Spring is in Bloom

Even though there is still snow outside spring is blooming inside.  We have started many plants for the garden and they are doing great.  Even CJ's Desert Rose plant is blooming.  It just looks so happy in here.

My favorite spring bloom though is our new apple tree.  We have always wanted to grow fruit trees so this year we picked up our first fruit tree...an apple tree.  Not just any apple tree though.  We have always said that if we got an apple tree we wanted to get a multi-apple tree so that we can have more than one variety of apple.  Our beautiful new apple tree has honeycrip, granysmith, and gala apples on it.  There were a few grafts that were not labeled so there is a chance of one or two more varieties on our tree.  I can just taste the apple pie now.  Mmmm mmmm, can't wait for the harvest.

Against our blue walls the tree looks like it is outside already.  For right now its blooms are safe and warm inside.

Sea Pearch

Dakota has been working hard after school twice a month all year long on her underwater robot.  She has been excited for the chance to build and compete with her robot and today we got to see the competition.  It was during school so only Megan, Alex, and I were able to go.  Her team did well.  It was very exciting and BYU TV was there filming the competition and taking interviews of the event.  Dakota's group from the Jr. High was the largest group there by far.

Megan looking down from the balcony where we watched the competition from the best position.

Dakota modeling her Sea Perch (under water robot).

After the competition the kids were treated to some displays by companies that specialize in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields which is what this competition is supposed to be cultivating a love for.  We saw demonstrations of fire power from torches, aeronautics, a 3-D printer (my favorite), medical advances and more.  I don't know who was more excited and interested in all of the displays, the kids or me.  I wish they did things like this when I was in school.

Fun at the Park

Just a beautiful day today.  Couldn't resist taking the little ones to the park.

Very Hard Decision

This will come as a shock.  It happened so quickly but it is done.

As of today, we no longer own Twice Blessed Thrift Store.

I don't want to go into a lot of detail because it still hurts and there are a lot of questions I am trying to sort out.  The store is a lot of work but I love it.  Unfortunately that means that I am there more then I am at home.  I knew that would be the case going into this and I thought I could make it work.  The kids don't really want to be there after the store closes when there is still so much work to be done so we hardly ever see each other.  I promised my kids that as much as I love the store I love them more and if it ever came between us I would choose them and sell the store.

After 6 months of hard work the store is really taking off.  The client base grows everyday.  The daily profit is on the rise.  The store is loved by so many.  I know that by the end of the first year we will be well established and looking to move to a bigger building.  However, I am loosing my children.  As the store gets more successful my family falls farther apart.  They have to fight the store for my attention and that isn't fair to them.  I know they were willing to help in the beginning but I think that they weren't ready for the amount of work that it takes to run a thrift store and they may even feel that I love the store more then them because that is where I spend all of my time.  Without going in to specifics, I fear that it has indeed come to the decision I hoped I would never have to make but promised my kids I would.  I had to put the store up for sale.

It only took 2 weeks to sell because it was doing so well.  Today I turned the keys over to the new owners and came home to put my family back together.  In time I hope to understand all the "why's" I am asking.  For now, I will hug my family and focus on them.

New Store Additions

I have had the supplies to make an A-frame sign for the store for months.  I finally took a day that the whole family was here working and went in the back room to make the sign.  I think it turned out colorful and fun.  I used bright duct tape and some letter cutouts then covered it all with packing tape to make it weather proof.  It is sure to bring in new customers.

I also bought a candy dispenser for the front to hopefully supplement the store.  I LOVE it and think it looks great.  Let's hope it does as well as I hope it does.

Alex with the Savior

I saw this picture and had to take a second look.  That little boy looks exactly like Alex!  It makes my heart sing and reminds me that even though he throws massive temper tantrums and destroys almost everything, he is also very sweet and loves to be loved.  I love seeing him in the Savior's arms.

Playtime

Megan and Alex were playing so quietly that I got nervous.  I remember how white my kitchen became last time they got all quiet.  When I found them they were having a blast quietly playing with their toys in the front room.  It was so sweet...and a relief.

Date Night

I love Hilary Weeks!!!  I saw her at the first Women's Conference my mother took me to many years ago.  She writes and sings beautiful songs that have to do with the love of the Savior.  She is funny, talented, and a so loving.  I always love seeing her annually at each Women's Conference.

This year for Valentine's Day there was a Date Night being put on by a great Psychiatric that I love to listen to on the radio, Matt Townsend.  He specializes in family relationships.  He came to speak at our Stake for a fireside one night and CJ was there and we both loved his talk.  His special guest for this Date Night was Hilary Weeks!  I couldn't resist it so I asked CJ if he would be my date that night (it was more expensive than we usually spend for each other on Valentine's Day) and we went together.  They were both so funny and spoke so well to our hearts.  After ward Hilary stayed to take pictures and talk with everyone.  She is so sweet and was so nice to us when it was our turn.  

I couldn't wait to get home tonight and show this picture to my girls because they love Hilary as much as I do.  They were so excited for me.

Hilary Weeks

Experiments in Silence

Not experimenting with silence but doing experiments silently, that is what I mean.  

It's been long enough that I can laugh about it now so I thought I would share. Last Saturday Megan and Alexander thought they would conduct an experiment. I should have known something was up when they got silent.  Apparently they wondered how much floor they could cover with an entire 5 lb bag of flour. Together they set out to answer their question.  When I walked in to the kitchen I wanted to cry.  I am proud of myself that I didn't yell because they pretty much covered ALL of our new tile floor with it...you know, the floor with all the dark brown grout! (Sorry, no pics. I didn't think about it at the time.) They had so much flour on the floor that they decided to start throwing it on things other than the floor, like the table, the counter tops, and of course themselves. Oh, and here's the kicker, they accomplished their little experiment in less than 5 minutes.  

Panorama

Playing with the panorama feature on my new iphone I took this picture of the new shelving unit that I put in our front room.  If you look closely you will see our DREAM theme.  

All the places we have the word dream:

*Spelled out with the blocks on the top of the bookshelf.

*Spelled out with the blocks hanging from the corner shelf.

*In gold on the picture hanging on the last hook of the corner shelf.

*A small word plaque that sits in front of the picture of the kids on the corner shelf.

Baby Room

There was a room in our store that was used as an "extras" room holding things like electronics, sports, and any other items I didn't have a place for.  It was never a room that I liked it was just there.  After a while I found a new purpose for that room and I am so glad at how it turned out.  I put up a block to the room with a sign that let customers know it was under construction so they were all curious on what it was changed to.  It was a big project so it took me longer to get it done then I liked (every day it was closed was a day of lost sales) but it was finally opened.

I had so many baby items that they were taking over the other rooms.  I decided to turn the "extras" room in to a "nursery".  It was so cute in there and everyone loved it.  I had fun seeing all the tiny and cute baby clothes.  We need more shelving but for now it is open.

Get some disinfectant!

What a pair CJ and I are tonight.  We both have the flu and I have bronchitis on top of that.  We sound so pathetic.

I love my girls so much for taking such good care of us as well as the two little ones.  

We are soooo blessed!

Just a trim...right?

So today as I was cutting Alexander's hair he kept telling me he wanted it to look just like "Sportacus's" hair (that is his favorite character in his favorite television show.)  I told him I would do my best but he would have to try to sit still if that was going to happen.  When I got to the area around his ears he grabs my hands and holds them, looks me in the eyes with fear and pleading on his face.  He then looks for some reassurance as he asks...

"You're not going to cut my brain are you?"

DREAM 5

Ever since we told my family that the first letter in all the kids names can be arranged to spell the word DREAM, they have suggested that I put that word on our licence plate.  Knowing that the word DREAM would already be taken I never looked in to it but wished that I could get it because it would mean a great deal to me and my family.  

A few weeks ago the dealer that sold our new van to us kept calling but I have been so busy that I didn't have a chance to call her back.  Her message was so urgent that she traveled all the way to my home and showed up on my door step.  It turns out that the van she let me drive home in was not actually the van she sold me on paperwork.

This car dealer is pretty new and they have so few employees that they are not able to process all their new inventory as quickly as they would like.  I saw a minivan on their website that I wanted to look at so I went and asked them about it.  She showed me the van I have now and I thought that the van looked even better in person than it did in the picture.  I drove it and it was even better than described so I knew that it was the one I wanted because it was a good price for a nice van.  We filled out the proper paperwork and I went on my way.  It wasn't until months later when a second, very similar, van was sold and they were filling out the paperwork did they catch the mistake that was made.

The van that was advertised on their website the day I went to look at it was taken in the back to be cleaned.  The owner and only salesperson that showed me the van didn't know that so she showed me one that she thought was correct since it came in at the same time and still needed to be cleaned (like the other van.)  She was in such a hurry because there were other customers and she is the only person showing the cars that she never checked the VIN number on my van with the number on the paperwork for the van I saw on the internet.  I left and the van that matched my paperwork was cleaned and put on the lot for sale with the paperwork that I should have received.  When that van sold and she saw that the VIN numbers didn't match she panicked.  She rushed the correct paperwork to me for signatures.  If I had gotten in an accident in my van that didn't match the paperwork my insurance company would not have covered it and the company that sold me the car would have been liable.  

She told me that the van I got was in much better condition that the one that I was supposed to get so I got a really good deal.   She said that she would also pay for the new licence plate and asked if there was anything special I wanted on it.  So we now have my DREAM licence plate with the added number of 5 for the five kids that are my dream team.

Unicorn Poop

 Have you ever wondered what unicorn poop looks like?  Well wonder no more!  My kids have uncovered the mystery that has plagued unicorn lovers for centuries.  They have found samples of ACTUAL unicorn poop.  Don't believe me?  Look for yourselves.

You believe me now don't you.  This is the real deal.  Isn't it as beautiful and magical as the unicorn that dropped it?  And to top it all off, not only is unicorn poop colorful but it tastes great too.  I don't normally put the poop of any creature in my mouth but unicorns are so magical and beautiful and their poop smelled so sweet that I couldn't resist just a nibble.  Of course that nibble was so delicious that I ended up eating the whole thing.  Thank goodness they had more samples that they found and I didn't eat the only evidence they had.

Here is the poop from a particularly loving unicorn.

While on their quest for unicorn poop they discovered another patch of poop that lifted my spirit.  My spirit of competition that is.  They found Bronco poop!  You see the Bronco fans are the only fans loyal enough to poop the notorious orange and blue colors of the best professional football team there is.  Don't believe me?  Look again and see for yourselves.

This time I let CJ sample the poop since I don't think there is a more loyal Bronco fan in our family than he.  He enjoyed his sample and was also proud of the kids for their most colorful finds.