On a lighter note . . .

This is what Cade does to play dough when I am upstairs doing other things, and not paying full attention. . . He mixed it all together and added water . . . fun to clean up!

And this is what Ambree does to my diaper bag when I am downstairs doing other things, and not paying full attention . . .

Do you think Ambree will forgive me for putting her in Hulk pull ups? Cade was done with them and I just couldn't let them go to waste! They worked just fine for their purpose. :) When I first put them on her she was a little confused and said, "This is Cade's". After I told her the Hulk was so cool, she looked down at him and said, "He is so cute". LOL.

Oh, and here are a couple ways to make food a little more fun for the kiddos . . .

Butterfly Sandwich . . . pretty self explanatory.

Snowman on a skewer (use pretzel sticks for arms . . . I didn't have any at the time). The hat is an apple piece and blueberries. The nose is a little sliver of a carrot and the eyes and buttons are chocolate chips.

Celebrating Kathy's life . . .

This past week has been filled with so many emotions. All week, I have been going back and forth from my home, to Orem, helping with funeral preparations, as much as possible with two kids. I have seen lots of family and friends that I haven't seen for a while, which has been fun. On Friday I helped decorate at the church for the funeral, I put a scrapbook together for people to sign at the funeral, I cleaned, I cooked, and we had a family get together with all of our family that was in town. We had a nice dinner and spent 2 1/2 hours just sharing memories about Kathy. We laughed, we cried, we hugged, we danced (some famous Kathy dances), we watched a DVD with pictures from Kathy's life, we stayed up way too late! I didn't get home until almost 1:30 am. Luckily my wonderful mother in law had my kids Friday and Saturday. On Saturday morning, we headed to Orem for the viewing. I thought I would be OK, since I had already seen Kathy's body the day before at the funeral home, but no such luck. I lost it the moment I saw her. I lost it when I watched the video at the viewing with footage of her singing, footage of her wedding, etc. At 10:00 we headed into the chapel for the funeral, and It was amazing. The overflow area had to be opened up to accommodate all the people. There were beautiful musical numbers, and the speakers were wonderful. Although it was a very emotional experience, the spirit was so strong, and I could have listened for hours more. I could definitely feel Kathy's presence, and I know she is at peace. I am so grateful for the gospel and the perspective it gives us on death, and what happens after death. I know that the teachings are true and that I will see Kathy again.

Here is a copy of the program (front) . . .
Back of the program . . .

Inside of the program (in case you weren't sure) . . . :)

A few pictures from the burial . . .

Me with my siblings. . .

Me with my cousins, Shanna and Lyndi . . .

Kathy's husband, Mike, saying his last goodbye . . .

Although Kathy will be missed by many, I know that we all feel very blessed for the time that we had to be with her here on earth. We love you!

Till we meet again . . .

I was hoping for a miracle, but it looks like Heavenly Father had different plans for my Aunt Kathy. She passed away in her sleep early Tuesday morning. I am very happy that she is no longer in pain, but I will miss her so much. I feel like a big piece of my life is missing.

This is me when I was two years old sitting on the bride, which is Kathy's lap. This was her marriage to her first husband, Ty. On the far left is my aunt Irene, and on the far right is my mom, Joy, in the middle is my aunt Diane, and Ty is to the right of her. All the children are cousins.
Here is my aunt at my wedding, with her second husband, Mike.

Aunt Kathy with my kids and her grand kids, Aiden and Samantha. She loved playing with the kids!

My aunt holding Aiden, and my mom holding Cade. This was at my cousin, Tamsyn's wedding luncheon almost 4 years ago.

Some of my memories about Kathy . . .

-She was my own personal beautician. She owned her own nail and facial shop in Orange County and did my nails for every special occasion I had. She also gave me facials, pedicures, waxed my eye brows, highlighted my hair, and got salon hair products for me with her discount.

-She took me to my first Broadway musical, which was "Cats".

-She taught me how to play "Nertz" card game and she was the queen of the game. We played it all the time.

-I stayed many weekends with her and Tyler and she would take us out the dinner, to the movies, to the beach, to the pool, etc.

-She loved BBQ chicken and salads and made them for us a lot when we went to her home. Maybe that's why those are two of my favorite foods.

-My mom would usually meet her at her shop to drop me off for sleep overs and she would always get us doughnuts and orange juice from the shop next door.

-She took my brothers and I on an over night ski trip and we stayed in a cabin.

-She lived in a community in Irvine and had access to the lake, the lagoon, lots of pools, the bike park, etc. I have lots of fun memories with her at those places.

-She would play in the water with us at the beach and always buy us Popsicles to eat on the way home.

-She was an amazing singer. She sang lots of solos at various church events, including my missionary farewell and homecoming.

-We were always making deals with each other to help us stay on our fitness and eating healthy routines. She still owes me $15.00 :)

-When I was in high school she said she would give me $100.00 if I could go a year without chocolate, and I did, and she paid me.

-She was always genuinely happy to see me and very interested in my life and what was going on with me.

-She was very easy to talk to and loved to talk and listen.

-She was the life of the party and had a contagious laugh. If Kathy was going to be there, you knew it was going to be fun.

-She was always thinking about others, and what she could do to make their lives easier and to make them feel more loved and appreciated.

-She was a pro at knowing all about color personalities and we had many conversations about this when all the family got together.

-This past summer I went to her community pool in Orem almost every week. It helped so much with my transition from Calfornia to Utah and it was fun to visit with her.

-A few months ago, we took a road trip to Rexburg for my cousin's wedding. It was just Kathy, my sister, Brittany and me. It was fun to talk the whole way there and back. I learned a lot more about Kathy's life on that trip. I am so grateful for it.

-She attended every major event in my life and a lot of minor ones as well, like choir concerts, sporting events, dance competitions, etc.

-She was very knowledgeable of the gospel and often would bear her testimony to me through conversation, weather she realized it or not.

-She was a second mom, a best friend, and my Aunt.

I love you so much Aunt Kathy, and I can't wait to see you again!!

I love you Aunt Kathy!!

I haven't been the best blogger lately, but I have a good excuse. One of my best friends, my Aunt Kathy, was diagnosed with cervical, uterus, lymph node, brain cancer and isn't doing very well. All of a sudden things that seemed worth blogging about haven't seemed too important and I have been preoccupied thinking about her and helping her when I can, since she is living in Orem, Utah.

Due to a tragic brain aneurysm her first husband of 4 months passed a way when she was only 2 months pregnant. She lived in California, a little less than an hour away from us when we were growing up and she was raising her son. She loved us like her own children and my mom babysat her son, Tyler quite a bit. Needless to say, my siblings and I have a very close relationship with our Aunt Kathy. She is such a fun and outgoing person. She is very friendly and makes everyone feel welcome. She is very positive, and a great leader. And she is a spiritual giant. I love her so much and can't bear to see her going through such a hard time.

Ever since she started her Chemo treatments a few weeks ago, things have just been going down hill, and she has been in so much pain. After various trips to the hospital, etc., etc., she and her family (she remarried 6 years ago) have decided to stop chemo treatment and to go home with hospice care, and try to be as comfortable as possible. The doctors say she has a few days to about a month to live, so it's been difficult for all involved, but I can't help to think that miracles happen. If the Lord wants her to get well and live, she will, if not, he has another plan for her, and she will be dearly missed. It is a comfort to know about the Plan of Salvation and Eternal Families, especially during times like these. So, please offer a prayer, or many, for my sweet aunt and all that are involved in this difficult situation.

And the winners for "Pay it Forward" are . . .

Jenna Steed, Joanna Salmon, and Kathryn Osmond!
I am not sure what I am making yet, but I will figure it out soon, and hopefully get it to you before 365 days have passed! Don't forget to do the same thing on your blog and send homemade gifts to the first three people to leave comments. :)

Pay it Forward . . .

The Rules

1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me.

2. Winners, you must post this challenge on your blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your Three Friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love!If you are not one of the Top Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along. Please take the button and post it on your blog; start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same!

Good thing there is glass between them . . .

I was planning on posting a few funny videos from 2008 that I never posted in the past, but I am having problems with them uploading! Here is one, maybe I can get the others up later . . . we'll see! I don't know what's funnier in this video, what you can see, or what you can hear from me yelling! :)