We love Halloween around here!

We love Disneyland too!

What could be better than the two TOGETHER!

We just got back from our annual Disneyland and Halloween trip and I am wishing I was back there right now!  Here are my 10 reasons why!


1.  The weather is PERFECT this time of year.  We didn't even need a sweater for the mornings or the nights.  We got a little warm the first day we were there, so we went on Splash Mountain a few times and that took care of that!

2.  The Decor!  I am a sucker for all things pumpkin, and there is no shortage of fun fall decor everywhere you look!



3.   Haunted Mansion Holiday.  Disneyland really out-did themselves on this ride.  They have re-created the Movie with Jack the Skeleton King down to the Gingerbread house with the real gingerbread smell! mmmmmm!


4.  Ghost Galaxy!  Space Mountain gets a very spooky makeover!!

5.  Crowd level!  This time of year is perfect for low crowds.  We were there on a level 4 day and a level 3 day.  They rate the crowds from 1-10, 1 being low, 10 being high.  We had no problem going on any ride we wanted, several times.  No wait times were longer than 15 minutes!

6.  Big Thunder Ranch Halloween Carnival!  This is like something right out of the movies.  No detail was spared.  A petting Zoo, Carnival games, crafts for the kids, treats, carved pumpkins and characters walking around with no wait to take pictures with.  I could have spent a whole day there just sitting and soaking in all the fun!



7.  The Mickey and Minnie dress up for Halloween!  And the
guests dress up too!  It was so fun walking around seeing everyone getting into the Halloween spirit!

8.  The Villains come out to play!  It's so fun to see some of the characters that they save for this time of year.



9.  The FOOD!  Disneyland already has the best food, but add the Halloween treats, and I'm in heaven!


10.  Family Fun at the Happiest place on earth.  I love starting off the Holiday season at Disneyland.


For more information on visiting Disneyland at Halloween time, go to
 https://disneyland.disney.go.com/events-tours/halloween-time-at-the-disneyland-resort/

Last week we did our Back to School dinner.  I showed you all the preparation, the theme, and the setting. Now on to the FOOD!!!








Hollie and I thought, what is more back to school than Mac-n-Cheese?   But with our fancy table we needed to fancy up the food a bit too, so we decided on a Mac-n-Cheese bar.

We took our favorite Mac-n-Cheese recipe, or you could even just buy a box of it if you are stretched for time, then we came up with a bunch of toppings to pile on.

We had bacon bits, chopped jalapeno, fried onions, Dorritos, sliced Apple Chicken Sausage, crab lumps, mixed veggies, and black beans.  We found that you can really add anything to macaroni and cheese to gourmet it up!

Our favorites were:
Hubby- Dorritos
Me - black beans, jalapeno, and bacon bits
B - Apple Chicken Sausage and fired onions
C - Crab
A - mixed veggies


So yummy!  We each had a few small bowls with different combos and tried to come up with the best concoction.   After our bellies were more than full, we decided that this was definitely a make again dinner!!

What is your favorite combo?

It's that time of year again.  Back to School.

I always have mixed feelings about my children going back to school.  On the one hand, I love having them home with me.  We love staying up late, playing games, going on bike rides and hanging out.  We spend our summers at water parks, soccer tournaments and family activities.  I hate to see our fun come to an end.

On the other hand, I crave order and routine.  I enjoy letting go of it during the summer, but I do get a little excited about the thought of schedules again.

Every year I like to plan a little Back to School dinner.  I make it a special occasion, one that we look forward to and each of the kids can participate in.  I use it as a night of planning and goal setting for the upcoming school year.   I pick a theme I want to focus on and then go from there.

This year my sister, Hollie, and I were talking and we really liked THIS TALK by President Gordon B. Hinckley.   It's the B's talk.  We were trying to find a way to focus on the the "Be Smart" part of his talk.  After all, it's Back to School.

Then we found a follow up talk he gave,  and I really liked this part.

"For you, my dear friends, the sky is the limit. You can be excellent in every way. You can be first class. There is no need for you to be a scrub. Respect yourself. Do not feel sorry for yourself. Do not dwell on unkind things others may say about you. ........... Polish and refine whatever talents the Lord has given you. Go forward in life with a twinkle in your eye and a smile on your face, but with great and strong purpose in your heart. Love life and look for its opportunities." 

I knew that this was what I wanted our focus to be on.   I want my children to know that they need to not just go through life.   They can't just let life happen, and go with whatever way the wind blows.  They can not become idle in their dreams, and they can do and be anything that they work to be.  They must live their life with PURPOSE!  Anything can be accomplished when they go forward with a positive attitude.

So I put together these bookmarks for each one of my children with excerpts from that talk.









Once everything was set I made a yummy dinner, (post to come) and my Husband I talked to our kids about our Back To School theme.  Then my Husband gave our kids their annual Back to School Blessings.   I always look so forward to this tradition.  I am a bit of a nervous Nelly, and hearing him give each child a blessing always eases my mama bear heart.  He even gives me one, so that I can embrace the new School year, instead of being anxious and feeling sad about the kids leaving.

We then had each child write down 3 goals in their journal that they wanted to focus on for this upcoming school year.  We encourage them to think about this before our dinner, that way they are inspired and can take this process seriously.  We encourage them to think beyond passing tests, and reading a set number of books.   We want them to remember that back to school is about relationships with friends, choosing the right paths, and making the right decisions with their time as well as good grades. They need to seek out knowledge and truth, and to build on their relationship with their Heavenly Father.

I am now looking forward to this upcoming School year with so much excitement!!  I am excited to see what my kids can accomplish now that they have a clear understanding of our expectations and with their goals they set for themselves.   We are ready to Go Forward with Purpose!!!

I don't know about you, but for me, back to school means time to get organized.  I have a busy family, just like you do, and the only way for me to keep track of everything is to write it down.  I have tried and tried to keep organized on apps for my phone, but truth be told, I am a paper and pen gal.  Even when I'm writing my book, Sweet Me: The Workbook, I would rather use pen and paper than my computer.  I love pretty pens and pretty stationary.  I have a weakness for pretty paper.  I haven't scrap-booked in YEARS, yet, I still cannot resist buying new scrapbook paper!  It's a problem.  I should probably seek help.

And speaking of help!  I need help choosing which planner to get.  Leave me a comment and tell me which one YOU would choose.  I have an exciting year coming up, and I want to live life to the fullest, and I know with one of these fancy planners, I can keep everyone and everything running it's course.  Well, that's the plan anyways!




And while your at it, check out these totally stylish desk calendars.  I think I may have found my new obsession.  How cute would these be set up on an easel on your desk?  I am totally going to have to add one of these cuties to my new office re-do.  Which one do you love?

My kids LOVE to be creative.  In fact, we are known to turn off the tv, the computer, the xbox and the phones and just sit around the table and have drawing contests.  When my kids were younger, and the Hubby was working much longer hours, sometimes the only moments of sanity I could get was when I would sit down with the kids and color.  They seriously would do it for hours.  And of course, each piece was a masterpiece!


I used to try to keep as many of the papers of color and imagination as I could, but seriously, we had millions!  I tried keeping just my favorites.  We tried displaying them in frames in the playroom, I even caved and put some on the fridge.  ( I have issues with cluttered fridges!)  My oldest drew an amazing picture of The Salt Lake Temple that I had framed in my house for a long time.  He was only 8 when he drew this.

I feel it very important to instill in my children that desire to be creative.  To use their minds, and their hands.  To learn to think outside the box, and to think for themselves.  Nothing makes me happier than when I am making dinner, and one of my kids is sitting at the counter, coloring, painting, play-dohing or writing a story as we chat and create.

We are all creative souls.  Some of us can draw, some of us can bake or cook, some of us dance, some of us make furniture.   I don't want my children to forget how to use their imagination.  I want them to indulge in the fun of play.  When they are older and have to pick a career, I hope they have the courage to pick something they love to do, and have the confidence to know they can do anything.  I really think that helping them now with their creative learning, will help them to always dream and strive for the best as they get older.

As important as I think this is, I realized that I want to show them how important it is.  So I went to Hobby Lobby and bought a big canvas, I used a 40% off coupon, so it was really affordable.  I picked a dozen or so colors of paint that the kids could choose from, that would coordinate with my decor.  I also bought half a dozen different sized paint brushes.




I gave the kids free reign.  No directions, no suggestions, the only rule was they had to create something TOGETHER.


I LOVE what they came up with.  They named it OUTSIDE FUN.

We hung it right up, and they love when people notice it and talk about it.  I believe that a home should have pictures of your life's journey, not just your portraits of your Sunday best.  I love family pictures of a family being a family,......... of a soccer game, a 5th birthday, a family vacay.  I also believe the home should have a piece of every member representing themselves.  Not just a perfectly put together living room that Mom doesn't want anyone messing up!  What could be a better way to show your children how important they are, than to have them feel and SEE it!

How do you showcase your family in your home?