that I haven't done a photo run with the boys as I should have.

Yes he is 4...four...cuatro.

And heres his little class. In the indoor gym.

2008-04-22T07:18:00.000-07:00

Bryant and I got a pleasant surprise yeasterday when we registered online for our cruise through the official website. We found out our room assignment. We booked it with the belief that we wouldn't find out our cabin room until we got there, since I intend on being in the sun as much as possible who care what room you have right? With an Ice skating rink, a mini golf course and an Itinerary like we have, why would we even want to go back to our cabin...

Well we were assigned already and we got a top floor handicap room just around the corner from the Grand suite...the thing has a baby grand piano in it. I'm assuming that they probley wouldn't put the most expensive suite on a crappy floor so we are pretty excited!! And having a handicap room mean more space.... We are trying to talk about other things at this house but we are so dang excited that we can hardly sleep .

The Boys Got Hair Cuts!!

2008-04-22T07:11:00.000-07:00

Ok life is never boring at my house... I'm sure I'm no exception. But since I cut the boy's hair( yes again!! ) It has been a joy to look at them. Cody love watching in the

mirror as the transformation occurs as I put gel in his hair, and so does maxwell. He doesn't even touch it afterwards. Maxwell's is a mohawk and Cody's is a spike up. Cody's picture isn't the best hair shot but that smile was irrisistable! I'll post a better one of Cody's hair later.

Today is School pictures for cody. So as soon as I leave here I will be choosing the shirt that will be documented for years to come. I hadn't realy thought about this before but...am I going to buy pictures from school? I take so many of Him already about every 6-9 months I take a real photo shoot. So I'm debating whether or not to spend the extra funds for "pro" photos :)

Cody Wins Ticket to Ride

2008-04-11T21:10:00.000-07:00

Cody and I played Ticket to ride tonight. He did realy well and we had a lopt of fun!
Cody WON With 115 POINTS he completed the cards from Seattle to New York, and Vancouver to Montrel and Denver to El Paso. He was pretty excited about how long his trains were and that He Beat his mom but the first thing he said after hearing the score was... what do you thing Teacher Karyn is going to say? She won't believe this ...will she? (Preschool teacher)

2008-04-06T22:42:00.000-07:00

General Conferance, as expected, hightened my desire to be more Christ-like, Recommit to being in tunned with the teachings of the gospel and has given me strength in myendevors to be kinder and more loving. I will strive to serve more selflessly and learn more from the lessons of those people and teaching around me.

James L Ferrell Wrote an excellent book that I love. The Peacegiver. I have readit a few times and it has always made it more clear in my mind my purpose here and how to become more like the Savior and live my life more in harmony with the true teachings of Christ's Church. I saw advertised a new book of his "The Holy Secret" and new that I had to get it, it was a weird feeling. I went to the bookstore yeasterday after conferance and picked it up not even looking at the price. Bryant and I picked it up tonight and he agreed to read with me... we'll see how that works. We read the intro-chapter 3 tonight. It's great. I love the way he speaks in his books... get it it's only 200 pages...a quick read for most.

I'd love to hear how you are enjoing it!! I would love to be in a book club and discuss books like this so if you do want to read lets talk about it...

In addition to this I'm reading Drawing on the Powers of Heaven!!! Fabulous book! I would recommend this to anyone seaking to increase thier connection with the Lord and recieve a more constant companionship of the Holy Ghost.

It's a weird feeling when your car get stolen!

2008-04-04T06:59:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rRbfZ8mH58

It's pretty creepy when your car get's broken into also!
We wike up this morning to our car window smashed in and our GPS gone...we'll investigate further any other missing items but I've been sitting here helpless as my insurance company is a bunch of hosers and no auto glass stores are open to call and get quotes... Of course our incident falls under 2 different insurance policies therefore not even meeting the cost of both deductables. The stole GPS falls under homeowners and the window falls under auto insurance... I'm extreemly sad right now...lets see what you you rather do with $800? Let me know maybe that will cheer me up!!

Easter

2008-03-22T18:05:00.000-07:00

The Easter Bunny Came to our house this morning....
here are a few fun shots... sorry there aren't more of Cody but he was mostly hunting eggs and Maxwell was preforming for me :)

Paradise...

2008-03-22T13:08:00.000-07:00

A Clean Home is a Happy Home!!

With my entire home well on it's way to organizational bliss, here are shots of the Loft: my office, workspace, design center. Here We just installed these new upper cupboards. I haven't added all the design elements that I would like but the beautiful capacity to have a place for everything and everything in their place brings equisite joy to me with each pass through. I have installed extra space to the pantry, 3 closests and the Laundry area. it's pretty amazing. for lack of time to blog about it all now here is the LOFT:

Maxwell Signing

2008-03-20T16:31:00.000-07:00

This is a funny video... He realy is just looking at the camera and not realy signing at all. But he looks like a cutie doing it. He ends up saying a few things but i choose a bad time for him to preform and He dosn't realy know how to do anything besides smile when he's infront of the camera! He's a doll!

Maxwell A little update

2008-03-20T15:10:00.000-07:00

2008-03-17T12:23:00.000-07:00

Wow Maxwell is 15 months old and I have never done a post telling anything about him.

People always ask me is he alot like Cody was? or Is this what cody looked like at this age? Do they have similar personalities?

The answer is No, Nope, Nada!

Maxwell Alexander Owen the 1st

born 2 weeks late...I think that he was sent to try my paitents from the beginning! He was born 10lbs 8oz and is now...well I don't even know somewhere around 22lbs. He trails cody in size but not in attitude. Maxwell knows what he wants and when he wants it, reason takes a back burner to desire with this little guy. Cody taught me that children could be reasoned with and that children need to know thier boundries and expectations. Maxwell has taught me that...well I'm not sure... I can expect a good hard kick in the shins if every need is not met exactly as expected. I'm hoping that this is a phase that will surely pass. Maxwell is learning and has learned a bit of sign language that has helped a ton at our house.

Signs maxwell can do 100% as needed: PLEASE, Eat, All done, Down, banana, thank you, milk.

But he is learning and practicing signs like: sleep, play, mother, daddy, help, bottle, drink.

We have only been teaching the first signs mentioned until about a week ago but he is slowly learning the others and more. It's been amazing how as I have been using more signs...even ones that he dosen't reciprocate yet he has been using the signs that he does know sooo much more and applying PLEASE to every circumstance where there is a need or want...it's pretty cute...

He sleeps through the night but thats nothing new, my only sleep deprivation is self induced, latenight cleaning, blogging, movie watching or date nights. He is basicly at 1 nap as off last week, which is probley not helping his desprate frustrations as he is dealing with the recent lack of sleep in combination with new teeth and growing body, so hopefully I will be able to get him back into 2 naps but it is extreemly hard to do with with so much going on so I'll settle for his 1- 2+hr nap.

2 Weeks ago... I moved the crib into Cody's room...sounds like a sleep disaster...NOPE it was seemless... It's amazing... I wasn't quite able to give up my "craft room" and so Max was sharing the room with all of my supplies...with prohibited the creativity at the owen home quite a bit. Since the move I have been able to sew and have access to all supplies all day and night.

Maxwell loves: Brown bear brown bear. He gets books and backs up to sit on your lap. We are very excited that he has burst into his intrest in books as we are a big book family.

Maxwell loves: His Binkie!!

Maxwell loves: Walking outside

Maxwell loves: Counting to 3...sometime in the near future I will video that!

Maxwell loves: Cody! Cody is the rising and the setting sun to max!! I'm so glad that Cody is such a great example to him. And COdy LOVES maxwell as well so they are starting out on the right feet!

Maxwell hates: Being told no (Don't we all )

Maxwell hates: Well I think being told no pretty much covers it. He is an extreemly fun baby. He has attitude, emotion, personality, and carisma!! He's fun to be around and his smile will brighten anyroom!

Maxwell goes to the barber :)

2008-03-04T11:40:00.001-08:00

I can't believe that it took this long to give Little Max his first hair cut.

His hair is so long and has parts that are longer than others.

But his little hair cut eased my fears in many ways he was ....still, obedient, cooperative and it turned out so well. He is so cute and I love his little even more.

It's amazing how much better he looks with a hair cut. Check out his face wearing the cape...Which he worn the whole hair cut!

BEFORE

AFTER

Maxwell's Little face is covered with the remains of a "kiss" it was the only treat that I had in the house and it was just foreign enough that he was very distracted by it. His cute little smile speaks for it's self. He is a true Joy!

The Boys...

2008-02-20T14:37:00.000-08:00

These are a few portriats of the boys they are growing up for sure!!

We miss everyone and I wish that you could all be here to enjoy the Love's of my life and all of the fun and priceless everyday moments... but as we are away the heart grows fonder and we cherish the time we do get to be with all of you even more!!

All our love!

The family at the zoo.

2008-02-20T14:10:00.000-08:00

Cody's numero uno activity is "Zoo tycoon" He loves creating feeding and designing the whole zoo. To feed his inspiration we got a zoo membership for the year. Here we were sorry i don't have time to make these look cute... it kills me to just post them raw...btu its better than nothing :)

2008-02-05T23:23:00.000-08:00

...And I've had the time of my Liiiiiffffe...and I've never felt this way before....

ok so it wasn't realy like that...but it was very fun...hey baby... sorry I'm just in the "mood"

Bryant and I just started ballroom dancing... it was so fun. The studio is super nice the people there are great we actually meet I think every dancer there. It's like one big family with the instructors. Bryant and I found that we do NOT have 2 left feet but we have a little work to do and alot to learn. Bryant took me around the floor in some simple dances tonight we had the intro cha cha, but did some other simple waltz's,tango, and salsa. We saw some great numbers preformed by students and instructors, it was really great!! We go back next week! We went with the Deslers some friends from our ward. We are SO glad that we didn't have to just walk in on our own, they made it so great!!

I'll post more of our dirty dancing escapades as they come...:) Cha Cha!!

Victoria BC Canada -- Vacation

2008-02-04T21:35:00.000-08:00

I've been home for about a week now.

The view that you see here is a fraction of the view that we had when we visited Victoria BC Canada. It was so fun we loved every minute of it... As I do with most things that I do with my family. We were in the top suite overlooking the Harbor. We watched the seaplanes take off and land and the police search and resuce teams practice out in the harbor with there huge raft boats and every one of them in scuba gear. ( near 100+) as we walked along the docks we even had harbor seals sneak up on us as we walked past the place where they normaly get feed. It scared me to death as I was NOT expecting it. I don't think that Cody could believe his eyes for the first few seconds and maxwell was pointing and squealing as usuall at any sign of excitement.

We walked somewhat but it was SOOO COLD. We mostly did exactly what we went there for...nothing. We spent time just as a family no phones, limited internet, no responsibilities of anything and enjoyed every minute of it. We had a 4 Man (5-6 if you break the rules) Hot tub to ourselves. and We took advantage of that each day and night we were there. Which was extreamly nice at bed time, when usualy we are confined to a hotel couch and limited cable we were able to go out and get in the hot tub and enjoy the beautiful views all around us, and warmed up to watch movies which we were prepared with and brought from home...we even brought our own DVD player which has TV gaurdian...it so great.

One of the cool things that we did venture out to see were some castles. So amazing...man if I could go back in time ( and be loaded) I would love to live in a castle and where Emma dresses and sit out on the lawn and work on my needle point or paint my beautiful paintings (I wouldn't know about photoshop or Digital photos so I think I would be content). (read: "EMMA" here I just got that from jenna to watch this week :) ) They were great!

Thanks to bryant for the surprise getaway It was so extreamly needed and I enjoyed...throughly enjoyed every minute of it!!

Yes the kids did come with us but they HONESTLY went to bed every night at 6:30 or 7PM it was dark early and they didn't get afternoon naps so they were ...ready for bed! It's so nice to have a semi-self suficiant 4 year old who wakes up...and quitely tries to go adn watch cartoon all by himself :)

Does anyone even...

2008-02-02T15:09:00.000-08:00

just wanted to kn ow if anyone even reads or checks my blog anymore? Mom? Anyone? Sorry I have ebbn so out of it lately...Details to follow.
Love to all!
Shelbi

Maxwell we are glad that you were BORN!!

2008-01-15T07:16:00.000-08:00

Maxwell celebrated his 1st birthday December 28th.
I was ready for Cody's first birthday it seemed he had been waiting to turn one for months, but my little Max? He was 6 months one day and all of the sudden grew up and now he's ONE!

Maxwell is a JOY!! Here are a few fun birthday shots!
We celebrated Maxwells Birthday at Grandma and Grandpa Labrums house.
We played fun games and of course had cake and bananas. Cake becouse we are in America and Bananas becouse those make Maxwell more happy that any other single thing I've put before him :) He's my little monkey :)
More on max later! When I get time to work in photoshop and Illistrator I will do a feature just about max. But for now!! I love YOU Maxwell! Happy Birthday!

We played cherades at maxwell's Birthday Party it was a lot of fun!

Another Year Has Gone By...

2007-12-22T21:55:00.001-08:00

We hope that you enjoy our journey through the past year.
It was filled with many firsts for the Owen family...
Maxwell is born, Family vacation to California,
Cruisin’ mexico, Preschool and Maxwell’s first steps.

2007-12-20T10:17:00.000-08:00

A. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

5 Things I was doing 10 years ago:

1. Driving anywhere I could In my Toyota Celica...That car ROCKED!! Thanks dad!
2. Hanging out with Kaela & Jessie
3. about this time it would have been the annual Shelbi's Christmas Kids Kamp! (so parents could go shopping, Where am I now that I need me?)
4. Probably organizing some type of project or fundraiser to help stop drunk driving or smoking.
5. Playing Basketball. (it would be my last year...if you had asked me then I would never have believed that! I'm playing again and It's great!)

5 Things on my to-do list today

1. Finish Christmas Presents
2. Household maintance (Laundry, vacuming, toy clearance, dishes, garbage, the floors need mopped but I don't think that will happen!)
3. Peticure
4. Play with my kids ( for once in the past week)
5. Get to bed before 11PM

5 Snacks I enjoy

1. Ice Cream/Frozen Yogurt
2. Rice Crispie treats
3. Ranch Rice Cakes
4. Sprite Zero
5. Fruit ( Apples, Peaches, Nearly ripe bannanas, Avacados)

5 Things I would do if I were a Billionaire

( After paying my tithing)

1. Get family out of Debt. (Which will probably lead to more debt... so maybe I'll just lower their monthy payments)
2. Buy a bigger (not gignormous) home on 2 acres, With a porch around the front, basketball Cort, meadow, wooded area with tree fort, hot tub. ( Where I would live forever)
3. Fly family to MY house for visits.
4. Take yearly vacations with my husband and children and Separate vacations with just me and bryant.
5. Help as many people as possible with there temporal needs in efforts to stabalize them to the point that they can focus on their spiritual and community needs.

3 of my bad habits:

1. saying that I'm going to check my e-mail then checking others blogs instead and ending up on the computer for WAY to long ( wasteing the beautiful nap time for children in which I could have finished the majority of my to-do lists.)
2. getting board or distracted and leaving undesireable things unfinished...

5 places I have lived

1. The Dalles, Oregon
2. Keizer, Oregon
3. Rexburg, Idaho
4. Renton, Wa
5. ( Does this count I have lived in 3 houses all on the same street! I believe it was between the years 11-13)

5 Jobs I’ve had

(it depends on what qualifies as a job I've been self employeed since I was 8)

1. Babysitter/Nanny
2. Hostess at O'Callahan's
3. BYU-I Catering Office Receptionist
4. Manager of Scrapbooking "papercrafting" @ Porter's
5. CEO-SLO Photography and Design
TRUMP ~MOMMY~

5 Things people probably don’t know about me

1. I Hate confrontation
2. I can't do everything!
3. I love running.
4. I don't like to cook.
5. ... is there anything else that's not totaly obvious?

TAG- Mom Labrum, Dad Matheson, Laura Westfall, Lindsey Jergensen, Mallory, Taryn. ( for those of you with out a blog you can reply to my post. Copy- Paste- Fill in your answers... Wa la!!)

Gingerbread Infestation

2007-12-17T21:05:00.000-08:00

Cody's Gingerbread Play at the Winter Wonderland Family Night for his preschool.

He was a Doggie.

Bryants gingerbread tree ( He had alot of help from his creative cohorts)

This is my Wonderland masterpeice :) It was realy fun todo and much simpler than I thought. It did take a few days to complete but I just had it done and sitting on the counter and added fence peices here and there. I love Doing these and this one was great. I did learn alot since my past ones have been on a smaller scale... but I will try and do another next year!

A get together to decorate gingerbread houses. I basicly did mine all at home and the drive to and from the tyler's house was just to add stress to my life... it's so hard to come by these days I have to look for ways to add it (but luckily it only almost shattered 1 time) :) It was fun to be together at Christmas. Next year Messa ( the town homes) and I will have to do our own party and they can decorate with all the candy we have left over... I swear I could do 5 more houses with the candy I have. oh well... till next year!

A Christmas Treasure

2007-12-13T07:19:00.000-08:00

It's finally Done!! Above is the front page of the Christmas Book. First I have to Thank Kaela Thatcher Fisher and Rachel Seimers for their tremendous help and time! This book is so fun!

Each day of december Has a Scripture, Story, Craft, Song, & Recipe. Some days have an added poem or other tid bit. This will be a treasured collectable at out home for years to come. I'm working on the cover of the binder right now.

If you would like a copy of the book, Please reply to this post I will make send outs every 2 or 3 days until everyone who wants the book has the book! Here are the specifications:

71 Pages- I printed all odd pages. (There is a feature in your print options), then all the even pages. Card stock or put your pages in sheet protectors or just print it and see how long it will last it might be fine!

(If anyone knows of a way for me to upload a file that can become a link that others can click on to download the same file to thier computer please let me know. The file is a PDF and is difficult to upload as-is)

Enjoy

2007-12-04T15:40:00.000-08:00

This is a town about an hour and a half from us. Talk about devistation. This is a small town, in the middle of washington after a weekend of rain and snow... you never know what could happen... be prepared have a 72 hour kit. If you aren't aware of what a 72 hour kit is let me know and I can get you the information so that you can be prepared incase of an emergency.

Sometimes this world Surprises me.

2007-12-04T10:43:00.001-08:00

http://msn.match.com/msn/article.aspx?articleid=8899&TrackingID=516311&BannerID=544657&menuid=8&GT1=10678

This is the link to an MSN page about 5 things you can do to let the woman that you love know how much you appreciate her. It's a MSN column, not an EFY talk, but they hit the nailon the head...I'm glad somethings like this are out there for ALL to see. Check it out or ... encourage "someone" else too!

Cody's Gingerbread House

2007-12-03T21:34:00.000-08:00

2007-12-02T13:49:00.000-08:00

My Brother Travis' little girl normandy was baptised this weekend.
Most of us were here together to celebrate and be together.

My parents and Dallan and Mallory were able to come up. It was fun to be together. We played alot together, Ticket to ride -Europe and ALOOOT of guitar Hero. Travis Bryant Dallan and Dad I think are going to have to start thier own band. Mom mallory and normandy even held thier own on the guitar. What fun!

Here we are together! We missed nicole and hope to see her over the Christmas Holidays as we will be in Utah with bells on!!

The Snow Unicorn

2007-12-02T13:42:00.000-08:00

Cody went out last night at 9:30pm and played in the snow... as the creative genius he is, he made a snow unicorn...
Enjoy!

Birthday Boy!

2007-11-25T17:57:00.000-08:00

Bryant is 28 years young today!!
Happy birthday to HIM!!

If you want to send a birthday greeting send it to his work address at :

bryant.s.owen@boeing.com

I just think it would be so fun for him to come to work and have a few fun HappyBirthday e-mails :)

20 Things to be Thankful for

2007-11-22T22:27:00.000-08:00

Kaela did this tag and challenged all her readers to do it as well.

I would like to extend that invitation to any onlookers and take a moment to list "20 things I am thankful for. "

What a great thing to do... and a perfect month to do it in.

I'm thankful for:

Life and the knowledge that there is a God that brought us here.

Jesus Christ and the Gospel that he has given the world.

Bryant For the example he is to me and the support in all I do!

Prayer and the Knowledge that God hears our prayers and that I can receive revelation for myself and my family regarding His will.

My Children

Temporal luxuries, cars, my beautiful home, clothes, resturants, toys, the computer, disney...you know the temporal stuff.

Color and light

Faces and our abilities to smile and lift each other with out words.

A modern prophet to lead and guide the world, currently Pres. Gordon B Hinckley.

Photos, and the beautiful art that comes from the people and world around us.

Teachers

Washing machines, dishwashers and airplanes! They make life ALOT easier!

TIME

the United States of America

Hair

FAMILY units. Parents and in-laws siblings and cousins!! Families are amazing!

BYU-Idaho ( Education)

Food! USDA, Farmers, Dairies(kind of random but we get milk delivered weekly and it's amazing!)

The internet!

my physical body...walking, typing, seeing,.... man we are AMAZING!

2007-11-20T20:44:00.000-08:00

OK Smart Women full of ideas :)

I am compiling a Christmas book, filled with christmas stories for each day of December, activities that are kid and family friendly, Family Home evening Ideas, recipes and anything else that inspires one in holiday festivities and the spirit of Christmas. I thought that you would have some good ideas or stories and wanted to see if you wanted to submit your story or idea or perfect recipe idea. :) I started off with some great ideas last weekend at the christmas social at church and am very excited to add to it. Growing up my mom had a book that had a story, craft, treat and poem or song for every day of december...it was a highlight of our childhood holidays, getting the book out and making copies for fun crafts and activities. This was something that brought our family closer together and helped bring the spirit of christmas into our home. ( But I've done all of those 20X each :) So I'm calling All ideas Again!!

When the stories are all submitted I will put them together in PDF format so that you can easily print in color or black & white on your own printer or send the file to kinkos/staples and start or add to a book of your own.

Please scan in any art or craft projects and type the stories so that I can easily import them *first quality* and not have photo copy marks. :)

You will get a copy of the PDF if you would like and I won't mind if you pass it along to others you know who might benefit. If you plan on contributing e-mail me ASAP.

I would like to get this done by Nov 27th so we are all good to go for December 1st. It will only take 20 minutes now and you will have a treasure your family will enjoy for years to come!!

I'll take some photos of the book I have started making and post it here after thanksgiving. It's fun with folders to put lists, dividers to write your card sending list (and keep it for the upcoming years) a place to write gifts recieved and of course a place to write all the things that you would like to do differently in the years to come...some not to forget and some to never do again!! So every thanksgiving you will pull out the book filled with memories and tips! I'm al about making life easier and more enjoyable!!

2007-11-18T20:41:00.000-08:00

2007-11-15T22:33:00.000-08:00

I'm a little busy lately :)

2007-10-30T22:47:00.000-07:00

Since you very seldom see a mummie without her baby at a ward function, I thought it careless to leave these mummies without their babies!! These were so fun to make and easier than normal Cupcakes!! I have had a lot of fun this Halloween. I haven't even posted all of the fun things Cody and I have been working on.

Pumpkins this year were white. We painted ghost faces on them with a little sign like our header.."The ooooowens" There was one size appropriate pumpkin for each family member.
Since Cody's fascination/addiction to Martha Stewart I thought I'd throw a little fuel on the fire and let him make one of the Halloween projects from her "Good things...Bad things" special. We made the white chocolate ghostson candy sticks, wrapped them in cellophane, and put a little tag on them that said "BOO From Cody Oooowen" and he delivered them to his preschool mates today on costume day.
Cute adorable little bats out of black card stock and hung them above his bed and outside the front door..... and no Halloween is complete without the amazing creations that come from fake spider webs which adorn the inside and outside of the house.
I focused on projects that I wanted to do not ones I felt like I had to do like carve pumpkins or paint faces...or even buy Halloween candy. Last year we gave out Play dough, this year we are handing out Halloween Mechanical Pencils :) HEHEHEHE but have some white chocolate ghosts for Cody's closest mini pals.
Here's a tip for all of you moms of tots....Allow your child a small selection of their favorite candy and suckers. The rest goes to the Christmas Gingerbread houses!! I do a ginger bread house with Cody all on his own and so I don't have to obsess over my perfectionism about my house at the same time as helping with his, plus I get to basically practice everything in a mini round so things are good to go when the real round comes for the .... gingerbread house of wonder :) Just kidding I think I'm doing a ginger shack this year...keep posted around the first of December....But save that blasted Halloween candy!! For once it's good for something! It's only a month away!
Cody is my little prodigy I love him so much!! You are all thinking yea Cody...and Shelbi... It was probably all Shelbi...NO! Cody cut the words out for the tags glued them together to make adorable little tags(he used funky scissors so the cuts were camouflaged!) he twisted the bags over the little ghosts and attached all of the tags with a paperclip, added the glitter to the OOOOOwen family sign, picked out all the mummies eyes, played with all the bats and tested them out in their first at flights (they all flew perfectly by the way) and held them together on their strings withOUT getting any strings tangled!! He left that part up to mom. Cody's Ideas Fuel me a ton!

And the best part usually comes a couple hours later when he stops playing with his animals or flying down the stairs and says mom..."remember when we made those Chocolate Ghosts ... that was realy fun to do together. I LOVE YOU!"

Ward Halloween Party Fun!

2007-10-30T15:27:00.001-07:00

2007-10-24T15:55:00.000-07:00

A very spooky thing to do to waste away a perfectly good Laundry Day!! I recommend it to all my Witchy friends out there ;) Have a spooky Halloween and enjoy this idea! Great to do with kids or friends!

I got the idea from my mother! I used 2 pkg striped fudged cookies (several kinds out there!) and 1 big bag Chocolate kisses. And orange frosting, (we wished we had done other colors so let me know how it works out if you try...pink or purple would be just as witchy!)

Calling all Ideas!!

2007-10-23T11:43:00.000-07:00

So I am working up all the Ideas that I can for great ideas for a super saturday!!

I want great craft ideas and family craft ideas and fun things to do at christmas...neighbor gifts ...everything!! You all are the most creative people I know....if you know someone else you is creative give them my blog and ask them to post!! I would LOVE it if I checked this in a few days and had 5436 posts with ideas and links to ideas for a christmas spectaculare event. Of course I can only choose a few for this event but ... I will store all the rest or use them myself! Adn sharing here will give everyone else who reads great ideas also!! Please Please Please!! Send your ideas e-mail or post here!! Thank YOU!

My Little Boys

2007-10-21T17:03:00.001-07:00

Here are some new photos of the boys. Maxwell's little teeth are so fun! He has 3 on top and another coming in and all of his gums are about ready to burst his little mouth must be so sore. Here are my little cuties!!

2007-10-21T16:50:00.000-07:00

I love this apron I made for Cody. It even has a "holster" on the side for his vacuum attachments he uses as (swords).

Whats next...

2007-10-18T12:21:00.000-07:00

Everybody's got to have something to look forward to and here's mine!! The CS3 Creativity seminar (Photoshop class) I am so excited they are coming to seattle again and this time I'm pretty sure I'll be there!! Another Seminar I'm looking forward to is "Time out for Couples" coming to the Tacoma Convention Center! I'm just furthering my education in every way I can... right now I'm taking a crash course in DR.MOM 101... yea I wasn't realy planning on taking it but... what can ya do. It's realy quite sad that my guinea pig paitents have had it so bad, but I'm doing my best at taking care of them and learning what I can along the way! keep them in your prayers!