Mask Mom

11.11.11

2011-11-11T22:41:00.000-08:00

Today was such a memorable day! The girls and I went to the Gilbert Temple this morning! We had a fun time taking a few pics before we headed off to San Tan for some shopping and lunch! I hope my girls will always remember today.

there is a first for everything...

2011-08-16T19:50:00.000-07:00

ellie is in kindergarten at highland park elementary

ashley is in 6th grade at highland park elementary

lindsay is in 8th grade at highland junior high school

tanner is a sophmore at highland high school

clate is a junior at highland high school

new school year, new adventures, new friends, new teachers, new things to learn...

one thing that is still the same is that i love each one of my children and think they are

all amazing!! i know this will be an awesome year!

p.s. bella is at home with me and she is cuter than ever.

i am in love with her curls. she is in love with toy story, tangled, and toy story.

my best friend

2011-08-04T09:26:00.000-07:00

this is the love of my life. i am grateful for him and how hard he works for our family. he knows me so well and tenderly takes care of me. i don't know where i would be without him.

i'm grateful he lives a righteous life and loves the Lord.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

Ashley as Annie!!

2011-06-28T19:16:00.000-07:00

Ashley tried out for the school play this past year and she got the part of Annie! The day she found out what part she got, Clate was working from home on the computer. Ashley walked over and asked him where I was. Clate told Ashley I was back in my room and to wait because I would be out soon. She started pacing around the kitchen and then went and stood right by Clate. She said, "Dad, I had a really good day at school today." Clate said, "Oh really! What happened?" Ashley said, "You know how I tried out for the school play? Well, I got the part of Annie!!!!" Clate got all excited with Ashley, gave her a high five and a hug and said, "Let's go get mom and tell her!"

We are very proud of Ashley. She spent many, many, many hours practicing her speaking and singing parts. We feel like she made the perfect Annie. Everyone that helped out at the school was amazing! They did a fabulous job casting all the parts. We had many friends and neighbors in the play. Daddy Warbucks lives 3 houses down! Enjoy all the pictures!

I need to apologize to Kristin and Hannah Howard for taking so long to post these pictures. :)

Right before her Thursday night performance

That is one proud dad!

Everyone is excited to watch the show!!

Camille, Ashley & Abi backstage before the show

Beautiful girls!

Daddy Warbucks(Davis Brown) & Annie (Ashley Mask)

Miss Hannigan (Ashley Wrigley) and Ashley

Carlee Oliver, Ashley, and Alyssa Denison

Annie & Daddy Warbucks after the Thursday night show!

Ashley and Davis did a fabulous job during their first night performance!!

Ashley even had a little girl come dressed up in her Annie dress too!

Lily Saint Regis (Abi Cluff) & Ashley

Ashley and Ashley
We realized our little Annie is very talented!

Ashley and Lindsay

Ashley and Mrs. Smith

Thursday night was a wonderful performance!!

guatemala

2010-08-05T20:51:00.000-07:00

on july 9th at 3:15 a.m. our dear friends, Kevin and Vickie Palmer picked us up for our 5:15 a.m. flight to guatemala city. Vickie offered to let us catch a ride with them since it was so early in the morning. thank you so much! it was very nice to be able to leave our kids sound asleep in their beds. plus my sister, tenery appreciated the extra hours of zzzz's.

when we got to the airport we met up with a lot of other people that were part of our group. we were all wondering why we booked such an early flight. we knew we would be able to sleep once we got on our plane.

we had a safe flight to dallas with enough time to grab a quick bite to eat, make a few phone calls and catch our flight to guatemala. i always love traveling alone with clate. we have so much uninterrupted time to talk. it's amazing to me how nice it is to have a conversation without having to stop to change a diaper or go pick someone up from a party or to turn the music down or to say, "play nice" or "answer the phone" or to stop to get someone a drink. . . you get the point. i also love the miracle each time we land on the ground safely.

as soon as we got to the guatemala city airport and had our luggage we went outside to meet Clate's parents. they were taking someone else home from the airport and so Manuel, our guatemalan tour guide, was waiting to pick us up. Manuel is the nicest man and helped us to feel safe our entire trip. he had a bus waiting for all of us and once we had all the luggage loaded up we were off. i think there were 16 of us & that is a lot of luggage. :)

i was very excited to get to our hotel because it is absolutely beautiful! clate and i came to guatemala 8 years ago and we stayed in the same hotel. it was called Quinta Real when we came 8 years ago, but now it is called Hotel Vista Real. even though it has a different name, it is still the same wonderful place and the breakfast is simply amazing.

as soon as we got to the hotel is was so much fun to see clate's parents. they are serving as temple presidents at the Guatemala Temple and this is the first time we have seen them since they came on their mission. mom looked cute, like she always does and it was so great seeing them in their element. they both love guatemala. they both served their missions there. i am grateful for the love they have passed on to their children. my dad served his mission in guatemala and i have a love for the people as well.

once we were settled, we met Dave & Karina Lee and Mom and Dad for some soup and bread. it was fun to sit and talk with them and catch up. after an early dinner, we were off to bed. btw, i LOVED all the fluffy pillows on our bed. it's the simple things in life that make me so happy!

Gratitude

2010-07-30T08:10:00.000-07:00

This morning I am very grateful.

I am grateful for Ashley. She wants to earn some money for school clothes and so one of the jobs I gave her was to make sure I had time to say my personal prayers, read my scriptures, write in my journal and blog. She has been so encouraging and has asked me throughout each day what she could do for me so that I could do those four things. I have been really busy, but Ashley kept encouraging me to just write a little bit in my journal and to just blog a little bit - whatever I had time for. Sometimes I don't journal or blog because I feel like I don't have enough time. Ashley, I love you for your help. Shopping today will be lots of fun!!! I woke up early this morning and I have already done all four of my things. I wanted to surprise Ashley. She is going to be so excited that she gets a little bit more money for school shopping. :)

I am grateful for children who reach out to new kids on our street and help them feel welcome and loved. I know that is what Heavenly Father and Jesus want us to do and it is what They would do if They were here.

I am grateful for prayer. I know my prayers are heard. I know it because I feel the Holy Ghost while I am praying. I feel peace. I feel loved.

I am grateful for scriptures, especially the Book of Mormon. I am grateful for scriptures like Mosiah 7:33 and Mosiah 24:16. The words of the Book of Mormon can bring such comfort when things are rough and I love learning about the people in the Book of Mormon.

I am grateful for opportunities to serve. I love to find a need and help to fill it.

I am grateful for the temple. I love the peace that I feel when I am there.

I am grateful for my children. I am grateful for hard working boys who are working on their eagle projects this summer. I am grateful they are respectful, kind, and fun boys. I love them both. I am grateful for Lindsay and Ashley and their desire to help around the house. I love listening to them play the piano. I am in awe at their dedication to read their scriptures for 20 minutes each day because that is what our bishop asked us to do. I love watching them write in their journals and tape things in their journals. I am grateful for Ellie and Bella. I love the joy and work they bring into our house. It would be very different without them. I am grateful that all of my children are sensitive to the Spirit and that they all have good hearts.

I am grateful for my husband. He is an amazing leader. I am grateful that he wants to do what the Lord wants him to do. I love him more today than I did yesterday. I am grateful the way he tenderly takes care of me. I love his desire to learn more about the Book of Mormon and his desire to teach our children what he knows. I am grateful for his example of hard, hard work. I am grateful that my children have such a solid example to follow. I am grateful that it is Friday and that means it is date night. It doesn't matter where we go or what we do, it's the fact that we get to be together that matters.

I love Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Ghost. I am grateful that they are all in my life. I am grateful for life and the opportunity that I have to be here and to try to do what is right so I can live with my family forever.

Today is already a great day!

Please, Thank You, & I Love You

2010-07-29T22:13:00.000-07:00

ellie is working hard to say three simple phrases:

please

thank you

i love you

each night when clate comes home from work he gets an update on how she did for the day. he even made her a little chart that hangs on the pantry door. she gets to draw a mark each time she says please, thank you, or i love you. dad's are amazing.

i love those three phrases

i love ellie

i love clate for being such an amazing dad and husband!

Guatemala

2010-07-28T18:49:00.000-07:00

Clate and I were able to go to Guatemala for a Book of Mormon tour from July 9-18th. It was a fabulous trip, we learned a lot, and had tons of fun! Many more details and photos to come. I sure love that guy I'm with!

Braces

2010-06-18T16:56:00.001-07:00

Tanner has been asking for braces for a long time and the time has finally come. Doesn't he look like a stud? He will get braces on the bottom in a couple of weeks.

Happy birthday Emily!

2010-06-18T16:49:00.000-07:00

On May 12th it was Emily's birthday. So Thelissa and Stephanie and I decided we would surprise her at school! Well, once we got to the school we found out that she was on a field trip to the zoo! So guess where we went? Yep we tracked her down at the zoo and got to wish her happy birthday! It was fun to see her for a bit on her birthday. This was only a few days after I had my wisdom teeth pulled and I was still hurting pretty bad. It took everything I had to smile as much as I did for our picture.

My little sister Emily is so wonderful! I love her so much and think the world of her. Love ya lots!

6 week recovery!

2010-06-18T16:29:00.000-07:00

Today marks 6 weeks of recovery for me! And no it was not a 6 week recovery after having a baby. I had all 4 of my wisdom teeth pulled 6 weeks ago. It has been a long recovery for me. I had one impacted tooth that has given me lots of problems. I'm pretty sure there was a lot of drilling that went on. This is a picture taken of me the day I came home from surgery. OUCH!! I still can't believe that was me.

I am finally feeling much better today and when I met with the oral surgeon today he told me I still have a while until I'll have full recovery on the left side of my mouth, but that things are looking good! I have been numb on that side of my face this whole time and today I can almost feel my entire lip! That is huge for me. I'm still tingly and numb on the side of my chin, but things are looking good. I'm grateful I am almost back to normal so I can really kiss my sweetie! I'm also grateful I can successfully eat a hamburger without cutting it up. I had many, many smoothies, cream of wheat, chocolate shakes, bean with bacon soup smashed up, mashed potatoes, yogurt, applesauce, ice cream, and my favorite was chocolate texas sheet cake. I could down that stuff so fast because it basically melts in your mouth! I'm now back to brocolli, fiber one, pbj sandwiches, hamburgers, and too many other things. :) It was kind of nice not really having a desire to eat very much. The desire is back and I'm on a roll! Tonight is my first date with Clate since my surgery when I can actually order something normal instead of a smoothie and soup(without chunks). I love Friday night date night!! I've learned that wisdom teeth should NOT be pulled when you are 35 years old with 6 children! The recovery is much quicker when you are 17 or 18 with no kids. Live and learn, right?

I'm grateful for. . .

2010-05-19T22:08:00.000-07:00

the opportunity our family had to all be in the temple together. we went to the gila valley temple open house last week. what a sweet experience. i will cherish it forever. i love the peace we felt. i love the beauty we saw. i love the love we as a family feel for each other. i can't wait until we are all in the house of the Lord again.

families are forever. . . and i'm grateful this is mine!

Chocolate with sprinkles!!

2010-04-29T20:34:00.000-07:00

Ellie's preschool went on a field trip to Krispy Kreme to see how donuts are made! All her friends got to wear a hat and go on a special tour. They even got to feel a piece of dough and see all the chocolate, sprinkles, and fillings! She had a lot of fun! When the tour was over Ms. Tiffany bought everyone a chocolate donut with sprinkles! Ellie loved sitting with her friends in a booth while they enjoyed their treat!!

Unfortunately we had to leave a few minutes early because Bella fell and hit her head pretty hard. This was taken right before she fell. I should have known by the look on her face that she wasn't going to sit still in the booth!

Gilbert District Honor Orchestra

2010-04-29T19:40:00.000-07:00

Lindsay tried out for the Gilbert DHO and made it! She loves playing the viola and is getting really good. The concert was on April 10th at Mesquite HS. It was packed and I was amazed at how great they sounded with only a few practices. I am so proud of Lindsay and her love for music and her diligence in practicing both the viola and the piano. I love you sis!

Cornerstone Ward Easter Egg Hunt

2010-04-24T16:19:00.000-07:00

Bella is so darn cute! She didn't find too many eggs, but she enjoyed picking the eggs up and putting them in her basket.

Spark

2009-11-16T11:08:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-13T07:37:00.000-08:00

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

2009-10-14T08:11:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-09-28T17:32:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-18T13:29:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-15T10:21:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-09-11T14:47:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-11T14:34:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-24T11:55:00.000-07:00

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

2009-07-24T11:45:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-07-14T14:38:00.000-07:00

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!!

2009-06-25T21:07:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-25T18:17:00.000-07:00

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

2009-06-25T12:05:00.000-07:00

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!)

#1 no chore, reading, & cooking week

2009-06-20T16:10:00.000-07:00

yep! our first and most favorite week after the votes were cast in was our no chore, reading, & cooking week! the kids didn't have to make their beds all week or do any of their normal Chores. they loved it! they got to wake up each morning and read in their beds as long as they wanted. if they didn't feel like reading, they certainly didn't have to do any work! i think i loved this week as much as the kids! each night after dinner we decided to do the dishes that had piled up in the sink all day and we picked up the downstairs. tanner said, "mom, i think we need to do this all the time because it helped us to have the Spirit in our home." i love that boy!

Reading - we went to the library and stocked up on books for the week! it was fun to watch the kids look for new books and for tanner to be as happy as he could be with the Harry Potter series we had at home. btw, tanner read the Entire HP series in less than 3 weeks! he is a reading machine.

Cooking - i usually have one child in charge of dinner m-th. this week i had them make something they never had made before. they loved the challenge and we ate some YUMMY dinners! ash made a chicken pot pie, lindsay made hawaiian haystacks, and tanner & clatie made steak and chicken on the bbq. :) lindsay and ashley learned how to make bread and Marni Short's chocolate chip cookies. tanner has always wanted to make a fruit pizza and this was the week he did it! i'm sad to say that they wanted to make a pumpkin pie, but we never got around to it. we have all the stuff at home so before the summer is over, we will make that pumpkin pie.

this week was a HUGE success!

i'm trying something new

2009-06-20T15:57:00.000-07:00

i love summer and having my kids home as long as i am prepared. i wasn't sure what i was going to do this summer because i still feel like i'm trying to adjust to life with 6 kids! i had a small piece of inspiration for our family that will hopefully work this summer. i decided to have a "theme" each week. i asked each one of my kids what they wanted to do this summer. they all had their own ideas and so lindsay wrote them all down for us. after looking over the list, i came up with different themes! i am actually really excited about it! i love trying new things!

hummer limo

2009-06-01T14:11:00.000-07:00

it's crazy to think that i am old enough to have a son who will be in high school next year! yikes! thankfully clatie is such a good young man and he has good friends. clatie had his 8th grade promotion the last day of school and so he and a bunch of his friends got picked up from hjhs in this hummer limo! they loved it! they couldn't believe the limo was for them! i love a good surprise! they went to mimi's cafe for some yummy breakfast and *Delicious* muffins! they all got dropped at lauren lovell's house for a swim party! school's out! junior high is over and it's on to HIGH SCHOOL - congrats clyde. love you!

nathan, clate, hayden, lauren, maddie

is this limo really for us???

jacob, austin, nathan, clatie, hayden, lauren, maddie, mariah

"capturing the moment"

hummer

nathan, hayden, clatie

mimi's cafe

clatie, maddie, drew, nathan, hayden

lexi, malea, courtney, mariah

austin, jacob, lauren

i love you!

tenery

2009-05-26T15:26:00.000-07:00

i think the pictures speak for themselves, but i know our trip would not have been as exciting, fun, action packed, funny or interesting without tenery! everyone that know tenery knows what i'm talking about. tenery adds a spice to things like no one else that i know. my children absolutely **adore** tenery. the boys and lindsay loved driving with tenery whenever we would go somewhere. tenery even decided to give the rest of us a little love tap while she was in her car. we couldn't all fit in our mini van we rented so we took 2 cars pretty much everywhere we went. one day we were in a lot of traffic and we stopped really fast and tenery.... didn't. it wasn't anything bad, but i had to mention it since i'm talking about tenery.

tenery also can make some mean brownies! we loved it when she made those for us! tenery took us to her school and we got to meet some of her friends. i think tenery is amazing for having such a great attitude about spending her junior and senior year with my parents in puerto rico. she is getting the experience of a lifetime! i also have to add that tenery's room is soo cool and she has an incredible view! tenery - thanks for making our trip so much fun! we all love you so much. have fun at byu!

ferry ride and snorkeling

2009-05-26T14:54:00.000-07:00

one day we took a ferry ride to another island. i can't remember the name of it because we were planning on going to culebra. grandma packed a whole bunch of yummy food & snacks! we loved the bimbo cookies the most! after the 1 hour ferry ride, we took a taxi (15 passenger van) to the *blue* beach. we drove down a very bumpy road for about 15 minutes, but when we got there it was like we were on our own private beach. the water was clear and the sand was white and beautiful! everyone loved snorkeling and ellie loved finding shells. we saw a starfish and i saw a sting ray. i must admit i was a little scared when i saw it. i definitely didn't swim closer to get a better look! ashley was a natural for her first snorkeling trip! the kids loved playing in the ocean every time we went to the beach in puerto rico!! luckily on the way back we all had a change of clothes. tenery and i were laughing so hard as we tried to change into our warm clothes. the ferry was moving back and forth and we almost fell over! good times!

ashley snorkeling

ellie was so cute and needed her goggles on to help her find shells! ;)

snuggling on the ferry

clatie, tanner, tenery, and lindsay had SO much fun on this trip & were laughing all the way!

bella definitely loves her grandma and i love my mom holding and loving my bella!

clatie wants to go to Walgreens and i don't know what to title this blog....so there

2009-05-26T12:50:00.000-07:00

my parents took us to this Really cool restaurant that over looks the ocean! we got to order our food, then go down and play on the beach while they were making our food. i haven't found a restaurant like that in arizona! we were loving it! the kids found some coconuts and were trying to throw them on the ground and crack them open. it was a lot of fun!

i'm still trying to decide if i like this picture so much because of tenery's face or clatie's face. :) those two together are. . . Lots of FUN!!

these 3 Loved the ocean & i Love the 3 of them!

my dad and my girls

2009-05-26T11:36:00.000-07:00

as i have been looking at our pictures from puerto rico, i absolutely love the ones of my dad with my girls! i miss my dad so much and have enjoyed remembering how sweet he is with each one of them. i love you dad!

grandpa & bella!

ashley loves her grandpa!

(ellie does too. she just didn't want to turn around for the picture)

love this picture too! lindsay with grandpa at El Morro

pure joy - kites, missionaries, snails. . .

2009-05-19T16:48:00.001-07:00

i can't believe it's been over a month since i last posted a blog. i have been to salt lake city twice and to maui. i am also still trying to adjust to life with 6 kids! i usually can only find enough time to check my email and calendar. i hope that will change soon. :) i really want to blog my pictures from maui, but if i don't do my trip to puerto rico first, it will never happen.

yummy bread! in puerto rico, they sale fresh bread that is to die for! my mom brought 6 loaves when we went to fly kites and we devoured it! thanks mom! :)

we were able to go to a transfer meeting. it was such an eye-opening experience. i loved watching my parents in action and seeing all the missionaries. we took this picture in the parking lot where all the missionaries who were being transfered were moving their luggage and bikes around. we were the first people to leave. i think all the missionaries loved seeing each other and everyone wanted to talk to each other. i was grateful to experience this so when my boys are serving their missions, i will sort of know what they are going through. new language, new country, new culture, new mission president, new companion, new missionaries. i know clatie and tanner will be GREAT missionaries!

these are all the missionaries that came to puerto rico while we were there.

i loved watching ellie look for snails. she was so intent on filling up her bowl.

trip to puerto rico!

2009-03-31T16:35:00.000-07:00

we love grandma and grandpa!

we had a wonderful trip to Puerto Rico visiting my parents. they are serving a mission for our church and we love them for their example. we miss them soo much and are grateful we got to spend 10 days with them! i have lots of pictures to share so i think i will blog a little at a time. i wanted to get these pictures up first.

aunt emily is home!

2009-02-24T09:48:00.000-08:00

my dear sister emily is home from her mission! she spent 1 1/2 years serving the Lord in Chile. i can't believe she is back already! she is absolutely gorgeous and was an *AMAZING* missionary. she set a wonderful example for my children and for me. i love her so much! here are a few pictures of us anxiously waiting for her to come off the plane. emily is a natural with children and ellie absolutely loved singing with her at aunt thelissa's house after she got home.

welcome home emily! i love you and love just being around you.

isabella sophia mask

2009-02-13T15:34:00.000-08:00

bella was born on 11.21.09.

my sister-in-law, cherie, took these pictures of her when she was 9 days old.

cherie is an amazing photographer.

i will always cherish these adorable pictures of bella.

some of these were on my christmas card, but wanted them on my blog too.

i hope you enjoy them!

running

2009-02-13T12:40:00.000-08:00

i never thought i would say that i miss running. i have never been a runner. i really never had a desire to run. last year i started running and ran my first 1ok with clate! i have grown to love running. i love the feeling of accomplishment and i love how it makes me want to eat healthier. i also enjoyed the time clate and i have spent together working out at the gym.

well. . . i sort of stopped running during my pregnancy with bella. it has been a long time since i ran outside. this morning clate stayed home and i got to go running! i loved having time alone to think and to enjoy a good run. i am not able to run as far as i did before i got pregnant, but i know i can work up to it again. i suppose i have to stop eating my favorite treat peanut m&m's and i probably shouldn't have eaten soo many sugar cookies with frosting yesterday. they were just too good to put down - thanks thelissa!

"i love you more"

2009-02-11T08:27:00.000-08:00

ellie came into my bed this morning and was giving me hugs and kisses.

she said, "i love you mom."

i said, "i love you more."

ellie said, "no, i love you more."

i said, "no, i want to love you more today."

ellie said, "okay mom, you can love me more today."

i love that sweet girl!

i got a good laugh when i found ellie and grace

2009-02-11T08:03:00.000-08:00

i was talking on the phone yesterday to my mom who is in puerto rico. we were having a great conversation planning our family trip next month! ellie and grace were quietly playing in the pantry. i thought they were eating a fruit snack or crackers so i left them alone. i walked into the kitchen a few minutes later and saw some white powder underneath the door. i knew what they were up to as soon as i saw the flour. i opened the door and that's when grace looked up at me and said, "i didn't do any of this!" ellie had a smile on her face and said nothing! i laughed and quickly got my camera and took this picture.

bella slept for 8 hours!

2009-02-10T20:36:00.001-08:00

i love my sweet isabella and love it even more when she sleeps through the night. i was able to read scriptures with my children and have family prayer before school. i know that is why i had such a great day.

i have wanted to start a blog for a really long time because i don't keep a journal. i didn't know where to start because i have so many trips and events in the past that i want to write about. i have wondered how much i should try to catch up on. today i was at my friend's house and kristin told me to just start from today and move forward. so, thank you to many friends, family, and clatie for helping me. i finally have my blog!

here is a quick look into my day today. i happily woke up at 6:00 a.m. and fed bella. we read the scripture in 3rd nephi 27:28 that says, "ask, and ye shall receive; knock, and it shall be opened unto you; for he that asketh, receiveth; and unto him that knocketh, it shall be opened." we had a great short discussion and then had family prayer. clatie and tanner left for the bus stop and everyone was happy.

i jumped in the shower, changed some laundry, and cleaned up a little before the girls left for school. lindsay and ashley helped me load the dishwasher and got ellie in the bath. they are such great helpers! after bella fell asleep i started to get ready. as soon as i tried to blow dry my hair, bella started to cry and ellie was ready to get out of the bath. the next hour was spent trying to get me ready, ellie dressed in pants(she only wants to wear skirts), and bella bathed and dressed. i debated if it was even worth it to try to leave the house. it shouldn't be that hard to go somewhere, right?

we finally made it to the church and had a great time talking with friends. i got many great ideas and a desire to continue working on my 3 month supply of food.

on the way home we got gas and powdered donuts for ellie and grace. grace is ellie's best friend and lives on our street. these two girls love to play together. as soon as grace got home from school she came over. they had fun playing and even found my 50 lb bag of flour in the pantry. when i opened the pantry door, grace said, "i didn't do any of this!" all i could do was laugh and take a picture. i'll post that picture soon. i love it when my children play great with their friends.

clate texted me and asked if i wanted him to bring me lunch. i told him of course! he brought me a bbq chicken salad from paradise bakery and chocolate chip cookies. he is such a great husband! i really am blessed to have him in my life. i love my sweetie!

while clate was here for lunch, i had to go to hjhs to pick up clatie. his diabetes pump stopped working and i wanted to watch him closely. we are back to shots until his new pump comes tomorrow morning. it was fun having clatie home early because he had a school project to do and we so we got out some old family pictures. it was fun to laugh and remember old times. after dinner and american idol i took clatie, lindsay, and ashley to buy valentine's and we ended up leaving with a whole lot more than that. oops! tanner stayed home with clate and helped fold some laundry and unload the dishwasher. bella was ready to see me when i got home.

clate took bella and put her to bed so i could write my first entry on my new blog. i am happy that i took the time to write a little about today.

Mask Mom

11.11.11

there is a first for everything...

my best friend

Ashley as Annie!!

guatemala

Gratitude

Please, Thank You, & I Love You

Guatemala

Braces

Happy birthday Emily!

6 week recovery!

I'm grateful for. . .

Chocolate with sprinkles!!

Gilbert District Honor Orchestra

Cornerstone Ward Easter Egg Hunt

**Spark**

*Spark*

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

happy 9th birthday ashley!

21 Day Challenge - Day 1

$214.03

happy 15th birthday clate!

#8 california week

#7 shopping week

#6 movie week

#5 durango mountain resort week!

#4 paradise in pinetop week!!

#3 serve mom week

#2 *party* week

#1 no chore, reading, & cooking week

i'm trying something new

hummer limo

tenery

ferry ride and snorkeling

clatie wants to go to Walgreens and i don't know what to title this blog....so there

my dad and my girls

pure joy - kites, missionaries, snails. . .

trip to puerto rico!

aunt emily is home!

isabella sophia mask

running

"i love you more"

i got a good laugh when i found ellie and grace

bella slept for 8 hours!

Spark

Spark

#2 party week