Buck Horn Beaver

I don't know how we got the name but I think it came from my oldest nephew Jack. When someone has teeth that stick out or buck teeth, my girls call them buck horn beavers. So I decided to show the Aplanalp Hall of Buckers. (you should feel very lucky to see this:))

Spring Break Part 1

Oh what a crazy week we had leading up to Spring Break. We had Dance Tryouts for T, Piano for the A's, and of course.... Family Dinner. It was so nice to get a break from the hectic thing we call life. We drove to Utah on Friday with our cousin Natalie. The usually long and boring car ride wasn't all that long. Still it is hard with 4 girls and my husband:) We got to my hubbie's sister's house at 11:00. Her daughter was also staying there too so it was fun to have all the cousins there! We woke up the next morning and went to General Conference. We actually had a very big miracle come to us as it was starting. So my husband got us 5 tickets for our family, but little did we know, we also needed one for my niece. so he tried asking around but we couldn't get another one. For any of you who don't know what General Conference is, it is an annual meeting where we listen to our Prophet, Thomas S. Monson, speak and listen also to his apostles. I always look forward to this because I always go away feeling spiritually fed and nourished. Anyway it was Little A's first time and we were so excited. We got to the conference center and still couldn't find a ticket for my hubby. T was so cute. She said, "I'll go outside and you guys can go." Ha. Yeah we are going to leave YOU outside:) We had kind of given up hope because we had seen so many signs asking for a spare ticket. So we part and go upstairs. All of a sudden, in the bathroom, we got a call from him saying he got a ticket!! Long story short, he overheard a lady saying how she has too many tickets and he jumped at the chance. We sat next to our friends the Reeds and enjoyed the many talks and jokes they cracked:) I love President Monson and his apostles. I am so grateful we ALL got that experience and I will never forget it!

On Sunday we went over to R's other sister's house and let me tell you she is an AMAZING COOK!!! We had some pot roast with mashed potatoes and gravy and rolls. We played and talked. The kids played a fun spin- off of the TV show Amazing Race.

On Monday, we slept in and had breakfast at our favorite place Kneaders. If you haven't gone there, MAKE SURE you get there next time you go. It is such a cute place. Then we hit the shops. We went to Downeast and shopped there for a while. After we went to our home away from home, TJ Maxx. We shopped there and even ran into a good friend from our ward, Mary N!! We then parted from R's niece and his mom. We took Brandee's twins, J and E and headed to the mall. T lives and breathes the mall. She knew exactly where EVERYTHING was. We (again!!) headed to Downeast and shopped around while T went to her new favorite store Forever 21. The A's wanted to go find snuggleluv, a place where you can make your own bows. But of course in this economy, it was shut down.... Their little hearts were broken:( Since we couldn't find anything, we headed to my personal favorite, Busy Biddy. I got this very cute necklace and N got a necklace for her mom. Since shopping really wears you out, we went to our favorite pizza place, Pizza Factory. We shopped around some more after and then headed home.

But the night wasn't over. The Laws invited us to dinner with them at Cafe Rio. The Cafe Rio salad was amazing:P After a great night of ice cream at Maggie Moos and a late chat with M, we headed home with 2 of the Law girls in tow. G and C were so sweet! The kids watched a movie and then hit the pillows.

Tuesday morning, Me and M went to lunch and R and the girls went to a favorite, Kangaroo Zoo. It is a warehouse full of Jumpee Houses and food. They cater Pizza Factory too! But soon they left, eating at In 'n Out. We then went boutique shopping at the store where M works and said our goodbyes. It is always sad to see a friend leave. Our family tradition is to go to BYU and get sweatshirts and books. We actually saw a lot of students eating lunch and in class. It was kind of funny! However, what was not funny was how hot it was!! The bookstore was so hot, I thought I was going to faint!! We left with our sweatshirts and headed back. But, then I made R stop remembering that Nie Nie lived close to wear we were. My hubbie warned me that he didn't have a lot of time so we raced to find her house:) as we were leaving her street, out of the corner of my eye, I saw her!!! I saw NIE NIE! We waved to her and I felt so complete. I saw a famous blogger! she has such a sweet story and I totally admire her confidence and her motivation to move along with her life, no matter what struggles are in her way.

Well we left Wednesday and returned home. Although I would not move there any time soon, I love Utah. Thanks to everyone who helped us and cared for us! We love you!

Sadie as a Toddler

My Sweet Sadie

Sorry I haven't posted in a long time but I am coming back from Spring Break, Subbing and just the regular schedule! A big highlight for my family last year was a birth in the family. Our good friends the Kisners have a beautiful Golden Retriever named Stella. She is not too big and is very good tempered. We told them that if Stella ever had puppies, we would gladly take one off their hands. Fast forward a couple years.... and what do you know, Stella is pregnant! My girls were so excited that after countless letters and Christmas lists that they would be getting a puppy. On April 27, we got a text saying that Stella was in labor but that we couldn't see the puppies until they were ready. Throughout the whole day, texts and pictures were swapped back and forth, saying if the puppies were girls or boys, who came out first and all that stuff. A couple of days later, my family got the OK to go over to their house. I walked in and felt so blessed to see God's creations. Stella had puppies; 2 girls and 2 boys. Our Sadie was the last one to be born and the other girl was the first. I'm not going to lie but they kind of looked like rats... in a cute way though( if thats even possible!!) Every time we would go to my mom's house, we would drop by to see the pups. My husband made it very clear that we would be getting a girl dog (for the obvious reasons). So that narrowed it down to 2. Then came the hard part of naming her. The contenders; Sadie, Ruby, Quinn, Parker, and Scout( my husbands choice!:)) We all fought tooth and nail for our name to win. We all agreed on T's name, Sadie. The name Sadie is Hebrew for Princess, which is exactly what she is:) After waiting a long eight weeks, we picked her up on Father's Day. She is the sweetest but kind of crazy and can be a pain, but thats why we love her! Her birthday is coming up and I can't believe my baby is going to be one!! My whole family loves her and will agree(most of the time) that she is a perfect fit for our family!

D-A-D

Happy Father's Day. I was driving to Home Depot a few months ago and saw this aqua truck in a parking lot on the way there. I immediately thought that it would make a great photo op for my girls. I am also in love with the color aqua so I had the brilliant( can I say that?) idea of doing a dad's day pic with my girlies. I think it turned out stinking cute(can I say that?). Decide for yourselves:)

We gave Robi a frame with 3 openings and a girl with a letter in each opening. SO darling! We also made him dad tokens-little A said they were good for 2 bike rides with daddy, big A said they were good for 2 cuddles, and T said she would do one load of laundry:) My girlies are so lucky to have a dad like him-he's the best and they love him to the moon and back:) I feel so fortunate to have such amazing men in my life, Robi and my dad are both awesome:)

Look what I found at TARGET!

Can you believe that I found these at Target? I LOOOVVEE that store. I was moments away this weekend from painting a canvas this color and using my cricut to cut white vinyl and slapping this saying on there. Target saved me sooo much time:) They come in all sorts of colors-yellow, green, red and turquoise. I had to refrain from buying one for each room. Don't you love the pillow too? GO out and get yourself one before they are gone....

My Etsy

I have created an ETSY for my shop, Bows & Arrows Boutique! We sell bows, clothes, jewelry and more! Check it out!( Press)