Lived, Laughed, Loved

In Loving Memory of My Sister Bonnie

May 1, 1975- March 15, 2008

Never Forgotten

May the bond we shared as sisters

Bring you peace when days get long.

May the love you heard in my voice

Be a warm and soothing song.

May the memories of our childhood

Fill your heart with strength and love.

May God's promise of the future

Bring warm assurance from above.

It's been one year since Bonnie died. It has been a difficult year. Anyone who has lost a loved one will know the feelings of the "First____________" without them. I have felt Bonnie's love and closeness many times. I have known she has had her hand in many decisions and situations. I am comforted to know that she is in a happier place, she is where she needs to be and doing much work. Because of my testimony of the Gospel, I know I will see her some day and will have a much anticipated and joyous reunion with her.

I love you Bonnie!

There has not been a day this last past year that I have not thought of you! Slowly my heart continues to mend. I have tried to replace the memory of that tragic day, one year ago, to random memories of happier times spent with you. A long journey still faces me and those who are left behind, I know we must endure and carry on without you. It uplifts me to know that you are here with me in spirit,

Living with, Laughing at, and loving me always,

until we see each other again.

Should It Stay Or Should It Go NOW?!

Tuesday's Top Ten

Reasons why Winter must Go!

#10 reason why winter must go....I can't Wait to change heavy coats for jackets,snow boots for regular shoes, and no more wet melted snow on the floors, from them both.
#9 reason why winter must go.....I don't snow ski. I don't care about "FRESH POWDER"!
#8 reason why winter must go.....I hate driving in it.
#7 reason why winter must go.....Ugly debris on the sides of roads, that was covered up by the snow.

#6 reason why winter must go...maybe it will get warm enough for occupants of this home to venture out and take down not only Christmas decor, but also last year Fall Decor! (HELLO! it's now march!)

#5 reason why winter must go....People who opt. to keep their Christmas lights up, yet let them come loose, thus having to watch them dangle and sway in the wind. (unkempt, hung Christmas lights)

#4 reason why winter must go....Dirty, ugly side snow, that just won't melt!

#3 reason why winter must go.....Pot Holes!!

#2 reason why winter must go....Being toilet papered in the winter really SUCKS to clean up!

#1 reason why winter must go....My spring Flowers are coming out!!!

Wednesday's Words

Words With Jared

Setting: Janalynn sitting in her favorite chair reading a book. Jared walks in and suddenly stops.

Jared: "Stop doing that, you're turning me on."

(Janalynn looks up with a confused look on her face)

Janalynn: (replies with annoyance in her voice) "I'm not doing anything!"

Jared: (in a serious voice) "I know, and it's working!"

(Jared then leaves the room. Janalynn goes back to reading, smiling inwardly.)

Yes! Really, this is how Jared is. I think one of his goals in life is to make me laugh or at least smile. He is seldom in a bad mood, and is always quick witted, with sharp, funny or make you think, come backs. For example if he happens to call me on his way home from work, he'll ask me how my day was. If I say it was awful and I'm in a bad mood, his typical response would be, "YES! I can't Wait to get home!" (in a serious and excited voice). If I ask him if if he loves me, he'll sometimes respond, "For the moment." or something along those lines. People who don't know him, don't know how to take his humor. But those who do, either avoid his sarcasm, or try to out wit him. You would never guess that he was very Romantic and writes the best love poems and letters. Of course I'm the only one who knows that!!!

It's Great Being "8"

"It's Great Being A Girl"

Natalie Turned 8 this month. What an exciting age! She is at an age where dressing up, doing hair, and dreaming about make-up is always happening. So I decided to throw her a "Make-Over" party. First the girls ate pizza, then decorated make-up bags with hearts, flowers, jewels and their names.

Afterwards the mirrors were brought out, curling irons plugged in, make-up was divided up and the show was on. When all the girls hair done, nails and faces, painted, a game was played like musical chairs. If you were left without a star, you chose a number, and dressed up according to that number. (The dress-ups were bagged with numbers).

Their final number was was a fashion show, lip-sinc, dance performance all in one, to the song "So What, I'm a Rock Star" by pink. What a sight to behold. I was proud and entertained at the same time. It was a fairly easy party to do, and I think the girls enjoyed it!!

(special thanks to Linda Ford for providing the props!)

You Say It's Your Birthday....

It's My Birthday Too!

Jared sent me on a wild scavenger hunt for my Birthday! He loves surprises and making me work for them. Too be honest it's really frustrating, not to mention I'm not too good at puzzles. I scanned his clues. If you could figure them out without help, I'll consider you a genus. All I can say is that I'm grateful for cell phones. I had to call Jared at every clue, except #4.

Clue #1 was the library
Clue #2 was the Book title "flower children"
Clue #3 was Jared's Aunt Lorna
Clue #4 was Smith's Grocery Store Customer Service Booth
Clue #5 was the home of our good friend's the Turners.

It was a fun and eventful night. First, because I took so long figuring out the clues, we had to RUSH to Pei Wei to eat. We snarfed our food down only to run out to the car and find out that we had locked our keys in the car!! We had to call Kailey to come bring the extra set to us. Afterwards we drove to Hale Theater to watch the 2nd half of "Cash on Delivery". Last but not least. We stopped at Leatherbys for Ice cream. All in all it was a fun Birthday! Too bad we locked the keys in the car and missed the first half of the play, however, memorable night and great company made it all worth another Birthday!!!
(side note: I told Biffy NOT to let Jared throw me a Surprise Party...she did her best!)

Super, and Not So Super!

Super Bowl Sunday (Church got out at 5:30, so we DVR-ed the game)

Super Friends (2nd annual party, I think it will be now a tradition)

Super Dinner and Snacks (Biffy made dinner, the rest brought snacks.)

Super Games (gals played board games, stopped for commercials, while the men watched the Football Game)

Not-So- Super Bowl Game (we were all rooting for the underdog, the Cardinals. By the last quarter, we were all on pins and needles!! Congrats to the Steeler Team and Fans.)

100 Days of School

This year in 2nd grade at Heritage Elementary they celebrated the 100 days of school, not by bringing 100 items to count during math (thank you! I always stress over finding something for the kids to bring that was unique, yet wouldn't be eaten by the time they needed it at school). They celebrated it by dressing up as if they were 100 years old. I thought this was a fun and different way. Kids love to dress up and Natalie really got into it. Hat's off to the 2nd grade teachers at Heritage!!

(Side note to all parents: This means that the school year is more than half over. School is only 180 days a year! YIKES!!!)

Thursday Thought and Theory

Thought: How many things do our children learn from us through example, or simpling by telling them?

This thought came to me the other day. This time of year, we all hear coughing and sneezing on a regular bases. My son Porter is no exception. I noticed a while back that whenever he sneezed, he would bless himself. "Bless me"., he would say. I of course thought that it was a cute response and never corrected him that someone else should be the one blessing him. However, like I said the other day I got thinking, how come he blesses himself? He didn't learn that through example of anyone I knew. The more I thought about it, I soon realized that young children not only learn from our example, but also by what we tell them to say or do. Often they don't know why we tell them to do things, they just do it. For example I have seen parents, myself included, tell a child to "wave good-bye" or "Say your sorry." And other small demands that will teach children. So I can't help wonder if that is why Porter says "Bless me." whenever he sneezes. Instead of me teaching through example which was intended, he was taught through a demand. "A-choo!" From Porter, I would then respond, "Bless You!" Porter's young mind then formed what I had just said as a demand. Therefore he soon learned that whenever he sneezed he should bless himself because that was what he was taught to do.

So I wonder...Why is it so hard for a teenager to learn the same way? Why can't they just take your small demands and just do what we say without asking questions, and just do it?

Wednesday's Words with Ellie (my dog)

Setting: Janalynn has just peeled an orange and sits down to eat it. Ellie the dog comes mosey in. Instantly she sees that Janalynn has something in her hand, and whatever it is, it is making it's way up and into her mouth. Instantly she goes from "woe is me" attitude, to, "I'm getting me some of that". (Actually it's pretty hard to tell facial expression on a Basset Hound).

Janalynn:(a little irritated) No Ellie! You wont like it! So stop begging and leave me alone!

Janalynn: (resignation in her voice) Ok, but I promise you wont like it!
(Janalynn holds the orange just above Ellie. Ellie jumps as high as she possibly can, maybe 5 inches off the floor, to snag the orange slice. She sits then spits it out. Sniffs at the orange, looks at the orange. Pushes the orange with her nose. Then finally leaves the orange and returns to Janalynn).

Janalynn: (frustration and disbelief in her voice) "Really Ellie!!?! C'mon, It's the exact same thing I just gave you, and you obviously hated it!!

9 Goals for 2009

Me and my dog Ellie (I got her for my Birthday in 2008)

9 Goals I want to Accomplish in 2009

Listening to a lot of experts on how to accomplish goals, I was repetitively told NOT to make too hard or unrealistic goals, that would be impossible to achieve. So this list was very hard to come up with, but I managed to come up with 9. I figured that being "Being more healthy" was a given, so didn't even bother listing that goal, because for as long as I can remember, that has been my ongoing goal.

1. Get out of debt (Pay off my credit card)

2. Take the kids to Dreaded Disneyland (I have a phobia of Disney-anything)

3. Paint and Redecorate my entire upstairs (ok maybe just livingroom, entry, and possibly kitchen)

4. Make a Memory Book of my Sister Bonnie

5. Read the BofM and D&C again

6. Visit the Temple more often (I'm trying for at least once a month)

7. Give up Pepsi (at least cut back)

8.To unspoil Porter (this one will by my hardest)

9. To spoil Jared (this one will be easy)

Wish me Luck!!

Favorite 8 of 2008

8 Favorites of 2008

8 Favorite Books read in 2008
1."Jackdaws" by Ken Follett
2."Austinland" by Shannon Hale
3."The Other Boleyn Girl" by Gregory Philippa
4."Innocent Traitor" by Alison Wier
5."Hornet Flight" by Ken Follett
6."A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Hosseini Khaled
7."Cane River" by Tademy Lelita
8."The Host" by Stephanie Meyer

8 Favorite Activities in 2008
1.Playing games with friends
2.Shopping with daughters
3.Surf'n Swim with kids
4.Lunches with girlfriends
5.Going to the Temple with mom and Sister
6.UofU game with friends
7.Working in my Flower Bed
8.Saturday dates with Jared

8 Favorite Foods I ate alot of during 2008
1. Cafe' Rio Salads
2. Pei Wei Mongolian Chicken
3. Rooster's Ravioli
4. California Kitchen's Thai Salad
5. Maverick's Cheesy Bread
6. Campbell's' Chunky New England Clam Chowder
7. Turkey and Swiss Hoggie sandwiches
8. Home Grown Garden Tomatoes

8 Favorite Purchases in 2008
1. New Furnace and Central Air
2. Basset Hound named Ellie
3. American Eagle Jeans
4. Tires for Jared's Car
5. Area Rug for my Living room
6. Leather Couch, Chair and Ottoman
7. Custom made Mother's Ring
8. Camera

8 Favorite Songs in 2008
1. Shattered, by O.A.R
2. Stop and Stare, by One Republic
3. Calling You, by Blue October
4. Apologize, by Timbaland
5. Rise Above, This by Seether
6. Viva La Vida, by Cold Play
7. Paralyzer, by Finger Eleven
8. Pork and Beans, by Weezer

Wednesday's Wall Words

Wednesday's Wall Words With Daughter Kailey

setting: I'm downstairs watching a movie. Kailey yells down to me.

Kailey: "Bye Mom, I'm going."
Janalynn: "Be sure to check in."
Kailey: "I will!"

(three hours later, Kailey returns home)

Kailey: "I'm Home"
Janalynn: "How come you didn't check in?"
Kailey: "I did!"
Janalynn: "No you didn't"
Kailey: "Yes, I did!"
Janalynn: "Don't you think I'd know if you checked in with me?"
Kailey: "Don't you ever read your text messages?"

(Janalynn goes upstairs and down the hall into a back bedroom where her cell phone is on it's charger, because unlike all teenagers, Janalynn does NOT carry her cell phone on her body at all times. Janalynn checks her cell phone. Cell phone has little picture of envelope floating across screen.)

Cell Phone Text from Kailey's cell phone says: just checking in

Tuesday's Top Ten

My Top 10 Favorite Christmas Party Photos
(2 different parties, Jared's family's and my family's Christmas Parties)

#10 My Sister Susan and I (she's 10 years older than me, doesn't she look great?)


#9 Jared and Uncle Rick acting like....well like Jared and Uncle Rick


#8 Cousin Zach holding Natalie "Hostage" during the Charades game.


#7 Aunt Robbi showing us a Yoga move during the game, Charades


#6 Aunt Lorina sitting on Santa's Lap


#5 Uncle Tom getting a Barbie Doll in the game, "Santa Spilled his Bag"


#4 Kelsey getting Great Grandma's False Teeth as a Gag Gift


#3 Cousin Hayden giving Porter a Hug


#2 Porter with Keven and Lucy. Porter wearing Mr. Potato Head Santa's Beard and mustache


#1 Jared and I enjoying a party together

The Mom Song

Wednesday's Words For MOMS!

Christmas Has come at last. I saw this video over a year ago and my good friend Becky e-mailed it along with a Mom's letter to Santa. This mom is my Hero and pretty much sums up my life as a mom especially this month.

Dear Santa,
I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my own doctor, sold sixty-two cases of candy bar s to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground. I was hoping you could spread my list out -- over several Christmases.
Since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles; and who knows when I'll find any more free time in the next 18 years, so now - -

*** Here are my Christmas wishes ***

* I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (-in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze; but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store.

* I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.

* If you're hauling big-ticket items this year, I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music; a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals; and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

* On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, 'Yes, Mommy' to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.

* I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting, 'Don't eat in the living room' and 'Take your hands off your brother,' because my voice seems to be just out of my childrens hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.

* If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

*If you don't mind, I could also use a few miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely.

*It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.

Well, the buzzer on the dryer is ringing, and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his red crayon back. Have a safe trip Santa, and remember to leave your wet boots by the door, and come in and dry off, so you don't catch cold. Help yourself to cookies on the table, but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.
Yours always with love and appreciation,
A Mom

P.S. One more thing . . You can cancel all my requests, if you can keep my children 'young' enough to believe in Santa.

To All You Moms out there...
I hope you had a very Merry Christmas!!!

Tuesday's Top Ten

Top Ten Christmas Memories
#10 Watching mom and dad make homemade fudge (the only time I ever saw them frustrated with each other)
#9 Grandmas Christmas Train. Still a favorite with my kids
#8 The only Christmas where Santa came early and we had to wait down stairs while he unloaded his gifts. Then we opened as soon as he left around midnight. We never did that again.
#7 Caroling with the young men and women on a tractor pulling trailer through the streets.
#6 Caroling with the family with home made chimes
#5 Riding on the sled behind Grandpa's Tractor, up into the canyon to find Christmas Trees.
#4 Having my very own Christmas Tree in my room
#3 Performing as singing Christmas Elves with my siblings
#2 Pizza for Christmas Eve dinner.
#1 listening to my dad's favorite Christmas album all month of December..
"Mitch Miller and the Band"

First and Last

My First Child.......

Kailey and Chris

Christmas Ball, 2008

And My Last Child.....

Porter lost his 1st tooth.

(I hate the tooth fairy! Right up there with the Easter Bunny! Another Blog for another time!)

Wednesday's Wall Words

A Frequent Conversation With Kelsey.

setting: Any given Day!

Kelsey: "Please Mom?"

Janalynn: "No."

Kelsey: "Why?"

Janalynn: "I already told you why."

Kelsey; (a little louder, and an added whine) "Please?"

Janalynn : (a little louder, and a touch of annoyance) " I said No!"

Kelsey: (Whine) "Please?"

Janalynn: (a DUH type tone in her answer) "A... No!"

Kelsey: (A lot more Whinnier) "PLEASE?"

Janalynn: (Ignores this question and rolls her eyes)

Kelsey: (Draws out the question) "PA-LEEEEEEZE?"

Janalynn: (A lot Louder and draws out her answer) "NNNNN-OOOO!"

Kelsey: (Asks with a voice like she is in pain) "Please?"

Janalynn: (snippy) Ask me please again, and You won't be doing ANYTHING!!"

(Quite for about 10 seconds)

Kelsey: (more controlled) " So can I?"

Janalynn: (drops whatever she's doing and walks into her bedroom and locks the door to keep from screaming)

(knock on Janalynn's Bedroom Door)

Kelsey: (quite, and sweetly) "So was that a Yes?"

Janalynn (yells through the door) "GO ASK YOUR DAD!!"

Tues. Top Ten #3

Top Ten Favorite
Christmas Songs

#10 O Holy Night

#9 Little Drummer Boy

#8 I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

#7 Must Be Santa

#6 Silver Bells

#5 Let It Snow

#4 Grandma Got Ran Over By A Reindeer

#3 Sleigh Ride

#2 Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

#1 Do You Hear What I Hear

Thursday's Thoughts and Theories

Thought: Is It Worth Shopping on BLACK FRIDAY?
My Theory: If you don't mind BLACK MOODS.
Ok so I got all excited to go out and SAVE BIG!! I have only done this one other time, and like giving birth, must of forgotten the pain and misery you are in, and repeated the same act. My sister goes every year and is so organized and swears by this her method of shopping on this day. Unfortunately I tried her techniques and failed miserably. Yes I got what I wanted, Yes I ran to the check out and was even out of the store just 15 min after it had opened, only to realize when reaching my car, the checker had not scanned the main item I went for. This meant I had to go back in to pay for it. By this time the lines were at least 45 min.LONG! After an all day Shopping event, I spent the evening and into the night wrapping all the presents, numbering them and putting them away until Christmas eve, (My sister's tactic). Long story short, I have spent this week returning 10 items because, I either found something better, wrong size, it was broken, or I just plain didn't need it. Three of the items were already wrapped (good thing I numbered the gift!) While returning, I found that a lot of the "savings" wasn't all that much of a savings, and even found a few of the same items I "rushed" to get were still the same price a week later. I also wonder if some of the stores jack up the price, so it looks as if you're saving big. I'm not sure. I am sure however, some people love this day, and somehow can pull it off. Me? either I have to find an easier way, keep practicing, or just avoid "Black Friday" all together!

On a cheerful note....Thanksgiving was enjoyable. Held at the church, and Hosted by my family this year. The gym was open for basket ball and games, the kids ran free, and the kitchen large enough to "not get in the way".