South Mountain

Wednesday was a half day at school, which means all the kids were home by 12:15. We decided to have a fun 'family' day. We haven't explored much around here so I went online to search for a fun park to go to. Something more than just a park, wanted trails for walking or hiking, maybe a small lake to explore or anything else that is more adventurous. I found South Mountain. All the reviews were great. Lots of trails and the pictures looked great. We packed lunches and as soon as everyone was home, we headed out on our family adventure. It wasn't really what I was expecting, but it was still fun. I need to remember that we live in the desert and there are no trees here. I knew I wasn't going to get Tilden Park -oh how I wish it could've been- but I was expecting something a little more... pretty? It was mostly just rocks and cactus.

We drove to the top and were able to look out over the valley. That was amazing! We are still in awe at how BIG the valley is. We honestly had no clue, before we came here, how big it actually was. David was looking at jobs in Peoria thinking he would commute. HA! No way! Anyway, it was fun to sit and watch the planes land at the airport, try to identify streets, cities, we even looked for the Temple -which we couldn't see, of course. It was fun to see the entire valley and to explore the mountain. The kids loved it and we had a great time.

We drove by this really cool 'house' -or what use to be a house. It was falling apart and there was no roof, but it was so cool. I wish I had kids that were willing to pose for lots of pictures, because it would have made for some really awesome shots. A better camera would have been great, too. We'll have to go back another day for that. But it was fun to shoot a few. The rock walls and the giant cracks in the cement and walls were awesome. There was also a really cool fireplace that was still standing, but I didn't get a picture. Bummer. It made me want to know the story of the old house. Someday I may find out what it is, which would be cool, but for now, it's a mystery.




It was a great day!

Tired

Oh my goodness, I am so tired lately! Maybe it's because I am spending so much time figuring out this new job while trying to find time for my family and church calling. I know it will get easier as I go along, but WOW! So much to learn in such a short amount of time. I get discouraged at times, but then David reminds me that I have never done this before and everyone else there has. 'Look how far you've come! You know more than you think!' are some of the things he tells me. I did get a pretty big compliment today. There's a gal at the 'office' that -in my opinion- seems to know the most and be the most confident (we all go to her with questions), she said tonight that she thinks I know more than the 2 guys that are working there. This is a huge compliment because the guys she is referring to have been preparing taxes for others for a few years! WOW! That's huge! I still haven't done an actual 'live' return, as I am still plugging along on my practice ones. But I am on number 15 -out of 18. The only other person who has completed more than me is the one that paid me the compliment today. Everyone else has had an extra week or more to be doing them, and the one closest to me is one behind. So I guess I am learning a lot! It's just soooo much to learn in such a short amount of time. I am enjoying the challenge and can't wait to feel a lit more comfortable! I will be doing live returns next week! Wish me luck!

On another note... We found out today that we didn't get the house. But I kinda knew that already. Turns out the thing sold for almost $20,000 over asking and it was a cash deal! Count me out of that one! lol... I liked the house, but I don't have that much cash. We were short by oh... a couple thousand or so! lol... Oh well, we are bound to find the house that is meant for us. It will happen, someday...

Tyler stayed home all week from school. He ended up having a bad fever Mon-Wed. He was on the couch almost all day, all 3 days. Then a horrible cough set in with just a small fever at night. He seems to be doing much better, but I didn't want to rush him back to school today. He got to stay home and play with Ryan. They play really well together -most of the time! It's so fun to watch and listen to them play. So I was happy to have them both home today.

It has been raining so much here. Had tornado warnings yesterday, but nothing came of it. I am loving the rain, we really need it! Love curling up with a cup of hot cocoa and a big warm blanket to read my tax books... Wait, no... Watch TV with my hunny! That's better. (Unfortunately, I was reading my tax books.) :(

Prepared my sharing time tonight, now I need to get some sleep!

An amblulance, a job and a house-maybe

Last night was a long night! I kissed David goodbye as he left for work and finished watching a show online. Checked all the kids -like I always do. Everyone is fine. Go to my room and just as I am about to turn off the light Tyler wakes up. He is gasping for air. That's the only way I know how to describe it. He is trying to take a breath, but it just isn't happening. I try to calm him, thinking he is just having a bad dream. He starts to get a terrified look in his eyes and the breathing gets worse. I try not to freak out. Called David, who had only been at work for maybe 25 minutes. I just keep saying "Do you hear him?" I'm not sure if he swallowed something and it's stuck in his throat or what is going on. I just knew his airway was constricted somehow. David tells me to take him to Urgent Care. No way! I called 911. I didn't want to strap him into a car seat and not be able to hold him if he was not able to breathe. They responded very quickly and before I knew it we had 2 police cars, a fire engine and an ambulance at my house. Ryan had waken up and was very excited to see all the guys here at the house. I'm answering a million questions, while trying to get Tyler to take a breathing treatment. He wanted NO PART of any of this, by the way. He was screaming while trying to take breaths. He was hooked up to machines, and Ryan was just having great conversations with any of them that would listen to him. They gave him a steroid shot and that seemed to help. That and the breathing treatment. He finally settled down and started breathing better. They still wanted to take him in and make sure there wasn't anything stuck in his throat. David called and I told him we were going to the hospital. So he had to come home. I asked Ryan to go wake up Michael. He couldn't get him to wake up so one of the fire fighters had to go in and wake him up. Apparently Michael was not happy about being woken up as he informed me today that he yelled at the guy! Anyway, off we go to the hospital. We had to stay for at least 2 hours after the breathing treatment to make sure he didn't start breathing wierd again. The doctor finally came in after 2 1/2 hours and said he has croupe. What? But he hasn't shown any signs of sickness at all! He was just fine all day, playing outside, no coughing, no fever, no symptoms of him feeling the least bit under the weather. The Dr. said it is normal for this to happen and they get a lot of kids brought to the ER by ambulance for this. That made me feel a little better... But I am still amazed at how it just happened so quickly! 5 kids and none of them have ever had croupe! It was so scarey!! We finally got home and fell into bed at 5am. David went back to work. So, I guess I feel better knowing I wasn't crazy for calling 911. It was reassuring to know that they see it alot. I am the type of person that doesn't take my kids to the doctor unless it is bad!! Or I know they have an ear infection and they just need the meds. I almost felt bad for wasting the time of so many people, but knowing that it was normal and I wasn't the only mother out there that didn't know what was happening made me feel better. Tyler is doing much better. You wouldn't even think he was sick. They gave him an oral steroid that they said should last 2-3 days. Long enough to get him past it. It's working like a charm!

On another note. I got a job this past week. Kinda crazy... I walked into a Liberty Tax office and asked if they were hiring. I thought "How hard could it be to prepare someone's taxes? I had a business for almost 12 years, can't be that hard. Doesn't the software just show you how to do it?" Well, they basically hired me on the spot and told me I needed to pass 3 test before I could be a preparer. They already had their classes, so I missed that opportunity to learn about tax laws and other 'boring' stuff. (lol...) I called our friend (and accountant) Jason and asked if he thought I could do it. He said yes, and then followed it up with 'You may wonder how I do it every year after you see what it is I do.' Again, my overconfidence kicked in 'Can't be that hard!' I took the first test on the banking procedures and passed on my first attempt! Oh yeah, feeling really confident now! I didn't have any study materials, I just logged onto the IRS website and pulled up a publication on tax filing. That is all I had. I logged on to take the Level One Certification Test. I knew it was timed, but when I logged in I didn't hit the 'I agree' or 'I disagree' button, so I didn't think the time had started. I got busy talking to David, doing other stuff on the internet and when I clicked back on it, the time was ticking down. Oops! I only had about an hour left. I went ahead and opened it and when I read the first question... all that confidence flew out the window! I read a few questions and decided I should probably read a bit of the publication first before attempting the test. So I logged out. The publication is almost 300 pages long. Ugh! Anyway, I took the 2nd test and passed it. Then I went back to the Certification test. It was so long!!! It took me 3 1/2 hours to take the test! David had to calm me down a few times. I was so frustrated! I would start saying I couldn't do it and he would come over and have me read him the question and help me stay calm while I found the answer. I so appreciated him that night! And... I passed!!! Woo Hoo!!! So, the owner called me the next morning and congratulated me and asked me to start that day. So, I started last Friday. During Saturday's mtg the owner asked if I was comfortable being there alone yet. Ummm... NO!!!! I had only been there 4 hours and only done 3 of the 18 practice returns I'm suppose to do. I have to say, I am scared! My confidence does increase with each practice one I do, but I just don't want to freak out in front of a client! That would be BAD! So, wish me luck on my new job!

We also put an offer on a house yesterday. I'm pretty sure we won't get it. It just went on the market Thursday, we looked at it that evening. Our realtor went out of town and got back Saturday morning. We went and looked at it again and by the time we submitted our offer -that morning- there were already 3 offers on it! We knew it would go fast! But we went ahead and submitteed one anyway. You never know. Hopefully we get it, but I am not planning on it. Can't get my hopes up. But I REALLY REALLY want it!!!!!

Dedication? Passion? Insanity? You decide

Happy New Year!!
It's New Years day, and that can only mean one thing... WAKEBOARDING! Believe it or not, we went out on the boat today! Now, I should probably start off by saying this has become a bit of a tradition. It started years ago in California and has conitinued here in Arizona. It is a bit warmer here than it was in California! David and Michael take anyone that wants to go, anyone crazy enough to go, I should say! But, this year they couldn't find anyone willing to brave the cold, so I agreed to go. I made sure it was understood that I would NOT be getting in the water, I was only there to hold the flag.
It was 63 degrees -according to the thermometer in the car. I was waiting for the temperature to rise as we got closer to the lake, but that didn't happen. We left at 12:30pm. There weren't many boats on the lake, but as we were prepping the boat to put in the water, another family pulled up. The dad made a comment that it was good to know they weren't the only crazy ones out there. He also said he wanted to start the new year off right, that's why they were there. I found it unbelievable that they had a BABY with them!!!! Baby looked to be about 7 months old. Crazy people!!! :)
David got in first. He lasted longer than I thought he would. He tried out the new wakeboard he just got. Threw a few tricks, fell a few times and eventually was cold enough and tired enough to get out.
Michael was up next. He tried putting on two wetsuits, but couldn't quite manage it. Now I think Michael was more brave, he only had a shortie wetsuit! Brrr... He jumped in and I thought he was going to die from the cold. He didn't look comfortable... He did get up and throw a few tricks. After falling twice he'd had enough. He got out and curled up in a towel followed by dad's big oversized sweatshirt!
We were off the lake at 2:30pm. A short trip, but a fun one. It was actually not too cold, especially when we were stopped, the sun shining on us and my 3 layers of long sleeve shirt, sweatshirt and blanket. I think I will go get a Hot Chocolate now!
Michael is getting quite a bit of air these days!

Ryan thinks it's summer! The kid hates long pants and long sleeve shirts!

Tyler has taken over the 'flag holder' job. He won't let go of the flag for anything! He takes his job very seriously!

We kept the front cover on so the kids could lay under it if they got cold.

Tyler spent the first little while under the seat!

The kids spent most of the time huddled under the front cover.

It was a fun day! Can't wait for summer to come and the weather to be warmer! Then I will get in!

December highlights so far...

Wow, December is almost gone! How did that happen? Well, it has beena busy month in our house. Here is a brief re-cap...
I took the kids and drove to Henderson Nevada to visit some friends in early December. It was so much fun to go see the Gametts. We have been friends for a long time and haven't seen them in a couple of years. (We moved to Fairfiend together and lived 2 doors down from each other) The drive wasn't so bad, and it was so worth it! The kids got along so well! Spent time playing at their house, went to a skatepark and visited the Temple. We were able to squeeze an extra day in, David called and said there was a storm so maybe we should stay an extra night. I was more than happy to take him up on it! It was a quick trip, but now that I have done it once, you can be sure I will be going more often. We really miss them.

Christina turned 12 on the 15th! I can hardly believe she is 12. I was just looking at some pictures on my computer and came across a few from a trip to Utah and Amanda was itty bitty and there was Christina, just 6 years old. Amazing how fast time goes. Christina has told us for a while that the only thing she wanted for her birthday was to go IN the Temple. So, we met with the Bishop and got her a recommend the Sunday before her birthday. So, Tuesday the 15th as soon as she and Michael got home from school, we went to the Temple to do baptisms. It was so fun! I haven't done baptisms since I was in Young Women's. It was an incredible thing to be there with David, Michael and Christina. To see Christina taking in everything, then to enter the water, a little timid, but very excited. She was absolutely glowing when she came out of the font. Then for me to go and have David baptize me, that was pretty cool. Michael has gone with his dad many times, so to him it wasn't as big a deal. But it sure was a great way to spend time with both of them.
Then it was home to get the other kids and head to dinner at TGIFridays. Always the restaurant of choice with the kids! Then home for cake, ice cream and presents. Upon arriving home, we found that the Beehives had visited the house and decorated our front door for her birthday. She is very excited to *finally* be in YW!! It was a great day and one I think Christina will remember forever.

Monday was Tyler's birthday. He turned 3 and has perfected holding up 3 fingers now! I don't know that he really understood it was his birthday. I asked him a few times leading up to the big day what he wanted to do for his birthday. He always replied "Blow out candles." Then I asked what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday. I named off many different kinds -yellow, carrot, chocolate, etc. His reply was "I want a blue cake." I asked 'Blue cake or blue frosting?' He replied "blue cake with blue frosting." So a phone call to daddy to bring home a white cake and white frosting. We had bbq hot dogs for dinner and then opened presents. He was very happy with his gifts! Then it was time to 'Blow out the candles.' He was pretty excited, we sang, he blew them out and then we cut up the cake. David handed him his piece and he said "I don't want it" and walked away. -whaaaat??? He then announced he had to go potty. So off he went, after a moment I checked on him and he asked me to stay, so I did. He then told me he was tired and wanted to go to bed. So, David came in and I told him he wanted to go to bed. David took him to bed and just as Tyler put his head on his pillow... He threw up! He continued to throw up all night. Poor kid!! I still don't think he has had a piece of his blue cake!


I actually got my Christmas cards out on time this year! Yay! Our neighbor took our pictures and we really like them. So I was able to get them done on time this year! I think it may have been a first!!!!

Today David and I started and finished our Christmas shopping! It was a bit task, but we got it done. When we got home, we fed the kids, put them to bed and then I baked 4 different kinds of cookies for all of David's co-workers. Christina helped, but eventually got pretty tired and asked if she could go to bed. It's been a long day!

Here's wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas!!

Those were the days...

Over the past few days David and I have been reminiscing about how much fun we had when we had our business in California. We decided to open a scrapbook store in 1996, got the paperwork going and opened in early 1997, the first and only Scrapbook Store in the entire Bay Area! We had no idea what would come of it, but you know, looking back, I never hesitated. I never had any doubt about what we were doing. We had a partner the first year and a half, but bought her out and started our 'own thing'. David and I worked together and actually enjoyed working together - most of the time. We really did work well together. He balanced me out and kept me grounded. I say he was my rock, he really was, and still is.

The business grew so fast! It was amazing how fast it grew. Again, I never doubted it for a minute. I actually had some landlords tell me they wouldn't rent me space because they didn't think I would be there a year later. (I wanted to send them an Anniversary Sale postcard every year!) There was no time to think about failing, failure was not an option. People would tell me that if you could make it to 7 years, then you could 'make it'. I remember thinking 7 years was so far away, but before I knew it, 7 years was the next Anniversary we were celebrating. That's when I remember realizing that 7 years was not a magical number. It was almost like I had built up in my mind that if I made it to 7 years I could relax and enjoy the ride. Boy was I wrong! I worked harder at 7 years and after than I ever did before. By 7 years scrapbooking was not a novelty anymore, stores were everywhere and we had to be creative about how to stay ahead of all the rest of the stores. Hitting 10 years was huge! Some stores had come and gone by then, but we were still there and going strong. We actually had two stores at this time. We opened our second store - about 40 minutes away - in July 2000. It was a huge undertaking. It changed a lot of the 'structure' of the business, but I never wanted to change the 'core' of the business. We hired managers for each of the stores, split our time and inventory between the stores, bought a house near the second store and ended up communting (across a toll bridge) to the first store daily, sometimes 3 times a day. Boy, I spent a lot of time in my car...

It's so easy to remember all the good times, and there were MANY!!! But the stress of it all really got to me at times. I had to try and balance the business with my family. While I had the business, I had 4 more children. (we opened before Michael turned 1) The stress was really bad at times, usually Expo time! But you know, with all the stress, we still had fun! There are so many things I want to remember about having the business. I will never forget how hard it was from time to time, but I never want to forget the good times too. I could write a novel with all the things I want to remember, but I will spare you that!

*Managers - We had some GREAT managers and some not-so-great managers. I have to say my all time favorite managers are definately Jen, Kari and Ali. They are the ones I clicked with the best. We all had our own understanding of each other and we had some FUN times. Laughed until we nearly wet our pants on many occasions. Trips to CHA with Kari and Jen were definately times I will cherish FOREVER! I am totally cracking up just thinking about all the fun trips we took! CHA was not work, it was FUN! Ok, it was also a lot of really long days, long nights, financial stress and so much walking our feet cried at night! But the fun so totally outweighed those things! Let's see, I think it was in Atlanta that Jen cried when she didn't get to meet Lisa B, but then the CK employees felt so bad they called Lisa and Lisa met Jen and Kari personally. I think Kari still has her phone number in her phone... Also in Atlanta, (oh Atlanta was a great trip!) we got a personal escort to the hotel by a street bum who wanted a tip. We got the eye-opening experience of riding the public 'rail' system from the convention center to the airport with all our luggage in tow. Can't believe we actually made it with all our luggage still in our possesion. So many fun things in Atlanta. Some managers we don't really want to remember, like the one who said I fired her because David wanted to sleep with her. Or the one who deliberately got pregnant because her husband might get deployed and then couldn't stop complaining about her husband being deployed with her being pregnant.

*Employees - I had some of the BEST employees in the world!!!!!! Seriously I did! David talked recently about how we (as a store) had a 'following' of customers, but our employees had a following too! There were many customers that would only come in when their *favorite* employee was there. We had so many employees over the years, but seriously we had some of the BEST!!! I still keep in contact with so many of them and I hope to forever!! I would list them, but there are so many, and they know who they are. I adore each one of them and I cherish our friendship. We had some fun times too. Angelica kept us laughing in Vacaville until we were all crying. Employee scraps were the best! The jokes ("so redic"), the food (ummm... Whoppers, baby!), the music (what was that station you all hated?) everything! And there were some employees we will never forget, even though we want to... (no names, sorry) 'black horse and a cherry tree' girl, 'Oh I thought you meant with the vacuum' girl, the interview of the girl that told me she wanted to be upfront about the fact that she was arrested for a hit and run, but added 'but it's not like it was a felony or anything.' And all the employees who took the job and then quit after the first day because they thought they'd be scrappbooking while working and didn't realize you actually had to 'work' while on the clock. Yeah, those were the best ones...

*Designers - We had some *bomb* designers and some bum designers over the years. It was fun to add this part to the business. I got to know a whole new side of the business and a whole bunch of gals that were very talented. There were times I am sure they wanted to wring my neck, but they really turned out some incredible pages for classes. We really were known for our classes. We shipped our class kits all over the country. We ran our classes differently than any other store I knew of. Our designers created the classes and the teachers taught the class. My theory was that some of the best designers don't make great teachers and some of the best teachers don't make great designers. So we offered the best of both. We had the best designers and the best teachers. It worked great! Unless you were the kit collator and you wanted to strangle the designers from time to time! (some of those pages were a little more labor intensive than others!) But I did meet some incredible gals that have so much talent! Some even went on to design for manufacturers and I think all of our designers were published in various magazines!

*Teachers - Like I said, we had the BEST teachers out there! The teachers had the best job, I think. I absolutely loved teaching! LOVED it!!! We kept our teachers for a long time, too. We didn't have to replace them very often. Karolyn was with us for, gosh, 8 years?? Karma was with us for about the same. I grew to love these girls as well. I was always sad when one moved and we had to replace her. I even get to see one of them regularly! Kerrie lives here in AZ now and I get to see her often! Love you girl! Karma and I actually traveled to teach at Expo's together. Now those were some fun times, too! Searching out a Mickey Head punch at all the local scrapbook stores, the long talks into the night about nonsense ('how much does a stone weigh?' I still laugh til I cry about that one). The Mickey gloves, the Disney music, the 'woo woo!' laying out all those Disney samples and selling those dang Disney kits!!! Loved going on the road and teaching! It was so fun!

*Expo's - I loved and hated Expo time. Hated them because the stress was sometimes too much to handle. (ummm... Sandylion!! What do you mean you haven't shipped my order that I ordered 2 months ago so I would for sure have it in time for the show!!!!!!!!!!!!! this conversation happening just a week before the show and the company is in CANADA!!! Go ahead an overnight everything for an additional $100 bucks or more so I can get my kits done!!!!!!! grrrr.... no I am not bitter...) So many things came up at Expo time. It was almost like they knew and they wanted to punish us. Jen would call to verify a certain item was in stock, in the quantity we needed (like 120 of them), so we could use it for a class page. She'd then order it that day and it wouldn't ship because it was out of stock! Class kits always seemed to be missing something or another -until we got Jenne as out kit collator. She was the *bomb*!!! Classes were always the most stressful part of Expo, but then when you teach 15 classes a day to 50 women in each class, there are bound to be stressful moments. That's a lot of kits to collate! My 'favorite' class moment was when I turned my back for -literally- 30 seconds and someone stole my samples! So I had to teach class with no project samples!!!! Fun times... not! But we also had a lot of fun at Expos. The flat tire on the suburban in San Jose that Mr. Shirtless changed for us (he was too eager to pose for pics -of course we had a camera!). The woman that asked Joella to sweep her booth when she was done with ours. The largest U-Haul truck available FULL of XXL bags! (It was our back stock! and Yes, we sold them all!) The line that wrapped our booth, the trip to Hawaii we 'tried' to give away (no one claimed it), the year Susan Branch was in our booth signing books, the yearly themes for the booth - Western was the most fun! We brought in hay bales and built a fence around the booth. Tropical was also a fun one. We brought in real palm trees and had them all over the booth. David taking his chair and following 'the shoplifter' all around the booth. Wherever she would stop to shop, he would set his chair down next to her and watch her -yes, she knew he was following her. She didn't steal anything from us. Oh and all the broken chairs every year. David knew where every Michael's and JoAnn's was in Pleasanton because he made many trips to get things we forgot or ran out of -paint, sponge brushes, ribbon, twine, etc. David always brought us -teachers- lunch. You see, I was in the classrooms with the teachers all day and David ran the booth. It worked really well. Karma would get her class all hyped up and they would yell to the other class, usually Karolyn or Kerrie's class. They would have 'hollering' contests between them. We had the whole building to ourselves, just for our classes. It was the best! I really did love Expo's. I hated the prep, but once we were there, it was great!

*Our Customers -We had some awesome customers. I loved our customers. I loved seeing them and missed them when I was pre-occupied with the other store. It seemed I was 6 months in one store then 6 months in the other. We had some really wonderful customers. I loved hearing their stories, we shared our memories, went through hard times together and really connected with so many of them on a personal level. So many babies born, so many new puppies and kittens, graduations, birthdays, vacations, retirements, holidays, sports, you name it. I loved hearing about their kids, their vacations and sharing in their trials. I really miss so many of our customers. We did have our share of customers I'd like to forget too. There weren't many, but there are always those 'few'. Jen and I have joked for years we need to write a book on the funny experiences we had with our customers. The girl who asked if she could pray for Jen, and then did, right there in the middle of the store! The one that brought in her 'bad girl' pictures and asked Jen to help her find paper to go with them -all while I am teaching in the other room and getting really odd looks from Jen. My personal favorite was the one that told me she knew the owner, then asked me what her name was. When I told her Brenda she responded with 'yeah, that's it' then continued telling me how she knew her well. Then when the phone rang and my employee came over and said 'Brenda, you have a call' the customer replied 'You must be a new owner.' Nope, I've been here since the beginning. The girls told me often how they would hear many times a day "I know Brenda". One of them wanted, so badly, to say 'Really? Is she nice?' I just laughed, because I know her too! :)

*Misty's Scrap Weekends -My sister would fly out every 6 months to spend a weekend scrapping in the store. She would always bring at least 1 other person with her. Usually 3 others would come. One time there were 10 that came! Phew, that was a lot of people in my tiny 1,000sq ft 2 bd 1 ba house in Pleasant Hill! It was always so much fun when she came to town. So many comments and jokes and stories. We laughed more when she was in town than any other time, I think. All the employee's loved scrapping with us. We would literally 'camp out' in the classroom the entire time she was here. It was great because we could leave our stuff out all weekend. It was the only time I would allow the employees to come into the store on Sunday to scrap. It started out as just a 2 day thing and ended up a 5 day trip in the end. It was so much fun! We'd play Bingo, get food at 2am, go home at 6am to sleep for a couple hours and come back by 10am to start all over again. It was the only time of year that I would scrap for myself. It was always a contest to see who could do the most pages -Sharisa or Kristen always won! We played phone pranks on the managers -Misty's new name will forever be LaFawnduh at any scrap weekend. There were so many inside jokes that people would just look at us and wonder what planet we came from as we would laugh so hard we were crying most of the time. I truly miss those weekends!

There are so many things I miss about having the store. We really did have a great time. We really did pour our heart and soul into those stores. We sold the Pleasant Hill store (our first store) June of 2007. We knew the end was near. We knew we needed to move -out of state- but didn't know where yet. Then in 2008 we moved to Arizona and ended up closing our Vacaville store. David and I flew back to close it out just 3 weeks after we had moved. Only I had to come back before the final day we were open. I said my goodbye's and knew it was over. I was excited to start a new life in a new state. But I have to say, the last day the store was open, I lost it around 4pm. I cried and cried and couldn't stop crying until David got home 3 days later. It actually hit me that it was over. We closed up August 30, 2008. One of my girls got married the next day. David went to the wedding and hung out with all the other girls. I remember Jen calling me from the wedding just sobbing. We cried on the phone together for at least 10 minutes. It was so sad to realize that it was all over. I was also sad I couldn't be at Angelica's wedding. I just couldn't stop crying. Everything I had known for the last -almost- 12 years was over. It seemed so final. And to be apart from David and all my employee's that I had grown to love so much. It was tough.

We did have some great times. I still miss it from time to time. And not just when I have to go pay full retail for something! I truly miss the daily conversations with employee's, customers, teachers, designers, vendors. I miss the feeling of pure joy and excitement when new product came in. I miss the challenge of finding a place for it in the store. I miss developing new classes, playing with new tools, running to Baskin Robbins for Ice Cream or Subway for lunch, I really miss teaching classes, hiring and training new employee's, employee scrap nights, celebrating birthdays, employee meetings (even if they were boring or surprise birthday parties, surprise baby showers or an actual meeting!). There is so much I do miss. I will cherish all the memories I have forever. I will always long to re-live the many wonderful moments I shared with so many people over the years. I hope to never forget all the good times and hope to go back and visit - and scrap- with those that are still there.

If you are a Remember When employee reading this, or a customer, please share your favorite memories with me. I'd love to hear them and re-live them with you. I miss you all so much! And I will be coming back for a visit very soon! :)

What a Day!!

So today was packed full of ups and downs, excitement and sheer panick, good and shall we say... not so good. It started off fine. I had amillion things to do because it was Amanda's birthday. Dropped the kids off at the Babysitting Co-op so I could run many errands without having to buckle and unbuckle the boys a million times. Ran my errands and went to pick up the boys. Well, Lara and I got talking as we do - more now that we are in the Primary Presidency together. The boys (Ryan and Tyler plus her two Kyle-5 yrs and Ryan-3 yrs) were all playing in the back yard and eventually moved to the front yard. Kyle came into the house to ask if they could ride bikes. Lara said no, I told him we were leaving in a minute. So they went back out front. The front door was open, I was sitting at her bar so I could see the boys and we could both hear them. After a couple minutes I got up and we went to get the boys so I could go home and get them lunch. They were GONE! We looked in the back yard, looked through her house, they were really GONE! A moment of unbelief that this was happening... We jumped in my car and drove around her block. Nothing. Dropped her off at her house, we got in our own cars and started driving around. I went to the park and then over to my house, NOTHING! She went further up into her neighborhood and then back toward her house, NOTHING. We split up and drove again through neighboring subdivisions, NOTHING! My body is going numb. I am such an overprotective mom. I always know where my kids are at all times. To the point that some people have laughed at me or asked why I worry so much. But I always know where they are and freak out if I can't see them at all times! So I am really starting to freak out! Lara goes to wake up her husband - he is a cop and was sleeping from working the night shift. He goes out looking. I am running thru her neighborhood knocking on random doors asking if anyone has seen 4 little boys. I run to the park yelling their names. I see the Landscapers at the park but no little boys. Lara calls the Police, it has now been 30 minutes they have been missing. My friend that I was going to meet at the park is out on her bike looking everywhere for them. In the neighborhoods, the parks, can't find them. Everytime I call her to see if she has found them she answers her phone "Did you find them?" David is coming home from work, we now have 6 officers, neighbors and ward members all looking for 4 little boys who we think are together. Finally someone calls and tells us the Landscapers at the Park said they saw 4 little boys walking up Bridlegate toward Houston 25 minutes earlier (kind of toward my house). It has now been an hour that they are missing. Lara and I are crying and starting to really lose it. They won't let us leave Lara's house. Talk about feeling helpless! We were discussing how this could have happened and how noone saw them. when I remembered telling Kyle we were going to be going home soon. I called my friend Markelle again and asked her to go to my house and go IN my house and look for them. To go IN the backyard. I had driven past my house, Lara's husband had gone to my house and looked over the side wall into the back yard and yelled for them but found nothing. She said she would. I called her back and asked if she was there yet, she had just gotten there and was checking my front door. Locked. I told her to go into the back yard, she opened the big side gate and yelled "I FOUND THEM!! They are here." Then she said to the boys that the Police were out looking for them and then told me she was going to hang up and cry. I jumped in my car and flew to my house. There were now 2 police cars and a police motorcycle at my house. Rick had gotten there too and was helping get the boys out of the back yard. They had gotten into the pool area -thanks to a ladder they had propped up against the pool fence to get to the lock on the gate. Once inside the pool area they were locked in and couldn't get out. So, here are 4 little boys who CAN'T swim locked IN the pool area! This could have gone so wrong in so many ways! Come to find out, after much prodding and questioning by both Lara and myself, basically they didn't want to stop playing together, so they ran to my house - they wanted to hurry so they could hide and keep playing. They walked 3/4 mile to get to my house! I clocked it in the car with Ryan tonight! It also came out that they were afraid of the cars, so anytime they saw one, they would hide in the bushes. Thus the reason no one could find them. I have never felt so much fear and panick in my life. I was so scared! When I did see them, I just held them. Ryan was pretty upset and wouldn't let go of me. He was crying when the officer lifted him over the fence to me and wouldn't let go until David took him in the house. I don't know if he completely understands how scared I was, but Christina said that when she walked in from school he said "I was lost and made Mommy cry today." I just know I NEVER want to experience that feeling again!
On a lighter note... Today was Amanda's Birthday! She turned 7 today! She is getting so big! I can hardly believe it! We went out to dinner and then back home to open presents and have cake & ice cream. She seemed to enjoy it all very much! Screaming with such delight of each little gift. She would scream and get so excited and then look at it and ask "what is it?" She is a nut! Amanda is such an independent littel girl. I told her the other day that she is very stubborn. She asked what stubborn meant. I told her and we discussed it for a little while. She seemed satisfied. Then tonight she announced "I am stubborn" then looked at me and asked again "what does stubborn mean? Is it good?" She makes me laugh. She is a lot of fun to have in the family. She has a great laugh and loves school. She loves to do anything crafty - loves to make cards, necklaces, draw pictures, color, etc. She loves to dance in her room to her favorite cd's -not sure which one is the favorite this week... She is reading so well, and loves to read books and have them read to her. We went to the library recently and she chose -I think- half the library!! She had a stack of books to bring home. I think we must have brought home 20 or more, just for her. I am so happy to have her in our family. Love you Amanda Panda -aka Boo!