Happy Birthday Monika

Today is my Mother In Laws Birthday and as everyone knows she is still only 29. I feel blessed to have such a marvelous mother in law. She can juggle more things than anyone thought possible. She grew up in a small town in Austria close to the Swiss border and my favorite story she has told me is that when she was bored as a child she would go to the Rhine River and throw rocks and call insults to the Swiss on the other side. I love her accent. She is an amazingly talented artist and can paint the most beautiful watercolors. I now have 3 original paintings she did in my house. She is infamous for her wonderful food. At Christmastime I have people beg me to bring them some of her cookies, fudge, brownies that she makes at that time. She is an amazing host and always has something to serve people when they come to visit. She has the patience of Job. She loves to read and is always sharing her books with me. She has the best laugh and takes great joy in her grandsons. Happy Birthday Monika. I hope it was a fabulous day!

Movies MeMe

So, now to copy Carrie and Emily.

1. Name a movie that you have seen more than 10 times.
Ever After, Cinderella (the cartoon), You've Got Mail, Sound of Music, Pride & Prejudice (both versions), Singin' in the Rain, Maverick, French Kiss, Pirates of the Caribbean, Little Women, !0 Things I Hate About You, the list goes on and on

2. Name a movie that you've seen multiple times in the theater.
Pirates of the Caribbean, Ever After,

3. Name an actor that would make you more inclined to see a movie.
Matthew Macoughnay, Christian Bale, Reese Witherspoon, Johnny Depp, Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, Robert DeNiro, Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins

4. Name an actor that would make you less likely to see a movie.
Sean Penn, Bill Paxton

5. Name a movie that you CAN and DO quote from.
Sound of Music, Pride & Prejudice, The Man Who Knew Too Little, Undercover Brother, Singing in the Rain,I'm sure there's more just can't think of them right now

6. Name a movie musical that you know all of the lyrics to all of the songs.Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, Singing in the Rain, 7 Brides for 7 Brothers, Phantom of the Opera, Grease,

7. Name a movie you have been known to sing along with.
Any movie that has music that I know, I love to sing

8. Name a movie that you would recommend everyone see.
Pride & Prejudice (new version). Beautifully filmed and the most amazing love story ever

9. Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in? If so, what?
All the time Kersten and I love the drive in. I know I saw Tomb Raider, Pirates of the Caribbean and The Village there. Hmm, I know there are more but can't think of them

10. Name a movie that you keep meaning to see but just haven't yet gotten around to it.
Superman Returns, The Illusionist

11. Ever walked out of a movie?
Yes, Calender Girl. I was in high school, and I was on a date and after the opening credits we decided this was not what we wanted to see and snuck in to "So I Married An Axe Murderer"

12. Name a movie that makes you cry.
My Life and First Sight

13. Popcorn?
Yes with a Diet Coke

14. How often do you go to the movies (as opposed to renting them or watching them at home)?
Before kids at least 2 to 3 times a month (We love movies) now it is like 4-6 times a year

15. What's the last movie you saw in the theater?
Music and Lyrics at the dollar theater

16. What's your favorite/preferred genre of movie?
Anything, but scary movies.

17. What's the first movie you remember seeing in the theater?
I honestly don't remember. but my parents used to always take us to the Villa theater when a new Disney movie came out. My first PG-13 movie was "Can't Buy Me Love" My dad took me on a daddy-daughter date to it and I thought I was so cool because I was only 12

18. What movie do you wish you had never seen?
Mars Attacks, (My cousin forced our entire family to watch it on the Fourth of July and we missed the fireworks when we were on vacation in Oregon)

19. What is the weirdest movie you enjoyed?
If I enjoyed it, then it must not be weird.

20. What is the scariest movie you've seen?
Sixth Sense (I really don't like scary movies)

21. What is the funniest movie you've seen?
The Man Who Knew Too Little (cracks me up every time) and as my husband reminded Undercover Brother

22. Name new releases that are on your "to see" list:
Miss Potter, The Illusionist, DreamGirls, Superman Returns and The Queen

23. Name some of your favorite movies not listed above:
Oceans 11, Batman Begins, Moulin Rouge, Center Stage, Just Like Heaven, Casion Royale, 10 Things I Hate About You, Litte Women, Chocolat, The Italian Job, The Notebook, Elf, Stranger than Fiction, Finding Neverland, Big Fish and many more. I love Movies

Studio 5, My Mom

http://studio5.ksl.com/?nid=25&sid=1142193

Today my Mom was on a show called Studio 5 on KSL, it is a show that is based here in the state we live. She did a segment on Preserving your Memories which is her Expertise. She was amazing and did not seem nervous at all. She look so beautiful in her new green jacket. They only gave her 6 minutes which definitely was not enough time. I put the address to the Studio 5 website where they put her tips. Good Job, Mom. You were incredible

What's your Style?

http://www.hgtv.com/hgtv/pac_ctnt_988/text/0,,HGTV_22056_33320,00.html

I found this quiz on a blog I look at occasionally and thought it was fabulous fun. I currently am obsessed with fixing, painting and beautifying my home. So this is what it said about me

Your Style is SWEET

What's Sweet is Chic. Nothing stark and modern for you! You're drawn to cozy itneriors and a welcoming Palette (think soft, sun-bleached hues.) You like your patterns whimsical and your buildings quiant. You enjoy heirlooms with sentimental value, like a rocker that once graced your grandmothers nursery

Birthday Celebrations

We had birthday celebration for Noah, Josh and Grandma Monika on Sunday. It was so much fun. We had German weenies and potato salad for dinner and beautiful cakes that Aunt Ginny made for the birthdays for dessert, Grandpa was really excited to open presents so we ended up opening presents before the cake. The Boys loved it and I think Grandma did too.

Aunt Ginny totally out did herself with this cake. She has been planning Noah and Josh's birthday cakes for months now. With Noah's she gathered all of these figures of his favorite things. Like Darth Vader, Buzz Lightyear, R2D2, C3PO, Obiwan etc and made a yummy chocolate cake and she used Chocolate chips (upside down) to look like craters of a planet. It was so cool cool and Noah totally loved it. Ginny is such a fun Aunt and so good to these boys. They are so lucky to have her.

What a lucky boy that he got to blow out candles twice for his third birthday. He loves it. And says it is cool,cool.

This is the animal cake that Aunt Ginny made for Josh.

Josh received his first big bike. He was so joyful and happy to have a two wheeler. His helmet was a bit big and kept falling off. He was so hilarious. He is obsessed with animals and received an abundance of new animals. He is so smart for he doesn't just say it is a monkey, he calls it a red tailed mandarin or it's technical name of every animal. It amazes me.

This has the cutest story. Grandpa talked to Josh about giving Noah his John Deere tricycle that he got when he turned 3. Josh thought it was a brilliant idea since he is now to big to ride it. A couple minutes later Josh comes inside the house and says "Grandpa we have a problem, we can't give my bike to Noah, it is to dirty." So Grandpa and Josh spent a couple hours on Saturday cleaning the bike. They used Q-tips and even waxed the bike. It had to be perfect if Josh was giving it to Noah. It is a really cool trike, It has a dump trailer on the back. Noah is thrilled. Right now he is better at going backwards then forward. He will figure it out.

Grandpa and Grandma F* spoiled Noah with this cool Star Wars vehicle. It is a racer and turns into a Tie-Fighter Spaceship. Noah adores it. He has had some sharing issues with it already.

Three

Noah took this picture of me

THREE'S.......

I LOVE
My Husband
My Noah
My Religion

I MISS
Sleeping late in the morning
Having no sense of fear.
The optimism of my youth.

I HATE
Gooey things
snakes
Unkind people

People who make me Laugh
My husband Kersten
My brother Nik
My cousin Dave

SCARE ME
Serial Killers
People who text message while driving (idiots!)
Disappointing People

On my Desk
Many books
electricians Tape
Camera

I Want to Do in this Life
Raise well-adjusted children.
Want to be happy and help people around me be happy
Accomplish what I was sent here to do.

Things I CAN do
Be creative
Remember conversations from long ago (it can frighten people)
Spend time with my family

Things I CAN'T do
Cook gourmet meals
Do the splits anymore
Keep my house spotless

Things I would like to Learn
To cook well and like it
To speak Spanish & German
Photoshop

I REGRET
Not finding a way for Kerst to get through school faster
Not going on more vacations before kids
Spending time being self-conscious.

Favorite Foods
Mexican Food
Blueberry Muffins
Ice Cream

Favorite TV shows as a kid
Who's the Boss
The Love Boat
Growing Pains

Happy Birthday Maralise

My friend Maralise has a birthday today. She is one of the very most talented people I know. She is an amazing photographer and took the most amazing, make a mom cry pictures of my son last fall. She has a photo blog if you want to see some of her talent. Her husband Matt and Kersten used to work together and became really good friends, I did not meet her for awhile but I did get to know Matt quite well. We became fast friends. It was so fun because we got along so well as couples. Mara has impeccible taste. She has a definite sense of style. I admire her drive and desire to better herself. She is ambitious and beautiful. Right now she is getting her Masters degree. Every time I talk to her I know I will be uplifted and inspired in some way. She is the mom of two boys, Stone and Grey. She is an incredible mom and inspires me to be a little bit more patient and enduring every day. She has also taught me how to keep your identity as a woman and not just a mom. Although, they moved far away, she is the type of friend that it does not matter we will be friends for life. Love ya Mara