A Fabulously Flawed Life

I believe in brainwashing.  Yep, say what you may, but every chance I can get I'm brainwashing my children.  {{evil laugh}} Jason took the boys on a tour of BYU while I was in Park City, but we had to seal the deal with a photo in front of the cougar wearing their BYU shirts. We talked about what college life would be like, how Grandpa Mills can cook them Sunday dinner, and how they can go hiking and camping together. Such a trip has to be followed up with Hogi Yogi.  {{duh}} Yep - I will go to great lengths to brainwash my babies.  {{snicker}} I was so excited to be able to be with my Dad on his birthday.  Now that he lives so far away this was quite a treat.  We met at Pirate Island Pizza in Provo so the kids can play and we could enjoy the evening together. This place is impressive.  The boys loved it! It was nice to see my brother and his family and spend an evening with my Dad.  It was too short but a wonderful ...

Another one of our adventures in Utah was hiking Timpanogos Cave.  We figured that we'd take advantage of being in the mountains. It was exhausting!! But worth it.  Inside the cave it was 50 degrees and beautiful. The boys had so much fun climbing the rocks - but not until our way down the mountain.  {{wink}} It was a huge family bonding experience and we loved it!

While in Utah, we made our way over to Temple Square and took part in all of the typical Mormon family traditions.  We took pictures in front of the Salt Lake Temple, checked out all of the visitors centers, toured the Conference Center, etc. Sadly, I didn't check this photo a kind stranger took of our family.  That's what I get for assuming that all Mormon's know how to angle the camera right to capture the family in front of the SLC temple. {{good grief}}  I guess I no longer need to worry about framing it and finding a place for it in my home. It's been years since we've been able to visit Temple Square and we were really impressed with all of the technology and impressive set up they have.  We spent hours checking it all out. We had a lot of fun in the bookstore, especially Drake.  Can you tell?  {{evil laugh}}

  This year we took our family vacation to Utah.  I had to travel there for a speaking engagement at EVO and so we decided to make it a family affair.  My dad moved to West Jordan a while ago and we felt like it would be a good opportunity to see him as well. Jason and my Dad had the kids for 4 days while I was in Park City at EVO .  They make a great team as they did all the activities we had laid out before I left!  I was really proud of them.  Sadly, I had the camera and we left our second camera at home so they couldn't take pictures of their adventures. They went to Garners Village, Toured BYU, Sweet Tooth Shoppe, Kennecott Center, Snowbird and did the Alpine slide and all the activities there, and went hiking. When I got home on Sunday the boys were a little restless so we took them for a walk and to feed the ducks.

Did you know that there is Project MomCasting , an in progess?  It's a TV series based on Online Moms and several of my fabulous blogging friends have entered.  It got me thinking, why not? Hi, I am Laurie and here's my story... I'm a crafty girly-girl with three boys.  My oldest has high functioning autism , my middle has ADHD, and my youngest is well, 4.  {{enough said}}  We're a loud but loving bunch. There's nothing I won't do for these precious souls. I'm honored to have them. I love to decorate my home and almost every room as a theme.  I love a theme!  Yes I painted that shoe canvas myself to match the hand towels in my pink bathroom .  Cuz' they've got to match.  Duh. I grew up in a financially unstable home with the most creative mother on the planet.  She was not comfortable selling the things she made.  Since we struggled to keep the lights on growing up, I gained a passion to help to promote creative women ...

This week I'm participating in the Chic Click Carnival . I'm Laurie {from Tip Junkie} and this is my personal blog where I share my life as a wife to a techy husband, mom to three boys, and full time blogger. My most exciting post on my blog right now is where I finally announced my new eBook: Memories that Endure are Moments that Matter .  It's about turning the little things into something that you and your family will cherish.  It took over 6 months to write and edit and I'm really stoked about it. My favorite peep of the week is Mama’s Losin’ It . I've met her in real life a couple times and she's fantastic! She hosts a writer's workshop each week wehere you'll receive prompts on what to blog about. Mama Kat is crazy funny and has a quick wit.  I'm going to miss her Bachelorette recaps each week now that the show is ending. P.S. Christmas in July starts on Tip Junkie this week!

I still have our Utah vacation pictures to upload, but since that's going to take quite a while, I'm skipping a head a bit to officially tell Anessa Happy Birthday! We were invited to celebrate with her on a river boat and even though it was drizzling we had the best time! Talk about a wet & wild party! Anessa has the coolest job, a wonderful man, and generous spirit. 40 is most definitely fabulous! There was great food, fabulous company, and a lot of showing off. We had mens synchronized jumping, swan diving, and even some over exposures. Billy was on fire and was the most entertaining jumper!  Dudes, gotta be hurting today.  {{just sayin'}} I just love hanging out with these women.  I consider it an honor. The night ended with an impressive fireworks display and I was sorry to see the party end.  These people are the real deal - fun, easy going, non-judgmental, with no drama.  I heart them!