My Very Talented Sister- and a giveaway!

Check this out, and be sure to check out her etsy shop. She can do some truly amazing things and she is having an awesome giveaway to get her name out there.

copied from her blog:

In honor of my new Etsy shop (and to generate more traffic and advertising) I am going to give away $100 worth of services to one lucky winner. To enter this contest, you will need to go and visit my shop http://myluckyblue.etsy.com/ and tell me what you would do with your $100. To earn more entries, you can:

1. Place the Lucky Blue button in your sidebar (just grab the code from my sidebar).
2. Favorite me on Etsy
3. Blog about Lucky Blue and this giveaway with a link back to THIS post.

So that's a total of 4 entries you can get. Please leave a new comment for each entry. (That's easier for me.)

The contest will end next Monday night - April 6th - at midnight. Come Tuesday (or Wednesday at the latest) I will announce the winner. Make sure I have a way to contact you, either by visiting your blog or through email.

I'm so excited! This will be so much fun! And get this, the first Monday of every month, I will be giving away something different to one of my followers here or someone who heart's me on Etsy. They won't all be this big though. So, get going!

Another Skirt Giveaway

These are just so dang cute, I'm dying for one. Chantal and I actually went to the fashion district in LA and went to some fun fabric stores and bought some fabric to make our own. The only problem is... I suck at sewing.

check it out http://grosgrainfabulous.blogspot.com/2009/03/twilight-tide-pettiskirt-giveaway.html

Irrigation

I have fond memories of growing up across the street from the elementary school and playing in the water anytime they irrigated the fields. I know it is probably super gross and un-sanitary, but we were just a bunch of hillbillies and it was one of the few fun things to do outside in 130 degree summer weather.

Plus my parents didn't mind. My dad actually one summer taught me and my brother to skim-board in the irrigation. He took us to Home Depot to buy the wood, paint, sealers, etc. Cut the wood to the right shape and size. Let us each paint our own board and then sealed it and let it set for a few days. I think he even warped the wood just right so it had some good curves and everything. Then he took us one Saturday afternoon over to Mariposa's ball fields when they were irrigated and taught us the tricks of the trade to skim boarding. It was so much fun and my brother and I spent the rest of the summer and summers for years to come skim-boarding any chance we got.

This is a picture of my dad back in the day (who knows when) skim-boarding on the beach in CA. He was a total hottie and definitely a pro. Perfect person to teach the skill!!

Well the other day my parents were irrigating their back yard and I couldn't resist letting my kids get down to their skivvies and play in the water. I had fun flashbacks when Shawn ran out to their barn and cut a piece of wood to size and tried teaching Lacy to skim-board. It was sooo cute and I loved every minute of it. We also got out the old snow toys, dusted them off and had fun putting the kids on the disks and spinning them around in the shallow grassy water. (If you ask me, that's a true AZ native)

I was glad my dads super nice camera was near by so I actually have some pictures to prove we are still here and having fun!

Long time no post

I have been anti-posting lately, I admit.

I have had it with camera's. We got an awesome camera and it got stolen, then got a crappy camera that broke. Now we just have the video camera that only takes half-ace still pictures. Plus my mom's camera is also on the fritz so I haven't really been able to document our everyday lives as well as a Fuller girl has been taught to.
Luckily I had my dads super-nice camera near by the other day and got some cute cute pictures of the kids playing in the irrigation. I promise, we are all still alive and kickin! (post about that coming next)

I have also totally had it with computers. About 2 months ago our computer crashed for like the THOUSANDTH FREAKIN TIME. And if I had any money at all, I would give in to Charmaine and Patrick's testimonials and buy myself a Mac. I lost lots and lots of info and pictures and have just been to frustrated with it all.

So there it is. My lame excuses for not blogging lately. Not good excuses but excuses none the less.

An update on the Browns...
As for Shawn, he is doing pretty good, considering everything he's been going through. Due to the awesome recession we are all in he was laid off work. We figure this to be a perfect time while we are young and everything else, for him to go back to school full time. He has applied for all the grants/loans etc. that he can, but can't really start anything until Summer school. He is still looking for work of any kind to try and help us get by. So if you hear of anything, please let us know. I am strongly convinced that the best job he can get is one from a referral, so the word is out. Super talented, super hot Shawn Brown is looking for a job :)
Join the club... it seems everyone is looking for a job.

Lacy is as adorable as ever. She has been such a joy lately. She is still as feisty and smart as ever, and cracks us up everyday. She loves her cousins and friends more than anything and is very sensitive when it comes to them. She surprises us all the time with the things she knows and says- she is our genius child. Right now she is on this kick of sounding every word out and telling us the letters in the word. I am convinced that there isn't anything in this entire universe she can not figure out.

Hugo is our little man in the making. He loves to be outside and will sit by the door with his shoes on until we let him out. He loves to scream, happy or not, and is the cause of a lot of headaches. He is for sure a man's man. Don't get me wrong he loves his mommy and his grandmas, but He screams and squeals with joy anytime Shawn walks in the door and when he is home, Hugo doesn't want much to do with me. He also adores his Papa, G-Pa, Uncle Samuel and Uncle Patty (those are just a few, but they are the men he sees the most) I do have to say though he is the biggest sucker for his Great Grandpa Bald-head and Grandpa is just a big a sucker for Hugo. They both light up when they see each other and it is so fun to watch.

As for me, I am 7+ months pregnant and huge as ever! I feel like I am already ready to pop this one out. He is going to be a big one, I can tell. Other than that I have been doing pretty well. Just trying my best to keep us all from going insane. I have been enjoying doing all the little things around the house that I have been doing. (I'll hijack someones camera and post about them soon). We have been swimming 6 times this past week. It is my favorite thing right now to not feel the effects of gravity on my huge belly when I'm in the pool. I am there any chance I get!
Annnnnyway. I know this is a super-long post. I hope you all didn't read it all because HOLY COW! I am just trying to catch up, mostly for myself.

Publicity in the Church

This is a letter my bishop sent out to members of our ward. I thought the link to the article was perfect and thought I would share it!

The Church has just published the following on their website;

http://www.newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/commentary/the-publicity-dilemma

In an earlier time of persecution, Joseph Smith corresponded with John Wentworth, a Newspaper Editor. A portion of letter has been memorized by tens of thousands of missionaries.

“The Standard of Truth has been erected; no unhallowed hand can stop the work from progressing; persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done” (History of the Church, 4:540).

Surely this is a time in which calumny defames. However, we remain confident in the divinity of this work. The teachings of the Savior inspire us to respond to attacks with forgiveness. Our best defense against controversy is silence.

Looks like fun!

Lucky you! The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you.
This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1 - I make no guarantees that you will like what I make! (Though I may ask some questions during the process.)
2 - What I create will be just for you.
3 - It'll be done this year (might take a little while).
4 - You have no clue what it's going to be.
5 - I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same. (Don't worry, it can be a card or cookies or whatever - it doesn't have to be outrageous, just homemade.)
The first 5 people to do so and leave a comment telling me they did win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me!
Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!

Random

Haven't posted for real in a while. I will soon, I promise!!

I had fun with this. I don't know if anyone else will find this interesting, maybe Charmaine.

1 - Go to "wikipedia." Hit “random”or click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:RandomThe first random wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.

2 - Go to "Random quotations"or click http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3The last four or five words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.

3 - Go to flickr and click on “explore the last seven days”or click http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7daysThird picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.

4 - Use photoshop or similar to put it all together.

5 - Post it with this text in the "caption" and TAG the friends you want to join in.

Blushing Buttercream Pettiskirt GIVEAWAY!!!!

I know Lacy would love this, as would ANY little girl. I agree with Charmaine though, I want one for myself!!

Blushing Buttercream Pettiskirt GIVEAWAY!!!!

just like his mommy

I snapped this real quick with my camera phone. Hugo is into American Idol as much as I am. He was totally into all the singing and music. I can already tell he loves music, it always calms him down.

He'll be one of those really hot guys that play the piano or guitar.

Oh, and FYI... that blanket is LACY'S... he just loves the silkyness of it. I plan on making him his own, very manly, silky blanket. :)

Lacy's Birthday Celebration

This little girl really had a birthday week.

Tuesday at pre-school Lacy got to celebrate her birthday by bringing treats and having the class sing to her.

Wednesday was her actual birthday. She started off the day going to her science class with one of her most favorite friends, Carson. She got to go out to lunch with her Uncle Samuel and Lelan who took her to "Kings Burger" to play. She had so much fun and they spoiled her with treats and a milk shake. Then Papa came over and brought her a balloon and some ice cream sandwiches. Then while I was at mutual my parents took her out for ice cream. On top of all that she was receiving phone calls all day from family. She had a wonderful day filled with people who love her.

On Saturday we had some friends over for a barbeque. She got some presents there and some yummy cupcakes. I think her favorite part was definitely seeing her friends that she hadn't seen in a long time.

Finally on Sunday we had a big family dinner. She waited so patiently to open all her presents until this day so it was super special. She got an easy bake oven, an adorable tea set, a bunch of cute clothes and much more. We had a lot of fun and now Lacy keeps asking if it is still her birthday. When I say no, your birthday is over, she will always reply with, "well I'm still 4 aren't I?"

She is such a cutie and I am so glad to have her in my life!!!

Of corse the boys spent most of the time in front of the TV watching the super-bowl. Thank goodness for DVR so we could all see the best parts of the game, and un-fortunately the worst parts too :(

Awesome family

A sweet letter I had to post from a friend in my ward. I know its long, but if the situation were reversed and I was in need of help, I would wish everyone I know and love would step up and help.

Dear Family and Friends (and family & friends of family & friends),

A miracle happened for us in 2006 when Carter joined our family through adoption. The love and support you gave us at that time was deeply felt and appreciated. We have been so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends who have continued to be mindful of us and prayerful in our behalf. We have been certified, waiting, and hoping for another miracle for about a year and a half now, since October 2007. After a recent failed adoption situation, we are renewing our efforts to "find" our child. We are again asking for your prayers and assistance. Since our chances of adopting increase with exposure, we want to remind you that these days, most successful adoptions fall under the category of designated adoption. Designated adoption is when the birth parents and adoptive parents find each other through a third party.

That is where you come in!WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?* E-mail this message to everyone in your address book who might be willing to help us.* Copy and paste this note into a post on your blog or online community profile (Blogger, Typepad, Facebook, Myspace, etc.).

* Link our Internet profiles on your blog accounts.-

http://www.meganandshane.com/ http://www.providentliving.org/ses/birthmother/viewsingleprofile/0,12272,2133-1-8973-1-1,00.html-

https://beta.itsaboutlove.org/ial/profiles/12733830/ourMessage.jsf

* Bookmark our online profile(s) for future reference.

* Have our pass-along cards with you at all times (feel free to ask for some if you don't have them).

* If you know of a woman who is thinking about placing her baby for adoption, or doesn't quite know what to do, please give her one of our pass-along cards or our web address. You could also post our cards on bulletin boards wherever you think a potential birth mother or someone she knows might see them (such as those in dorms or on college campuses) or share our information with health care providers, ecclesiastical leaders, or other friends and contacts.Adoption in itself is a miracle. We have grown to love adoption and it has become a big part of our lives. We are always willing to talk about our adoption and give you more information, feel free to ask anytime.

You or any potential birth parents may call our toll-free number (1-888-279-9920), e-mail us (shaneandmegan@gmail.com), or call our LDS Family Services adoption caseworker Calli Tidwell (480-968-2995). Thank you in advance for all your help as well as your love and support.

Blessings,Shane, Megan, & Carter Hilton

http://www.meganandshane.com/

shaneandmegan@gmail.com

"We look at adoption as a very sacred exchange. It was not done lightly on either side." -Jaime Lee Curtis, Adoptive Mother

Happy Birthday Baby Girl

Lacy turned 4 yesterday. I am so lucky to have her in my life. I will post pictures later, we are having her celebration on Sunday with all the family, so look for the post there. I was just sitting with her talking and we decided to do a little survey. I asked her the questions and wrote them down exactly what she said, with no edits. So this is all getting to know LACY JO...

Where are you right now? Home
Are you bored? No
What day is today? Late
Are you happy? Yea
Do you have a lot of friends? Yea I have one hundred and fifty one friends
Are you close with them? Yea
Who is your best friend? All of them
Do you ever fight with your best friend? No, that makes me angry, it makes me sad whhen we fight
Do you have a boyfriend? Yea, he's nice
Do you want kids? Yea
Do you miss being a kid? What?? What do I miss?
Who was the last person to call you? Uh... who was it? Grandma and G-pa
Who was the last person to text you? Uh... I texted Katie and Katie texted me. Little kids text.
Do you have any tattoos? What does that mean?
Do you have any piercings? No, what does that mean?
Do you have any regrets? What does that mean?
What are you wearing? A pink bow shirt, panties and nothing else. I'm just kicking a balloon.
Do you have plans for the weekend? Yea, my birthday party and the museum
Will you be with your friends this weekend? Yea
Do you ever lie? shakes her head no... i dont lie, I'm a great little kid. I dont scream and I dont make you mad anymore.
What was the last movie you watched? Little Einsteins
Who was the last person to email you? me? why? what does that mean?
Who was the last person you talked to? You What did you say? To you? What did I say to you?
Do you wish you were somewhere else? Yea... uh... Brian and Kates house with you and Daddy and Hugo
Are you a nice person? Yea
Do people like you? Yea, they believe me
What song are you listening to? I dont know what it is, golf ball, I dont hear any songs
Are you getting bored of this survey? No, what does that mean? No, I just tooted!
Are you close with your parents? Yea, hahahha, yea.
What's your favorite thing to eat? Pizza and Ramen
Whats the thing that you hate the most to eat? Uh... I hate to eat pasta
Apple juice or orange juice? Apple Juice AND Orange Juice, I like both of them!
Are you a morning or night person? Morning time AND night time... I like Morning time better tho
Ninjas or pirates? What does ninjas mean? aye aye capitan
What was your favorite childhood television program? Spongebob and Little Einsteins and Mickey Mouse
If you could be any animal, what would you be? a pretty one
If you could have a superpower, what would it be? I want to be one of the two girls, like wonderwoman and spiderman
What is usually your first thought when you wake up? eat munch, take a shower and go
What do you usually think about right before falling asleep? take a bath, take a shower and eat breakfast tomorrow in the morning and go to sleep
What's your favorite color? Sparkley Red
What's your favorite animal? A monkey with a flower
You're given 1 million dollars, what do you spend it on? a lot of toys
Are you mostly a clean or messy person? Clean
What would be your dream job? A rock-star mom

I had to stop there at the pefect answer. I've taught my girl well. I love her to pieces!!!

Speaking of my favorite men....

This cute little guy is going to get a....

LITTLE BROTHER!!!

I love this picture. I snapped it with my camera phone. He came in the room with this loom on his head saying "hat, hat hat" it was adorable. He is such a cutie.

Back to the new baby. Lacy was really really wanting a little sister. She already had her named and everything. We thought it would be fun to bring her to the ultra-sound with us. She walked right in the office, up to the front desk and asked the lady, "is it a boy or a girl?" She was a good sport and told Lacy she didn't know but she would find out soon. As soon as we walked into the ultra-sound room Lacy asked the tech again. She was nice too and told Lacy she would find out soon. I then told Lacy.. Okay, it might not be a sister, it might be a brother. She was not happy and screamed "ITS NOT A BOY, ITS A GIRL. I ALREADY HAVE A BROTHER, I WANT A SISTER!" I quickly appologized to the tech and told her I was sorry in advance in case its a boy Lacy might throw a fit. As soon as the tech got in the right spot it was obviously a boy. We told Lacy and she was fine and quitely watched the rest of the time. I was relieved and happy she didn't throw a fit.

That is.... until we got into the car. I buckled her in and as soon as I got into the car she said, "Mommy I dont want another brother, I want a sister." I was nice at first but the tantrum lasted the whole car ride! She is finally getting used to it and I told her she can get a new doll to be her sister.

We'll see how this goes. I am really excited though. The new baby and Hugo will only be about 18 months apart, so hopefully they will be the best of friends. Lacy can hold her own, I'm not worried! :)

Some of my Favorite Men!

3 of my most favorite men had birthdays the last couple weeks.

Most Recently was my Daddy-o's birthday. He turned 53 on January 9th!

He has truly taught me all I need to know and given me all the tools to be successful in life. He has led and is leading the greatest example of a happy marriage, a successful home and a christlike attitude. I love him dearly and am so thankful for everything he has given ME over the past 25 years and I know will continually give me for all eternity.

My Grandpa turned 83 on New Years Day.

He is such an awesome grandpa. I am so lucky to get to see him all the time. He picked up Hugo the other day and called him his "boy". It touched my heart so much because I like to think of myself as grandpas "girl".

And my most favorite of favorites is my dear hubby who turned 27 on December 28th. He has truly brought me more happiness than I ever thought possible. I could go on for hours and hours about how much I love him and everything he has done for me.

I found this "HUNKY HUSBAND" survey on someone elses blog, so I'm going to copy it!

What is his name? Shawn Patrick

How long have you been married? 5 1/2 wonderful years

How long did you date? 3ish years

How old is he? 27

Where did he serve his mission? Philippines Naga

Who eats more? Shawn wins hands down (and I'm pregnant:)

Who said I love you first? I think it was him.. but I dont remember, that was a loooong time ago

Who is taller? He is 8 inches taller!

Who sings better? I love to hear Shawn sing- I'd say he is way better but I'm sure he would say I am, he's sweet like that

Who is smarter? Depends what subject we're talking about... but I think its pretty close

Whose temper is worse? We are both sooo laid back, but prob mine (sad to say, but I have more of a temper since I've had kids)

Who does the laundry? Mostly I do

Who does the dishes? I unload he loads... but he does it all on sundays

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? If you are laying down looking at the ceiling, I'm on the right side

Who pays the bills? Me

Who mows the lawn? Whenever we have grass, he does

Who cooks dinner? Me or our moms :)

Who drives when you are together? Always Shawn

Who is more stubborn? Shawn for how sweet and calm and laid back he is suprisingly stubborn

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Shawn-he's perfect

Whose parents do you see the most? We are so lucky our parents live only a mile away from eachother and we see them both at least once a week. Its divided pretty evenly

Who proposed? Shawn

Who has more friends? We have always had the same circle of friends so we dont really have any that are just one of ours, so we're tied!

Who has more siblings? We both have 4... but I guess he wins because all of his are married and only 3 of mine are married (we really need to work on that)

Who wears the pants in the family? We each get a leg... I'd give them to him though anytime he wants them (unless I really really want them :)

I am so lucky to be surrounded of such wonderful men!

Christmas and New Year Happenings

So much to blog about. Be prepared for a long post.

The first of December's party's started with Grandmother Lisonbee's annual Christmas party at the park. Lots of good food, a teddy bear parade and an auction! It was super fun as usual, especially getting to visit with all of Shawn's cousins.

Lacy had her fun pre-school party and was so funny singing this time. She was distracted most of the time and every once in a while she would jump up and sing loudly one part when she was paying attention. I guess there was just too much going on!

We had our annual Ollerton Christmas Eve Eve party that just keeps on getting bigger and bigger. The earliest I can remember it, it was actually at my Grandma and Grandpa's house then we would go caroling to Great Grandad and Millies. Then it got too big so we moved it to Aunt Julies where it was for years. Now, for the past 3 or 4 years we have to go to a church building and have it in the cultural hall. We have over 100 people just with Aunts, Uncles and cousins.. and of course, Grandpa! Lacy was so excited that she got to sing Jingle Bells into the microphone and she totally hammed it up!!

One of the more important things we did these holidays was that Patrick and Chaz were sealed in the temple. It was a beautiful ceremony and we were so blessed to be able to be there. That night they had a big party at the Stolworthy's to celebrate that and their graduation's. There was lots of delicious food and Santa even came!!

Christmas eve we spent the day with Brown's opening gifts, eating lunch, watching Christmas moveis and missing everyone who couldnt be there. It was just Mom and Dad, Patrick and Chaz and us with our kids. We were so excited that Ryan and Krista made it home from Mexico just in time to open gifts!

That night we went to Fullers to eat dinner and visit with Lacy's great Grammy and Grandaddy. We also had our Christmas pjs which was home-made for the kids and new robes for the boys!

Christmas morning we spent at home. It was nice opening the few gifts we had together. We didn't get a lot of gifts but we all got a BIG gift. Santa brought everyone their very own bike. Shawn and I nice big mountain bikes, Lacy a pink bike that had her name on it and Hugo a little car to ride on. (we got a bike trailer the day after Thanksgiving for him to ride in during family rides)

We then came back to Fullers later Christmas morning for breakfast and opening gifts. We had a low-key rest of the day playing in the rain, sleeping and just lounging around. Most of my family had the stomache flu so they weren't on their A-Game!

Shawn's birthday was the 28th which was a Sunday. We had a ton of people over for a nice dinner and Shawn got a GUN. He was really suprised and excited.

New Years Eve Shawn and I went and chapperoned the dance for all the 14-18yr old kids in the area. We had a suprisingly good time and enjoyed breakfast at midnight with some of my favorite girls!

We had our first annual pijama bowl where we all went bowling with the kids, in our pj's. Every-one made it except Randal who was taking his turn with the stomache-flu. AJ and his girl even came (but I guess we just consider him part of the family!)

The break was also filled with...

fun adult dates

dog-sitting Patrick and Chaz's dogs (which made us all really dog-hungry)

fun days with the kids

a trip to McCormick train park where we got to ride the train and the merry go round

one ride on the new light-rail in Tempe

lots of throwing up and diahrea (sorry, TMI)

pink eye for Shawn

and of course MOST IMPORTANT

Celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ