Ward Campout & Regional Conference

Friday night was our ward campout.  It was the first one that we as a family were able to go in our new ward.  The only downside is we couldn't stay the night because I had to be up early for our dress rehearsal at the Conference Center.  Brian and I were able to meet new people.  The kids played with a bunch of other kids and were having the time of their lives.  Tali was so dirty her white shirt was gray.  I also learned a thing or two about smores and roasting....Starbursts.  Yes, that's right.  Starbursts.  I had never had it before but it was AWESOME!  One woman (I don't know her name) had me try a smore with a Reese's pb cup instead of a chocolate bar.  It was awesome!  I had a blast once more people got there. 

Yesterday was our Regional Conference.  I had the opportunity to sing at the Conference Center with the Tooele Valley regional choir.  I loved it!  We sang Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise and Beautiful Savior.  Both songs were just beautiful!  Elder Clark from the Quorum of the Seventy invited us (Tooele Valley) to participate.  We had two very good conductors one of which was from our ward.  I also ran into a second cousin of mine that I hadn't seen in a very long time.  I found out he and his wife live in the Tooele Valley also.  I'm glad I at least have some family out here.  :) 

Saturday, I had to be at the Conference Center by 8:15am.  We spent the morning rehearsing, getting our credentials, doing sound checks and such.  

Yesterday I had to be at the Conference Center by 7:45am.  That was awful considering I woke up at 5am.  We put milk in some thermos mug type things and then took cereal, bowls, and spoons for the kids to eat in the van while they were waiting for the doors to open.  My in-laws were there helping Brian with the kids which made a HUGE difference for him.  It was such a blessing having them there helping out!  Thanks Ma and Pa! 

We met in the theater where we warmed up and had a beautiful prayer.  Elder Clark had blessed us that angels would be there with us.  It was amazing.  After our practice, they gave us some cookies and water.  The talks were amazing from what I was able to get out of them.  I couldn't help but smile when we were singing.  I loved it! 

After our performance, Elder Clark called us back into the theater.  He told us that as he was walking Elder L. Tom Perry backstage that Elder Perry had said what a wonderful job we did and compared us to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir!  Elder Clark also told us to write down our experiences in our journal.  It was such a neat experience! 

Halloween Wreath #2

I just finished another Halloween wreath.  They are so fun to make!  I wanted more variety in color and since I could choose which color to do with black and I didn't want a whole bunch of wreaths around my house, I decided on a multicolored one.

DNC vs. RNC

I think most people who know Brian and I know that we are President Obama supporters.  We have heard it all.  No, I do not agree with his stand on gay "marriage" because I believe marriage is sanctioned by God and it was He himself that said "marriage is between a man and a woman."  I also don't agree on his stand of abortion.  I do however agree with him on pretty much everything else. 

Tonight, I watched the Democratic National Convention.  It was phenomenal!  I LOVED it.  Despite what people say, I believe he is a good man.  The way he and Michelle talk about each other is beautiful.  I felt so excited to vote him into office again.  I know what most of you are probably thinking.  Trust me when I say, I've heard it all before.  4.5 million jobs in the private sector is not any small feat.  I love that the first bill he had signed was the Fair Pay Act.  He also raised the amount for Pell Grants which is such a blessing to us.  I am incredibly grateful for because without it,  my husband and I would not be able to afford much with trying to put him through school on our own.  He also raised the emission standards for vehicles.  He promised to get us out of Iraq and he did.  We went into Afghanistan for our biggest threat.  Osama Bin Laden.  He did not allow for the auio industry to fail.  He SAVED jobs!  He's trying to keep jobs in America rather than outsourcing to other countries where chldren work in sweat shops.  These are the reasons I am voting for him.  I was touched with Michelle Obama's speech.  I love our President and I love our first lady!  As much as I loved them, I decided that to be fair and look at both sides before I decide on a candidate, I needed to do my research and also watch the Republican National Convention. 

As I watched the RNC, I came to the realization that although both candidates have different views, they both love this country and their spouses.  I'm sure they're also good men.  The more I watched the RNC, the more I felt my convictions were right.  Some differences I noticed were Mitt was going off of bogus information and was feeding on delivering scare tactics.  One big scare that he was spreading was that the "middle class Americans/small business owners would be charged a high tax rate."  This is not so.  Obama said he would give middle class Americans/small businesse owners a tax break.  Those who make more than $200K a year would be taxed higher.  Those who would be outsourcing and sending jobs overseas would be fined."  To me, that sounds fair.  I know that my views are very different from others' and that's okay.  I have thought a lot about this upcoming election and I feel that for my family and me, President Obama makes the most sense.  I feel more confident about my decision on voting in President Obama for  the next four years.

Sweet As A Flower

Last week we found some beautiful dahlias that had bloomed.  I had gone out to deadhead the ones that were dying and as I was deadheading, I accidentally pulled an entire branch off.  Oops.  Brian turned it into a few beautiful pictures though.

I'm almost tempted to put these three flowers in three black picture frames and hang them with some sort of cute vinyl saying.

 Since we didn't want to throw such a beautiful flower away, Tali had a great solution......

 Take it to our neighbor....or her husband.

 She told him the flower was for his wife. 

 She was so excited to give it to them.  She was even more excited when the wife called to thank her for "such a pretty flower"

I love seeing my girl make people's day!

He Must Be A Monson!

I swear the Monson boys can sleep ANYWHERE! 
Exhibit A:  Pappy Monson at a family Christmas party

 Exhibit B & C:  Daddy & Tali on Father's Day 2008

 Exhibit D:  Jairus in his sister's chair....

 I had moved him to his chair and he didn't even stir. 

I think I've proven my theory.  Being able to sleep anywhere IS a Monson right of passage.

Stansbury Days

I know these posts are a little out of order, but that's okay.  We went to our first Stansbury Days on August 18th.  We had so much fun!  We were able to watch the parade with our awesome friends the Porters and the Franks.

 I'm glad Tali is making new friends

 The firemen passed out "Junior Firefighter" hats.  It was adorable!  The kids LOVED it....the hats have since been squished from over use and thrown away.  :)

 She was glad to get a firefighter hat.

 It was a pretty bright morning.  The kids LOVED getting all the candy that was thrown.

 Then our friend who's family was in the parade let the kids play with the balloons on the golf cart.

 Then my friend even took Tali for her first ride in a golf cart.  She thought it was scary at first, but then really loved it!

 Bye everyone!

 The funniest part was them driving under the pine tree and jumping when the balloons on the golf cart popped.  :)

 After the parade we headed over to the festivities.  We found some cute jewelry for super cheap for Tali (from her allowance) and the kids got to pet some animals.

 

 Jairus thought the turtle was pretty cool!

 He would not touch the snake though.  Tali did which really surprised me.

 We then went over to the clubhouse to donate blood.  Let me tell you, when you and your spouse go to donate blood, it is SO much EASIER if you get a sitter to watch your kiddos.  We thought we could switch off....hahaha!  Not so much!

 Pictures brought to you by Tali.

 Haha.  He's smiling because he doesn't have the needle in his arm yet.  :)

 See the fake smile?  He's really gritting his teeth.  In all fairness, the nurse did push hard on his arm WHILE pulling out the needle.

 Later that evening our friend had invited us to go over to her family's house which was just off the lake to watch fireworks.  It was seriously the COOLEST thing EVER!  You cannot beat a fireworks show off of the lake!  We absolutely LOVED every minute of it!  Thanks Camilla & Dustin!

1st Day of Preschool in Stansbury

Tali has started preschool at a place out by our new house.  It's great because it's structure and curriculum is very similar to what she was used to at her previous preschool that she totally LOVED!  Her teachers were amazing!

One of the women in my ward told me about this preschool and her daughter is a year older than Tali, but she had just missed the deadline.  The great thing about it is they are in the same class.  The girls walk to school together (with us of course) and they LOVE playing together.  I thought it was going to be a lot more difficult because the night before she had woke up crying telling me she missed her friends Kayla and Kourtney.  It just about broke my heart!  Thankfully, she had a terrific day at preschool with her new friend.

Here are the photos I took along with some her teacher took at school.

At least she seems happy

 My sweet baby girl's first day of preschool at a new preschool.

 Isn't she just gorgeous?!?

 Me and my sweet baby girl!

 I love her face!

 Haha!  Tali loves doing this silly face!

 My little bff (best friend forever...just in case you were wondering, Ma)!

 I have to admit I was very sad to leave her there...

And then I saw these photos her teacher had posted.

Tali's new friend and Tali

 Happy First Day of Preschool!

It turned out to be a great day!

Holiday Wreaths

My calling in my ward is basically the Enrichment Activities Co-Chair.  Basically me and another woman have a committee and we plan all the activities for our Relief Society.  It is very difficult for me because I am not great at planning things.  I'm great with organizing, but not so much planning.  I always thought that the people in charge of stuff like that had to be creative and crafty.  Apparently not.  I guess since pinterest came out, it no longer gives me an excuse.  :)  Anyway, I've recently been trying to make "model wreaths" for our Fabulous Friday (AKA Super Saturday but on a Friday) display.

I had recently made a Halloween, Thanksgiving and also Christmas tulle wreaths.  The Halloween and Christmas wreaths I used a styrofoam ring whereas with the Thanksgiving one, I used a pipe insulator that I had bought from Home Depot and cut in half.  The pipe insulators are VERY cost effective because you get two rings for $1.00.  With styrofoam rings, they run approximately $6.00-$7.00.  The problem with the pipe insulators is they don't hold their shape very well and if you wanted a more full wreath and bunch the tulle or fabric up more, it did not slide very well as opposed to the styrofoam rings.  Another reason I prefer the styrofoam wreaths is because since the ring is wider, it doesn't look like a bunch of empty space that you feel you have to fill.  In case anyone is wondering, I used two strips of the same color that measured about 12 inches long by about 2 inches wide.  Then I just tied them in a double knot around the ring.  It's really that easy!  I have to admit though that the sparkly tulle although messy does hold together when you put the two strips together to tie.  Just FYI.  I bought the majority of my tulle at Hobby Lobby because they had more variety.  They had sparkly tulle that was only 12 yards for $4 as opposed to the standard tulle that was 24 yards for $4.  I did notice Walmart also has the rolls of tulle for $4 as well, but the colors are very limited.

Here are the photos of all the wreaths I've done so far.  I plan on making more for other holidays.  I really love the tulle wreaths because they're just fun.

Halloween

 Thanksgiving

 Christmas

    I thought they turned out pretty well considering I'm not crafty at all.  I even made the bows myself.  I was so proud!  That is a huge deal for me.  I'm not normally this into crafts, but they were fun to make!  I think I may make some for a few friends and neighbors.  I LOVE this time of year!

Yes, We're Alive!

Yep, I'd have to say I'm definitely a procrastinator on writing my blog.  A few things have happened since we've moved.  Brian was made a primary teacher and I was made the Enrichment co-chair.  I have become obsessed with pinterest.com.  They have some pretty amazing stuff such as yummy recipes, crafts, etc.  I have been pretty busy making different tulle wreaths for the holidays.  We have finally found Tali a preschool out here that is awesome and similar to what she had before only it's $10 less and she now goes 3 days a week instead of 2.  She is in the same class as a girl from our ward.  It's great because she's making new friends!  She really has been missing her friends Kayla and Kourtney.  I'm trying to keep my potty trained daughter from constantly having accidents (which is driving me BONKERS!).  We had to get our van fixed because the front control module on our van was going out (which is what my hubby diagnosed.  He's such a genius!)  all the while we're trying to finish our basement.  Brian has done some electrical work so we now have more outlets downstairs.  We also finished our fence around our property.  YAY!  I love having my privacy!

I have also recently taken the kids to Disneyland and it was the coolest trip ever!  LOVED it, hated having to come home!  We have also had the kids start doing a chore chart.  I have also given myself a chart to read the Book of Mormon by the end of the year and if I do that before Christmas, then I will get to get an Ipad.  That way I don't have to carry so many stinkin' things to church every week.  So far, so good!  Yep, I think that pretty much sums up what's been going on at the Monson house. 

Fantastic Four!

Our little princess turned 4 a few days after we moved into our house.  Here are some photos of our spunky four year old.

For breakfast, my princess decided she wanted a chocolate chip cookie.  Yeah, I figured since it was her birthday, it would be okay for one day out of the entire year.

 This wand plays music and you can play games and stuff on it.  Tali along with Jairus LOVE this toy!

 Tali is still trying to figure out how to play this game, but she does love it.

 Cute jammies and blanket from her Grandma & Grandpa Monson.

  Tali enjoying her spoils from her Monson Grandparents.  Thanks guys!

 Tali LOVES Madagascar, so we decided to buy both movies for her birthday.  I cannot tell you how many times we watched those two shows for the next couple days.

 Tali had Pajama Day at her preschool on her birthday (how cool is that?) and so after we picked her up, we took her to the local grocery store out here and let her pick out her cake.  Surprisingly, she picked a carrot cake!  Whoo hoo!  I LOVE carrot cake!  THANK YOU TALI!  She's my girl!

 A great ending to a birthday!  Carrot cake and "pink ice cream!"

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!
Love you!