countdown

NEW! Fab 5 Countdown Chain

Planning a Disney trip? Want something fun to countdown until your trip? Well this is it! Get ready to get crafty and create your own countdown chain!

I’m so excited for my family’s upcoming Disneyland trip – we are on countdown…..54 MORE DAYS! One of the fun things we have going are some Disney Countdown Chains. I will have some more templates up soon (think Princess Chains, Pixar Chains, etc.), but today I’m excited to share my FAB 5 COUNTDOWN CHAIN TEMPLATES

This template set includes 5 different templates to help you create chains that represent Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck, and Pluto! You can use them separately, or combine them for a fabulous look! Your kids will LOVE it- mine sure do!

Check it out in the store HERE.

Aren’t they so fun?

Fab 5 Countdown Chain Template by DesignZ by DeDe

Life 365 | Week 52

Monday, December 20, 2010

Joey came home in the middle of the day with an amazing surprise! He received one of his company’s employee awards this year! And what did he receive – AN IPAD! And not just any iPad – the best one that they have out right now. WOW! He was so excited and I’m just so proud of him. He totally deserves it. It is so fun to see him enjoying it!

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

It snowed again – and it was the best snowman-making snow – so of course we had to get out in it today! It’s fun having the kids home during the day. We made our Frosty and made snow angels and had a snowball fight and just had so much fun. Unfortunately, it got warmer later in the day, and some of the snow melted away, along with our Frosty. I was so glad we didn’t delay in getting out there and playing!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Today’s activity was to read and watch the movie of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever! So in between playing and cleaning, we read the book and before bedtime we had it done, so we got to watch the movie! It was so fun!

Thursday, December 23, 2010

We did laundry and cleaning today and the kids got to play games on Joey’s little computer. They loved it!

Friday, December 24, 2010

What an amazing day today. Joey completely surprised me this year – many times he is quite the grinch around Christmas – but this season, he has been so wonderful. I think its because as a family, we have really focused on teaching the kids the real meaning of Christmas – we have been reading scriptures every night and the kids have really responded to Jesus and the Christmas story. Joey went shopping and came home with Uncle Aaron and a whole list of fun things to do today. I did some cooking so that all I had to do was stick the potatoes in for tomorrow’s Christmas dinner and did some last minute cleaning. I also made up a batch of swirl cookies for Santa. We played games, and did puzzles, and watched movies, and read books and just spent the whole day together. We were glad to have Aaron join us. We also took the Trax up to temple square and saw the lights and the wonderful nativity scene they had there. There was such a wonderful spirit on the temple grounds and it was so fun being there on Christmas Eve. On the way home, we picked up Chinese food from our favorite place – Mings Garden – and then we came home and ate it. We opened our new pajamas and got a picture of us in them before bedtime.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

It was a fabulous Christmas! The kids had so much fun. From Santa, JJ got Buzz and Beth got a Rapunzel doll. And they also received from us – Jessie, Woody, and Bulls-eye, lots of games, movies, and other fun things and we just spent the whole day playing. The Toy Story movies have meant a lot to me and the kids so it was so fun to see Beth and JJ play with their new Toy Story characters! Joey surprised us all with the Wii Sports Resort Game and he gave me the Wii Fit Plus – which I have wanted for a long time! It was a great day!

Sunday, December 26, 2010

It’s just so much fun to have new things to play with! It was a relaxing day – just spent at church and together.

Life 365 | Week 49

Monday, November 29, 2010

We traveled home today and the kids got to skip school. Cleaning and doing laundry and trying to get organized for the following week!

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

The kids were excited to go back to school today. They love wearing their warm coats and boots to school – having snow is exciting.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

The kids were so excited to start our Countdown to Christmas Advent Calendar. I created a new one this year and was so happy with how it turned out. I used a shoe organizer (that has exactly 24 holes – how perfect is that) – and created some date pages to put on the outside and used some fancy clothespins. In each hole – is a card with an activity on it! Today’s activity was to decorate the tree – so we brought the tree in and decorated while listening to Christmas music.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Today’s activity was to drink hot chocolate by the tree. The kids thought it was so much fun!

Friday, December 3, 2010

I was so excited for tonight’s activity. The kids got home from school and were surprised to see Cody, Becki and Mallory there. I had them read the card in our advent calendar – and surprise – we are heading on vacation to Eden with Cody and Becki! They were thrilled to be able to go back to our “vacation home”! So a few hours later, we arrived at Worldmark. We were able to get a 3-bedroom condo this time and it was fancy! We loved it! So we all settled in – decorated our little tree – went grocery shopping, and ate pizza for dinner. We are all so excited to have this special time together.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

It was such a fun day. We did crafts, played the wii, played some card games, ate great food, and just had such a great time relaxing and enjoying being together. We topped the night off by heading to Eden’s Town Tree Lighting where the kids got to see Santa!

Sunday, December 5, 2010

We are having such a lovely time and we are thinking of making this a yearly tradition! It was Mallory’s very first birthday today and we are so happy that we were able to celebrate with her. We had cupcakes and dinner and present opening! The kids watched Christmas movies all day and just another great day of being together! Happy Birthday Mallory – we love you!

Project 365 | Week 14

Monday, March 30, 2009

The worst part about a vacation is that you come back and have to do all the laundry, unpack, and try and catch up from all the time you missed. We are all SO tired today. I think it is going to take a couple of weeks to recover. I got a start on the laundry and working on getting all my photos organized and unpacking. I’m just too tired to get it all done right now. JJ was excited to go back to school today and tell his teacher all the fun stuff he has been doing, but he came home pretty tired and onery.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Beth’s turn to be all excited about going back to school. She wore her new Cinderella shirt and got to share her new Princess dolls for Show-and-Tell. We are still trying to recover. I’m slowly getting unpacked. I had to license our van today and did a little grocery shopping. I feel like I have so much catching up to do and I don’t know how I’ll get it all done.

Maybe I’ll just go take a nap instead – wait, it’s 6pm, I guess I’ll have to wait until night now….darn it!

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Beth loved the paper chain countdown to Disneyland so much that we decided to do one for her birthday. I can’t believe she’s going to be 4! She’s growing up so fast. I really love her imagination. Today, I looked over to see her imagination in full force. She had a blank piece of paper, a straw from her juice cup, a tray from some store-bought cookies and she was “painting.” She didn’t need real paints or anything else – she was painting and she could “see” it all.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

I haven’t been able to do much this week – I just haven’t felt good. So instead of catching up on all the things I need to do – I laid on the bed and finished the whole Twilight series again. I love books and the Twilight books are quickly becoming a favorite. I get so engrossed in them that I just can’t stop reading it. I read all 4 books in 2 days!

Friday, April 3, 2009

JJ brought home a cup with a little wheatgrass (I think that is what it is). He had drawn a cute face on it. A little water, sun, and a few days later, we had lots of grass! Lots of fun!

Saturday, April 4, 2009

I truly love it when my kids play together. It is so fun to just watch them play and listen to their fun conversations. They were playing with JJ’s new Mac (from Disney’s Cars) and I love that Beth can be so girly and yet will go play trucks with JJ too! It was the start of General Conference today too. I really enjoyed listening to our prophets and hearing their words of wisdom and encouragement. I am so glad that I live in a place that I can turn on the tv and listen to the wonderful words and that I can do it from my own home!

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Today was filled with the spirit as we listened to the last 2 sessions of General Conference. I feel so blessed to be a member of the church and to have so much spiritual inspiration from the leaders of the church. Sometimes I get so overwhelmed by all the things I need to do better, but something I took out of this conference was inspiration about taking it a little at a time. I know I have so much to learn and so many changes I should make in my life to be a better person, but I’m trying now to just do a little at a time. Such a wonderful blessing to have these General Conferences twice a year where we get to hear from the Prophet and all the Apostles. It truly lifts my spirits and helps me to endure through my trials. I love the gospel and I have a testimony that Heavenly Father and Jesus lives and they love us. I know they hear and answer prayers. I am so grateful to my Savior for his sacrifice for me. Where would I be without the gospel? I am just truly truly blessed.

And here is my weekly layout:

I used my Digital 365 Kits to create this layout.

Project 365 | Week 12

Monday, March 16, 2009

JJ was still a little sick, so he stayed home from school today. The kids were actually really good today and played together all day. I thought this was the cutest candid photo. They were sitting in the rocking chair together – sipping their water and watching movies.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

We went for a walk after dinner tonight and it felt like Spring. I think it is actually coming. I captured this adorable hug between my kiddos and I really love the moments when they are so good to each other. Unfortunately, Joey got our sickness now and he was really miserable today. He stayed in bed all day – I hope he gets better soon.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Our vacation is almost here! I am rushing around like a crazy woman trying to get laundry done, get packed, and clean the house. Beth was my little helper today as we got the bathroom cleaned and laundry done. I so can’t wait until Saturday!

Thursday, March 19, 2009

I made some more yummy Red Velvet Cookies today to take and share with everyone on our trip. They turned out great! I also finished all the laundry and the cleaning of the house today! Yay!

Friday, March 20, 2009

Everything is ready! We are set to go on vacation tomorrow morning! Our countdown is down to one chain and our bags are all packed and ready to go! I can’t believe it is finally here – less than 24 hours and we will be on the bus. I’m a little nervous about all the stuff I have – but I think I have everything that I could possibly need. I think I am even more excited than the kids – is it Saturday yet?

Saturday, March 21, 2009

We are on our way! The bus picked us up about 11:30am and we joined the Baker side of the family on the bus. JJ really loved riding on the bus – he just sat there staring out the window, so happy! When Beth first boarded the bus, her first words were “Where’s my cousin, Whitnee?” Unfortunately, she would have to wait one more day before Whitnee would come on the bus. We traveled to Nephi, Utah – had some lunch and then continued to our hotel in St. George. We were able to meet up with Lucas, Heidi, Jacee, and Landreth Alfred for dinner at Denny’s and it was so awesome to see them and visit with them, especially since it has been a few years since we have been able to be with them. Joey and the kids hung out in the motel room before bedtime, while I was able to visit with my cousins, my aunt, and my uncle for a couple of hours. A great start to our vacation!

Sunday, March 22, 2009

What a day! It began about 7:30am when my parents and brothers and sisters arrived with their families. We had a total of 35 people on the bus (including our bus driver) and it was a good drive with all of us visiting, some sleeping, and watching DVDs. We had lunch in Barstow, California and we were able to go to In-N-Out Burger. YUM! We finally arrived at our hotel. We stayed at the Best Western Stovalls Inn. We could see the roller coasters at Disney’s California Adventure across the street. Then the highlight of the day came, when we walked to Downtown Disney and had dinner at Goofy’s Kitchen. It was a lot of fun for the kids. We got to see Goofy, Pluto, Geppeto, Chip, and Cinderella. Beth was so excited to see her favorite Disney princess. She even got to dance with her! The kids enjoyed tasting Goofy’s Kitchen’s specialty, Peanut Butter and Jelly Pizza and lots of other food. After dinner we walked back to our hotel and went swimming. The kids enjoyed splashing around in the children’s pool and Joey and I enjoyed the Hot Tub.

Here is my Week 12 Layout:

I used my Digital 365 Kits to create this layout.

Project 365 | Week 9

Monday, February 23, 2009

So I finally took the kids to the doctor today – I figured this had gone on long enough. Turns out both of them have Bronchitis. So we got some medicine and the doctor said they could go to school tomorrow. I’m so looking forward to having my kids back. They have been really irritable and understandably. JJ really digresses in his behaviors and other development and it’s been not good the past couple of weeks. It worries me a lot and I hope it is just that he is sick. We’ve got to get us all well before our California trip!

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

The kids went back to school today. They are still coughing quite a bit, but it seems a lot better! So hopefully we are on the mend. It was an incredibly nice day today. It is starting to feel like Spring. The kids and I went on a little walk and caught pictures of the sunset.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

I got this little note in JJ’s backpack today. I thought it was really sweet. And even better, JJ actually read this little book to us! It was so neat to hear him actually read! Sure it was a tiny book and very easy words – but it was still amazing to see him read! JJ also got an award yesterday from the school. I helps out in his classroom quite a bit with the other kids – so this was really neat!

Thursday, February 26, 2009

The kids were pretty good to each other today, which always is a plus. I had gotten a lot of sleep last night – I actually went to bed early Wednesday night (eight hours asleep – that never happens), so I got a lot more done and I was even able to catch (on camera) the kids giving each other kisses!

Friday, February 27, 2009

Beth is really getting into looking at books and especially the pictures. We got out our huge Animal Encyclopedia today and Beth pored over the pictures. She really loves animals so this was really fun for her. I really need to read to her more. I haven’t made it a real priority and I need to do that. She loves stories and I think we could definitely have a big reader on our hands in a couple of years!

Saturday, February 28, 2009

The countdown to our California Trip has begun! The kids and I made a paper chain today – only 23 days to go. With all the things I want to accomplish before then – I just know it’s going to be here before we know it. I’m really excited about this trip!

Sunday, March 1, 2009

We had Cody & Becki over for dinner tonight. I made Chicken Enchiladas with Tater Tots, Salad and Cream Puffs and Chocolate Pudding for Dessert. It was yummy and we were able to have a great chat with them, which was really great. I feel really grateful to be a part of their lives, even in a small way. It’s nice to have some family close to us and the kids love them! Plus it’s always great to have a conversation with adults once in a while! LOL Becki had made a Countdown Paper Chain for us too, so now we have two – which is actually even better because now the kids don’t have to fight over who gets to tear the paper off every night – they will each have their own!

And here’s my Week 9 Layout:

I used my Digital 365 & FriendZ from the Wood Kits to create this layout!

Here’s my completed FEBRUARY layout!

I used my Digital 365 & Daydream BelieverZ Kits to create this layout!