**Spark**

the first day of spark was filled with all sorts of hands on creative things to do. we were able to pick and choose what we wanted to do. it was a blast being creative and having everything out and at our fingertips. i was amazed at how many "things" were available to us. there were buttons, lace, ribbon, thread, fabric, paper, etc. we made cuff bracelets, photo books, used a cricket machine, cards, junk bows, cupcakes and after dinner we got to ride the spark train, take pictures, and play games. it was packed full of fun things to create.

the second day of spark started off with cassandra barney speaking to us. she is an artist and was totally inspirational! here are a few notes i put in my phone. take time to play, be flexible, don't get stuck in holes, gratitude, reinvent, pood-i-corn, force yourself to learn something new, art is a lifestyle. it is about how u look at the world. BE WHERE YOUR FEET ARE. ENJOY WHAT YOU ARE DOING AT EACH MOMENT. PARADISE IS A PERCEPTION. i do live in paradise if i choose to see it that way.

another thing that was so powerful was a picture cassandra showed us of her children in her studio. they looked like angels with the light shining in on them. the children looked like they loved creating in that room and were very comfortable there. it was eye opening.

after cassandra was done we split up into groups and went to 4 different classes. class one: canvas art journal by rhonna & liz. class two: photography by jefra. class three: feel with fabric by kelly. class four: jewelry by margie. each class was amazing in it's own way. here are a few pics from the day. i loved all the friends i made in our photography group. we shared a lot and learned a lot about each other. thanks spark girls! love you guys!

*spark* was fabulous. thank you again for all the hard work that was put into it.

*Spark*

i can't believe that spark has come and gone. it was the most fabulous experience! my sister-in-law, rhonna farrer put on spark along with 3 other amazing ladies(liz kartchner, margie romney-aslett, and jefra starr linn). spark was held at this is the place in salt lake city. the very first time i read about Spark, i knew i had to go. it just spoke to me. it was an event that was going to Spark the creativity within. i hope i can express in words how Spark spoke to my soul. the entire trip was full of laughter, fun, creating, eating, making new friends, learning, and a lot of growth.

i was able to fly up to slc with my sister-in-law, amy. it was such a blast to talk & laugh with her on the flight over. i even got a mini photoshop class on the flight over. thanks amy!

my good friend, kim droubay picked us up from the airport and also went to spark. thanks again for coming with me!

when we got to Spark, i was in awe at all the decorations. i seriously can't even imagine all the time and energy that was put into this event. i am so grateful i was able to go. there was everything from tulle & lace wrapped around the trees to ribbons, and more ribbons to paper flowers & doilies and so many more things. everywhere i looked there were more AMAZING, inexpensive decorations.

i loved feeling like a child and being giddy with excitement for everything i saw and was given. as we checked in we were given our own name tag, Spark button & Spark bag that was FULL of goodies! as we waited for everyone to get registered, we got to eat some food & some yummy chocolate and vaNIElla cupcakes. i'm so happy just thinking about those cupcakes!

there is so much more to share. hopefully i'll have time in the next couple of days.

6 years of service + love of Christ + blessings for his family = Priceless Moments

i’m grateful for. . .

the amazing example my children and i have of a grandpa and father-in-law that is spending his life serving the Lord. Elder Clate Mask has served in the 2^nd quorum of the seventy for our church and was released on october 3, 2009. this picture was taken during general conference after he gave the closing prayer. i love this picture and the look on my father-in-law's face. what an amazing feeling to know you have done a good job serving the Lord and to be surrounded by President Monson and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles. i am grateful my children can look at this picture and say, "that's my grandpa!"

attending conference has been a blessing in our lives. despite the challenges to get there, our family will always be grateful for how our testimonies grew because of the opportunity we had to listen to a prophet’s voice.

Granny & Grandpa are now going to serve as mission presidents in Guatemala. again I am grateful for their example to continue serving.

happy 9th birthday ashley!

ashley turned 9 on september 23, 2009! ashley is so much fun to have in our house! she is so helpful with her 2 little sisters and she loves to hang out with her friends. ashley loves to dance, play the piano, swim, scrapbook, read, shop, hang out with friends, watch movies, and go out to eat!

A – adorable

S – sweet

H – huggable

L – loving

E – energetic

Y – young

ashley wanted cookie crisp & reese’s puffs for her birthday morning breakfast. she got to eat it in our new “red birthday” bowl since it was her special day! i think her favorite present was her pink ipod! J

this is the year of no birthday parties at our house, but clate and i decided we would have a lunch date with ashley & a few friends. ashley chose to go to Gecko Grill with abi cluff, lexi price, and katie becker. ashley got her usual, fiesta mango tacos! yummy! birthdays are always fun in our house because there are NO chores all day!

Happy Birthday Ashley! I love you

21 Day Challenge - Day 1

I love the Book of Mormon. I love it when I consistently read it. I struggle with that consistency. So, I have joined a 21 Day Challenge that my sister-in-law is doing on her blog. I'm a few days behind, but anyone can start anytime. I decided I was going to focus on my scripture study. This scripture spoke to me 2 days ago when I read it. Life for me lately has been overwhelming. I am trying to adjust to life with 6 kids, a high school student all the way down to a 10 month old. It seems like there isn't enough time for everything I want to do. I have realized that I need to follow the words of this scripture. I need to do that FIRST. Then everything else will fall into place. This crazy world of ours has so many *new* things that can occupy a mom's time. I need to be filling my bucket by feasting on the words of Christ so that I can be the kind of mom that Heavenly Father wants me to be.

$214.03

last night after a mask FHE "beach" party at val vista lakes, lindsay and i went to the apple store. lindsay has been saving her money for a new ipod touch. as we were driving to the store, she held on tight to her jar of money. she had it all: 1 $50 bill, 6 $20 bills, 2 $10 bills, 2 $5 bills, 6 $1 bills, many, many quarters, dimes, and three pennies. we talked about all the ways she had earned her money. she is quite the entrepreneur. i know exactly where she gets it from too! she earned her money from babysitting, being a consultant, selling hair clips, selling krispy kreme donuts at a garage sale, summer penny a page reading program, selling her old ipod to ashley, winning $25 for practicing the most minutes on the piano in one week, and saving, saving, saving. i didn't realize until last night how hard she has been working and how much discipline it took to save over a period of time. she TOTALLY thought it was worth it though.

as we walked into the apple store, a nice young man helped us. he was in awe that lindsay had saved up all her money. he told her over and over how proud he was of her. it was really neat that he was so sensitive to her because this was a BIG deal. so thank you nice young man that was working at the apple store last night. i know lindsay will always remember her experience! i probably should also say thank you again to the nice lady that was in line behind us. it took a few minutes to count out all the change. : )

lindsay i am so proud of you. thanks for your example! i love you sis!

happy 15th birthday clate!

today clate is 15 years old!  i can't believe he will be driving and dating in one year!!  clate is such a joy to have in our home.  he is so responsible, helpful, fun, hard working, respectful, honest, a good friend, loyal, intelligent, handsome, caring, and kind.  clate is on the freshmen high school football team, loves to hang out with his friends, look online for "stuff", text his friends, watch movies and play games on his ipod touch, and he has a laugh that is so contagious! 

clate, it seems like just yesterday that you and tanner were wearing your red pajamas for christmas and you loved batman and spiderman!  it is amazing how time flies when you are having fun!  i love being your mom.  i learn so much from you every day.  i am in awe at the dedication it takes to deal with diabetes.  you do an amazing job.  i know it is not easy, but i am grateful you work hard to manage it.  thanks for setting such a wonderful example for your younger siblings. i am so proud of the decisions you make and the friends you have!  i love you!

*C - cute & cool

*L - loyal & loving

*A - adorable & amazing

*T - totally fun & totally kind

*E - enjoyable & extra caring

i had fun bringing in krispy kreme donuts to your seminary class.  i wish i would have had my camera to take a picture of all the girls singing happy birthday to you while they were twirling you around on the table.  :)  it was also fun taking you and your friends to buffalo wild wings today.  i wish we would have ordered more of the honey bbq wings.  they were so delicious!  i hope the rest of your day is awesome.  you deserve it!!  *i love you *

#8 california week

i can't believe it's been forever since i've posted a thing!  school started and it has been fast paced ever since.  i still wanted to have a record of how the rest of our summer went so even though this is really old, here are a few pics from our trip to cali!   for week #8 we went over to california and went to the beach, disneyland, deep sea fishing, and shopping. . . of course!  we had a blast and loved it all.  here are a few pictures from our trip!

#7 shopping week

this week made me giddy.  i love shopping week.  

target

old navy

gap

target . . . again

scottsdale fashion square

justice

forever 21

tilly's

buckle 

it's all about me forever (in cali)

vans

journey's kidz

puma

dillard's

superstition springs

the block at orange

chandler mall

bose

charlotte russe

and i did plan this week right - during my birthday!  

#6 movie week

when we were planning out our summer, i Totally thought this week was going to be a huge hit!  we started the week going to see ice age 3 for fhe.  after that, we really didn't watch that many movies.  i think it's because we have already been watching a TON of movies.   and we forgot to plan this week when harry potter came out.  ooops!  we still had fun though.  here are some of the many movies we've watched throughout the entire summer:  mission impossible 1 & 2, strawberry shortcake, matilda, prince caspian, 24 season 1, 2, & almost 3, taken(not me, just clatie), boy in the striped pajamas, inkheart, pink panther 2, twilight, knowing, princess protection program, barbie princess & the pauper, home videos, nacho, harry potter (of course) and many, many more.  

#5 durango mountain resort week!

we got to enjoy a week in cool durango, colorado!  we had a family reunion with clate's family. it was so much fun being with his family.  this was our second family reunion at dmr.  we love the tradition of being in a cool place for the 4th of July!  there is this little town called silverton that is about 20 minutes away from where we stayed and it has THE BEST fireworks!!  we LOVE being cool while we watch fireworks!  :)  we had a blast riding the alpine slides, playing miniature golf, hanging out at the pool, climbing the rock wall, bungee jumping, riding the scenic ride up the mountain with my sweetie & sneaking in a few passionate kisses, eating lots of yummy food, playing cards, playing in the arcade, watching movies, fishing, golfing, shooting, 4-wheel driving up a mountain, curling hair for photo shoots, taking LOTS of pics, laughing, enjoying the beautiful outdoors, hiking, going to dinner with all the adults, getting 4th of july t's from aunt rhonna, singing happy b-day to aunt kim, walking through silverton and wanting to stop and take pictures every second, eating ice cream, pics in front of the old trucks, eating fudge, watching part of the gun fight, watching fireworks, enjoying uncle jeff's homemade popcorn, laughing, playing with cousins, taking more pictures, enjoying the rain, and so much more!  i love going to colorado because i just got home and i'm already excited to go back!   here are some pics from our photo shoots!  i hope you enjoy them!

rayla, lindsay, and ashley (aunt amy brought TONS of fun hats, umbrellas, and props for our photo shoots!  thanks amy we had a blast!)

stunning!

you go girlfriend!

adorable ellie!

some of the girl cousins - rayla, tali, lindsay, jaya, and ashley

tali & bailey

tali and jaya

kim, amy 

mom, shelle 

me, rhonna(we sure missed cherie)

i am grateful for my husband's family.  they are wonderful people and it was fun to hang out with them for a few days.  on sunday morning before we left, granny made us all breakfast and clate's parents had a little meeting with the grandkids.  they bore testimony of the temple and the importance of going there often.  my mother-in-law had pictures of all the temples where her children were sealed around her room.  the grandkids got to guess who was married in which temple.  she also had stickers on the wall that said, "touch the Temple and the Temple will touch you." by President Monson and "make the Temple the CENTERPIECE of your home."  it was a great week and i loved being with my family.  

#4 paradise in pinetop week!!

we have been up in pinetop-lakeside for the past week enjoying the nice weather and each other.  i drove up with the kids on friday morning and then clate came up on friday night.  he stayed through the weekend and we had a fabulous Father's day here!!  clate, i am SO blessed to have you as the FATHER of my children.  i love you for everything you does for us.  thanks for loving all of us and for taking care of us.  we LOVE you!!  Happy Father's Day!

we have done so many fun things in pinetop.  some of the highlights have been searching for squirrels, waking up late, swinging on the front porch, making smores with dad, playing cards, eating what we want, when we want, riding go karts, playing XBOX, watching movies, checking out the local gift shops, eating fudge, dancing in the rain, watching more movies, staying up late waking up late, running, hanging out OUTSIDE, riding bikes, needing to wear a sweatshirt, eating ice cream, taking walks, laughing, and just being together.  clate, thanks for letting us come here.  we sure wish you could have been here the entire time.  i'm glad you were able to get so much work done while we were gone.  i can't wait to go out on our date tonight!  i love you!!

#3 serve mom week

after our busy week of many parties, clate decided to pick this week's theme.  i love clate and how he watches out for me.  thanks sweetie!!   the kids helped so much and i was able to spend hours in my quiet room working on a Father's Day book, organizing my computer, and organizing my pics in iphoto.  i also tried to practice more in photoshop.    

it is such a blessing to have children who are willing to help.  thank you clatie, tanner, lindsay, and ashley!  i also had a family swimming party for fhe on monday, a baby shower for my neighbor on thursday, and clate had his work quarterly planning at our house all day on friday.   so on friday morning i drove to pinetop-lakeside to spend a week in a cabin.  (and no, not all by myself ;)  

btw, this picture is of me and bella in maui.  i thought it fit this week's theme.  :)  i didn't take any pictures during serve mom week.  i'm the only one voting on this week, but i think it was another HUGE success and i think i'll try it again.  i emailed my brother craig during this week and told him about it.  his response was:  that sounds so cool.  why don't you have a buy uncle craig everything he needs for college week as soon as i get home from my mission!  don't worry craig, we'll take good care of you.  

#2 *party* week

our second theme chosen was *party* week!!!!  we wanted to try to plan as many parties as we could in one week.  each of the kids got to plan their own party or parties.  they made a list of friends to invite, food to eat, and drinks to have.  their lists included:  soda, ice, water, chex mix, oreo's, popsicles, push pops, fudgsicles, peanut butter m&m's, doritos, pizza, xtra cheesy goldfish, skittles, starbursts, inner tubes, and water balloons.  (to name a few) 

 

here's what our schedule looked like:

sunday:  

3:30:  b-day party for uncle joseph @ aunt kim's house.  yummy tacos con & ice cream! 

6:00:  martineau cousins over for dessert.  aunt beth brought delicious pumpkin cookies!

monday:

2-4:  ashley's party  

6:00:   mask family bbq & swim.  joseph pushed uncle garrett in with ALL his clothes & shoes on!

tuesday:

1-3:  lindsay's party

5-9:  clatie's party (2 guys + lots of girls = smart boys!)  ;)

wednesday:

10-12:  ellie's 1st party  

2-4:  martineau cousins

thursday:

12:00:  mask cousin swim party at aunt cherie's

6-9:  lindsay's party (her 1st boy/girl party at our house!  TONS of fun!!)

friday:

2-4:  ashley's party with her best friends from school!

6-10:  clatie's party (everyone Loved playing football!  both the boys & girls)

saturday:

6-10:  tj's party (T only wanted one party.  he stuck with a boys only party too.)

here's a few of the many pictures i took:

we realized that having so many parties is A LOT of work!  each of the kids were willing to prepare for and clean up after their party.  it was so much fun having so many of our friends over in one week.  this week was definitely another HUGE success!  (planning one birthday party will be a piece of cake from now on!)