The one where i...

wish you all a 

happy new year!

we are off for a weekend

with some of our friends

in a snowy, fun filled cabin at bear lake!

more later!

have a good one and be safe.

pictures to follow.

well, we survived!

another year has passed.

and i am pleasantly pooped.

family, food, and fun.

what more could i ask for?

 a chi?

 nailed it!

my hair is so happy!

and now a few shots of our fun day...

merry, merry, merry everybody!

the loot!

 

christmas pj's... a must have!

posing with favorite toy....

until next year!

only 364 shopping days left.

ugh.

Merry Christmas darlings.......

happy new years too...
if i had just one wish on the christmas eve....
i'd wish i were with you.

but i'm with my family instead.
love to you all.
Merry Christmas to all,
and to all a good night.

The one where 5 years ago today......

this was the scene

at my house.

time flies.

The one where i can feel it! can you?..

i went to the school this morning

to help with sams party.

i was immediately taken back to 

the last day of school before christmas break

when i was little.

the air was electric.

if there was an excitement meter

it would have hit a 10.

it made me excited for my kids to be home.

i'm sure it will pass after day 2.

but for now my heart is racing just a little

thinking of all the fun 

that this next week will bring.

its either that or  a sugar rush

from the  3 mint brownies

i ate for breakfast this morning.

i blame you megan,

and  yet thank you all at the same time.

The one with another happy happy birthday.

today my baby is 5.

she is all 5 today.

yesterday i told eveyone

to take a good look at her on her last day

being 4.

i'll miss 4.

5 means bring on the sass(if shes like her sis)

5 means kindergarten.

5 means wiping your own bum.(cross'n our fingers)

5 means sleeping in your own bed all night.(we had to draw a line)

5 means independence.

5 hurts.

are birthdays like this for you?

i've got to come to grips!!!!

well here she is.....

our "baby",

enjoy.

at the hospital, ready to come home.

when you got her to giggle you became

greedy and wanted more,

and she rarely obliged.

in front of her "big girl bed"

i think she slept in there twice.

ok maybe three times.

one binky was just never enough.

first piggy tails. it was apparently a big day.

she had some seriously crazy hair.

and she was pretty serious most of the time.

if you know her now thats hard to believe.

she's making up for lost time.

i love you eliza may.

you may turn 5 now.

i'll be brave.

The one with a quick update.

my girls(cheerleaders)

won state in both divisions today.

just thought i'd

 let you know.

no more getting up at 5:ooam

for a while.

they were awesome.

i am relieved.

night, night.

The one with a thought for sunday....

"If someone accused you of being a mormon,

would there be enough evidence to

convict you?"

The one where you say its my birthday....

happy birthday to me,

happy birthday to me,

happy birthday dear me....

happy birthday to me!

welcome to my birthday party.

blogger style.

just a quick visit into birthday circa 1982.

i was turning 8.

that's right, today is the big 34.

and i must say that 34 looks just like i thought it would.

kids, house, hubby, happy.

what more could i ask for.

a stainless steel crockpot you say?

nailed it!

now this little girl hoped for something different....

doll clothes for her precious baby doll, Victoria.

oh the suspense is killing me!

a birthday wish come true.

a christmas coat and hat for my doll.

i loved those clothes.

i really should have wished for my feathery bangs

and mullet to disappear.

come on 1983.

so, sometime i feel like my brain is flat.

i'm not dumb, just not super smart either.

i feel like i just missed the 

"lets SUPER educate kids on computers"

movement by just a few short years.

i do remember having one wheeled into my classrooms 

from time to time and if you had all

of your work done you got to play...

Oregon Trails.

don't tell me you didn't love this game.

i conquered it more than once.

any who...what was my point? oh ya, my brain...

so yesterday i was a having a little computer problem.

so i kindly called for one of my offspring to assist me,

before i turned the air blue with my cursing,

and pulled all of my hair out.

so ethan and emma kindly came over to help me,

and help me they did.

i mean why do they make it so hard to release a margin anyways.

so i had to turn on my photobooth to capture this moment.

the 3 of us, heads together, trying to help me from going insane!

mission accomplished.

my kids are geniuses.

you unfortunately  have just died of

cholera.

(and i am in desperate need of a brow wax. don't judge me.)

"together we laugh and play all day!"

today was our turn to host play group.

we kicked it old school and made salt dough.

the girls had fun mixing and molding.

(and watching me spill flour everywhere)

dough molding is very serious business...can't you tell!

until next time girlies!!!

i like to think of myself as a strong person.

i am no weakling.

i'm not afraid of a hard days work.

in fact i love crawling into bed,

the sound of the dishwasher humming,

the drier warming the last load...

you get the point.

i also like to think of myself as content.

not big on change. 

at all.

but something happened to me the other day.

i saw this house.

i find myself laying in bed at night,

dreaming of the floor plan. 

fantasizing  about myself decorating 

this little beauty.

i'm by no means announcing a move.

its a pipe dream.

but someday i want to build a house.

this house.

so tonight instead of dreaming of this house

i shall be chanting my new mantra...

"thou shalt not covet."

i am weak.

not as strong as i thought.

oh well.

The one with a need.

so, my christmas card is shaping up to be 

pretty darn cute.

so would you kindly send me your address

if you think i might not have it.

as in i MIGHT have lost

my Christmas address book.

i'm just say'n.

carmacks11@msn.com

thanks.

The one with a quote for sunday...

" I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long perfectly manicured fingernails. I want to drive up in a station wagon that had mud on the wheels  from taking kids to scout camp. I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing Sister Smith's lawn. I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbors child. I want to be there with a  little dirt under my fingernails from helping weed someone's  garden. I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and tears of a friend on my shoulder. I want the Lord to know that I was really here and that I really lived!"

Marjorie Pay Hinkley.

The one about Thanksgiving.

scenes from a very happy,

very thank filled,

thanksgiving.

libby.

grandma great.

my triumph over pumpkin cheesecake.

now i've got to run

because i'm up to my

nose, eyes, and armpits

in this.......

happy holidays.

The one where #3 turns #7.

samuel walton carmack

is 7 today.

it is painful for me.

he reminded me last night

that its painful for me every year

and that i need to learn to deal with his

birthdays.

ouch.

7 things i adore about sam.

1. he is a lover not a fighter.

2. his freckles melt my heart.

3. he loves women, and appreciates their beauty.(he is going to be a great husband)

4. he loves my cooking.

5. he is awesome at sports.( i burst with pride at most games)

6. he makes everyone laugh!

7. he wants to be a chef when he grows up.

i love you sam! 

happy happy birthday.

The one with a little help from my friends.

good morning.

i am in need of your assistance.

i need a yummy, easy, pumpkin cheesecake recipe.

i'm the host this year.

it has to be awesome.

many thanks.

emily.

The one with a funny from lulu.

this girl of mine is funny....

and for the majority of the day she is home alone...

with me.

so yesterday she came bounding in from dance

and climbed up on my lap and said,

"mommy, i want a turkey sandwich, chips,

and juice... on a tray... on your bed so i can watch a show."

my first instinct was to say "who do you think you are?"

then i remembered exactly who she is...

the adored youngest of 4.

so i said "you betcha" and followed her orders.

i even made a fort out of her sandwich to hold her chips.

have i crossed a line?

maybe.

do i adore her?

absolutely

The one where its take your kids to work day!

finally....

some pic's of my own peeps!

i was starting to feel like the 

electrician whose lights never work

because he's fixing everyone else's lights.

i can't say they were thrilled.....

but i was.

the one where......

i hope you

have a good weekend.

The one with the Q & A.

i'm blocked.

blog blocked i guess you would say.

so if any of you faithful readers would

like to ask me a question.....

now is your chance.

it might inspire me to write.

ask away ye unidentified lurkers.

i'd love to know who you are.

and wouldn't you like to know

a little more about me?

ok......go!

thanks to my faithful supporters,

you know who you are.

The one where i'm BAAAACCCKKKK!

hi everyone!

i was on a break.

from blogging.

from kids.

from life.

but now i'm back.

reunited, and it feel so good.

i've been catching up with all of you.

you've been busy.

anywho, i just wanted to say hi.

hi.

nothin'n like a quick trip to vegas

to cure those post halloween

pre christmas blues.

ok not really blue

more like light blue with a 

need to be with my hubby.

on a free trip.

i'm just say'n.

The one where i kick josh to the curb.......

and create a crafting mecca

for myself!

we have this "spare room" in our house.

it was supposed to be josh's office.

he tends to "office" at the kitchen table.

(he can't stand to be away from me)

so then it became the catch all.

i hated it.

then i got a new sewing machine and became...

inspired.

and this is what inspiration does

to me.

so you'll have to excuse me for a few days,

i'll be in my office.

f