graduation week

it's official, folks. i am a college graduate! And it is the weirdest feeling. Up until now i've always been in school; always preparing for the next year; everything leading up to this. And now it's done.

The fam in all of their awesomeness came to Utah for the week of my graduation to play with me and Miss Calah (and her family). We missed a couple of the boys and Miss Kierston's family due to previous engagements and whatnot but we did have everyone else. Which is quite the feat considering how big our family is.

it was simply lovely having the nieces and nephews here to play and seeing my siblings. They have always had my best interests at heart and i love them to pieces! This was also the first time we had all of the Toth sisters together in several years where we could sit and talk and simply enjoy. Of course we get together at the holidays but this was different. it's funny to see how similar we all are; our laughs, our phrasing, etc. if i do say so myself, we are also pretty darn funny (the whole fam is really).

Aren't they just fab? (PS i'm still waiting on a picture of me with all of the girls so the selfies will have to suffice).

with the parents

with Misses Bryttney and Kierston

 

with Miss Calah

with Matt and Hyrum - Morgan and Ethan are honorarily there

We spent several days at the Midway house since it had the space to hold us all. We celebrated with cupcakes from The Sweet Tooth Fairy (only the best) for my graduation AND Mom's birthday AND Miss Tovah's birthday (which just so happened to be the very same day as my convocation). 

She really is just adorable and crazy smart and crazy creative. An all around awesome kid. :)

so many fab things!

Miss Momo is a married woman. And they are really the cutest little Hoosier couple you'll ever see. The wedding was small, simple, and absolutely beautiful. i am so excited to see them begin their married life because they are so good for each other and together.

Last week at school was Teacher Appreciation Week. Which, when your students know what that means, is a very darling thing. The girls in my class brought me flower clippings and homemade cards throughout the week. it was so sweet because they simply love being at school and they seem to really enjoy having me as a teacher. it makes those slightly rough days worth so worth it because each of these kids is just amazing.

 Being a teacher means i also get Spring Break (huzzah!). Great things, right? And it really has been a lovely week. it began with a wonderful getaway to the Midway house with the fam and some friends for General Conference. We ate, we played, we were spiritually fed. it was fab. The kids and i had a blast as we played tickle monster, built a mini-fort, and watched Frozen (obviously). That lead in, plus going with the Lawyer and some friends to the Provo Rehab Center to sing hymns (simply amazing. There are some really sweet folks there), just spelled for a fantastic week. The weather turned for the Spring-ier rather than continuing Second Winter which meant it was time to play outside. The Lawyer and i went to the park to read the other day and decided it was so nice to be there that we should gather up our friends and come again to play.

We did just that and had a rather good turnout. i made cupcakes, we brought some snacky things, and great playing was had by all. Miss Momo and her man ended being at the park playing Corn Hole AT THE SAME TiME (it really was a surprise) and they joined us for a wee smidge. They left for dinner and a pickup game of soccer started which ended up being the best thing ever. You know it's been a successful Spring/Summer day when your feet are grass-stained from playing outside. Simply lovely.

The Lawyer also got me hooked on Arrested Development and we're only two episodes away from finishing the whole series. i have to admit (considering i am now hooked) that it really is a fun show. Ever so punny and full of all things hilarious.

On Monday i made myself a book list (surprise, surprise, i know). i've done this countless times but this book list is different. BECAUSE it's in a jar. That's right. i always read the same things which isn't terrible due to the fact that i love them so much; i would like to branch out though. Get into the classics and whatnot. This is hard for me. i like the books i like because they suck me in. i get carried away and don't come back until the adventure is over. i have a hard time believing that's going to happen with the classics. Probably because i had to write papers on the couple i read back in high school...Anyways. So each book was put on it's own wee bit of paper, folded up, starred (it has to be cute, right?) and piled into my darling little star jar. Now, as i finish a book and need something else to read, i simply pull out a slip of paper and read that book. Wonderful, right? i started with Of Mice and Men by Steinbeck per the Lawyer's recommendation (his first recommendation is currently all checked out at the library). So far, so good. it's no Harry Potter but it is nice. We'll see how the rest of these pan out.

i was able to go visit the cemetery this week as well. i feel bad because it's been so long since i've taken flowers over to the family and Reeves (mine and Ethan's adopted buddy since the tree next to his grave provided excellent shade). For a bit there i tried to take flowers every so often to Grandma, her family, and Reeves. And then i forgot. But no longer! They all have fresh, happy, colorful flowers! AND they moved Reeves grave! i almost couldn't find him because he's no longer by his tree. He's out in the open sunshine. Thankfully, i did find him.

Life has some fab things going on. All of the above plus my upcoming graduation and a potential teaching job for next year (when i know if it's a for sure or not, i'll actually explain about that). Just, fabbity-fab things.

it's finally here, folks!

it's finally here, folks! My last ever year of being an undergrad. And i'm determined to make it the best year yet!

i'm all moved into my new apartment with new roommates and everything. it was definitely terrifying at first; i've never not known at least one roommate before the start of a new academic year. Thankfully, my roommates are all rock stars (not literally, but they are pretty fab). i've finally attended the new ward at church and i think things are going to be just fine. The Relief Society president even told us she's just had the feeling that amazing things are going to be happening with this group of sisters (i'll keep you posted on all of our awesomeness, don't you worry yourselves about it).

My baking is finally taking off again as i've baked consistently over the last few weeks. The Lemon Bundt Cake of Sunshine is slowly becoming my specialty. Miss Calah says it's her absolute fave out of everything that i've made so far. She even had me make one for her boss's birthday last week (aka Mr. Boss Man). He's a very healthy eater and doesn't usually sample the cupcakes i bring to work but he ate TWO whole slices of the lemon! Hence why that was his birthday cake. We surprised him by just leaving it on his desk when he was in a meeting. He told me later that day that "it's the meanest present anyone has ever given me because i want to eat the whole thing and i can't". So, being the kind sir that he is, he decided to share it with anyone who wanted some. So Miss Calah and i brought in the whole of Finance and a few of the execs. One of the guys even told me "that cake is off the chizaaaaiinnn!" Which i believe means it was a success. This week i'll bring in chocolate cupcakes and see how those go over.

For Little Miss Evie's 2nd birthday (that's right! She's already 2!) i made her Mickey Mouse cupcakes. They turned out phenomenal and i found myself the perfect baking assistant. One of friend's daughters is about 10 and just the cutest thing. She helped me make the frosting, frost the cupcakes, and decorate them. So much fun! Didn't they turn out fab?

i realize that none of that has anything to do with school, but it's all about the mental preparations, right? Making sure that my first day outfit is all ready, things are in order, books are purchased, my planner is organized, and such. Those things are all just part of keeping my mental and emotional health in check so i don't stress out too much. As far as baking goes, i think my roommates and ward mates will think it's an essential part of my mental health too. Haha.

So here goes nothing. Preparations are done. Tomorrow i begin to actually apply everything i've been learning the last couple of years into methods. i get to learn the HOW of teaching subjects instead of only learning the subjects. Come October i get to begin Practicum where, three days a week, i'll be helping out in real classrooms.

Come January? Student Teaching! So, ready or not, here i come! (i am ready, though, i promise).

i moustache you a question...

but i'll shave it for later.

Hahaha. Hilarious, right?

Moustaches (the fake kind) have become a thing of the office. Miss Calah bought me a pack of moustache sticky notes a while back. i figured there's no other way to use them other than as actual moustaches. Obviously.

i gave one to Miss Janna a couple of weeks ago when she was having an extremely stressful day and now they've just become Finance's thing. Time for a meeting? Time for a 'stache. i even have them on my desk with a note that says "Please take a moustache" so if ever you're feeling like you need to up the fancy, you can!

So get your fancy-schmance on and...

Donut Date the First

This last week we (Misses Calah, Jenya, Marina, and i) began a wonderful tradition: Donut Date.

Thursday was the first. in our lunch discussion on Wednesday Misses Calah, Jenya, and i somehow got onto the topic of donuts and which bakery/store made the best ones. So it was decided that each of us would stop by one bakery and bring in a raised glazed donut, raised chocolate icing donut, and a cinnamon roll (because why wouldn’t we want to include cinnamon rolls?). Unfortunately my bakery of choice doesn’t sell donuts so i was only able to bring in a cinnamon roll. But that’s ok, folks! We decided it could still be in the running.

Thursday’s contenders were Macey’s bakery (the one in the grocery store), Payson Market, and Shirley’s Bakery in Provo (this one doesn’t sell donuts). The three of us made sure to go on a drink run first because you just can’t have a donut tasting without a drink (being the soda connoisseurs that we are).

Miss Marina joined us and we had a grand ol’ time tasting each donut and commenting on the deliciousness of each. It was a wonderfully hilarious time as well because we were all full of funny commentary; plus we tried to share the love of donuts with fellow coworkers and they all thought we were crazy (they did still take donuts though).

The raised glazed donut:

Payson Market was the overall champ as it was a thicker donut with a more cinnamon-y flavor. Although i did like the creamier sweetness that Macey’s donut had.

The raised chocolate iced donut:

There were mixed reviews in this category and a true champ could not be declared. The Payson Market donut had a more icing-like chocolate icing versus the chocolate ganache-iness of the Macey’s donut (which then gave the Macey’s donut a stronger chocolate flavor). Do you prefer a stronger chocolate flavor or a thicker icing?

The cinnamon roll:

Macey’s won hands down. i believe it was because i believe it was actually a swirled donut with cinnamon sugar in the swirls and then glazed. Whereas the traditional cinnamon rolls from Shirley’s and Payson Market, while delicious, where heavier the icing was too sweet for our taste.

Personally though, cinnamon rolls have never been my favorite breakfast pastry. The icing is much too sweet for me and i don’t like how heavy and bready they are (which is odd because i LOVE bread!).

Well there you have it, folks. The champions of Donut Date the First. We’ve decided that it shall be a monthly occurrence in which each of us will find a new bakery and bring the same donuts (so we can more evenly compare).

So stay tuned for next month’s champions!

(And who knows, maybe someday we’ll circle back and have a Champion of Champions contest like Cupcake Wars and Chopped do).

life lately

it's been awhile, a long while, since i've written anything. And i'm ok with that. The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of emotions, activities, getting stuff on my list checked off, and family time.

First things first (because i know you're just dying to ask): things with the ArmyMan are not really things anymore. Again, i'm ok with that. He's basically been living the zombie life by working two jobs and whatnot and with an hour still between us it makes hanging out kind of difficult. So you know what? We're friends and i'm good with that. (With both of us being pretty busy my Summer Bucket List has been set on the back burner for now).

i also finally found housing! There were a lot of emotions involved and oddly enough Miss Calah and my housing experiences were very similar throughout the months of May and June. it would seem like we each found the perfect house and then something would fall through. Then it would happen again. it went on for several weeks and it seemed to be rather draining on us both (moreso on her since she and the family were moving to an actual house and i was simply finding a different apartment for the next year). Finally it seemed like it magically happened for the both of us. The house came through for her and the family and i went to see an apartment that just felt right. The feeling after walking through was something i couldn't fight and couldn't let go. So i now have a place to live next year and the stress of finding housing has lifted (the stress was starting to make me really freak out and feel nauseous if i thought about it too long).

Now that Miss Calah and her family have their house it's been a few weeks of moving and unpacking. i've tried to make myself useful as a babysitter or unpacking-helper-outer (just roll with the weird words, i'm tired here). Even though it's been exhausting, as moving always is, it has been so much fun to see them start to grow into their house. it's become their home and their belongings are starting to find their places. it's almost hard to imagine that they lived at the other place at all.

i've never been much of a picture-taker (i'm not even about to call myself a photographer) so i don't have tons of pictures of anything; high school, church activities, the college years. i want to change that, so i've been trying harder the last few weeks to document the little things in picture format. Finally getting an instagram account is helping this; although i'm trying to hold out as long as possible before i fully convert and start using hashtags. Since i've been up at Miss Calah's so much over the past few weeks i've mostly been documenting her and the family (and little Miss Evie).

Little Miss Evie loves their new backyard and the summer evenings have been full of drawing with chalk, making friends with the Rollie Pollies, and playing with her car, airplane, and lawn mower.

We even took a couple of trips in "Ah' Eh'ee's car" (Aunt Emme's car in case you don't speak toddler) and Miss Evie was SO excited.

She's also a natural at collecting rocks.

A fascinating fact from the last week is that i've discovered a love of tea (don't you worry, it's all herbal). i think it's time to cut back on all of the soda but i still want something yummy to drink. i just bought the most darling, cozy looking mug that just has "tea" written all over it! it actually says "coffee" all over it, but whatever. The Celestial Seasonings berry teas are delicious and warm and cozy. Basically just perfection in a mug.

My love of baking is starting to expand from cupcakes to other baked goods; i just made my first ever bundt cake and it turned out absolutely AMAZiNG! Just check out that beauty:

Life lately is pretty darn fab, if i do say so myself.

For Rent signs and the crazies, they'll getcha...

...with their rude personalities!

You would think that someone who has a For Rent sign in their yard/window would be more than willing to let you come in and take a look at what the apartment has to offer. Or if they simply think you HAVE to schedule an appointment then they would let you know in a polite manner.

But no.

During the Great Apartment Hunt of 2013 Miss Momo and i went to multiple apartments where Provo is apparently stashing all the crazies. The first place (where i scheduled the original appointment) was adorable. The girl selling the contract was actually normal and super cute.

Then we went wandering (note: unless you're secure about yourself DON'T wander in Provo because you will be judged. Even by the crazies).

One girl gave us a tour like this: "This is our kitchen. Look at it. This is the hall closet. Look at it. This is the bathroom. This is the small bedroom. Look at it. This is my room, kinda messy. Look at it. i'll show you the upstairs bedroom. *proceed upstairs, past the kitchen* That's gross. *the girl in the room upstairs didn't want us to see her room. She gave a very curt "NO"* You can leave through the front door"

Seriously? First of all, we have eyes. OBVIOUSLY we are looking. Second, the look around had me bailing before i saw the rooms because i am NOT cleaning up after that kind of "gross" mess. Last, common curtesy dictates you show people to the door and see them on their way.

Every apartment we saw after that went very similar (minus the "look at it" bit). Thankfully we happened upon the apartment we've been searching for all along and we don't have to subject ourselves to the crazies anymore.

(Now, to be fair, maybe Miss Momo and i are the crazies because we still expect those kinds of manners from people. But still).

18 and 22

This is a very special weekend due to the fact that it holds both mine and Ethypoo's birthdays. i get my day and then the next is his. it's a pretty big deal for us considering we're best buds.
 
Aren't we cute?

But these aren't just any birthdays, Ethypoo is a legal adult now. That little guy (who really isn't so little anymore) is 18. Weird! And if pictures are any indicator he hasn't changed too much since he was a kiddo...

Then:

Now:

Still rockin' the shades (what you don't see in the Then picture is that he's also riding one of dad's walking canes like a horse. it got cut out due to having to crop myself out of this picture because i was really looking like a wonky with some scarves and dress-up craziness).

And me? Well i'm...22!

This year is so great that there's even a song dedicated to it. Heck yes! Normally i don't really feel all that different on my birthday but this year is a little weird. Last year i became an actual adult, like with the landscape drivers license and everything. But this year? That's old news! i'm just a regular old grown-up now.

Which, "grown-up" is more an indicator of my age than how i act all the time considering i still make blanket forts to do my homework in and i make make-believe potions with the kids i babysit. But those kinds of throwbacks are for another post.

This year's celebrations consisted of the greatest things in life: family, best friends, FRIENDS (the TV show), books, baking paraphernalia, clothes, nacho (a classic Toth family dish) and German Sweet Chocolate Cake.

Crushed it!

taco bell or little caesar's? that is the question

Whilst out shopping with Miss Momo we had the following conversation trying to decide between Taco Bell and Little Caesar's pizza for dinner (We needed something cheap. We are still college students after all):

Momo: i am going to ask you three questions and from your answers we'll know which one you're craving more.

Me: Haha sounds good.

Momo: First question. What...were you doing at 11am this morning?

Me: Ummm...data entry?

Momo: Did it take a long time? (the first question was two parts)

Me: Ya, kind of. it's a project i'm still working on.

Momo: Ok. i am analyzing that answer. Now. if you could take a trip anywhere at all today, well tomorrow actually because today is over, where would you go?

Me: Scotland.

Momo: Ok....and if you were a shape what shape would you be?

Me: Ummmm....a diamond. Even though technically my teacher told us we're not supposed to call them that. it's a "rhombus". Well i think "diamond" is cooler.

Momo: interesting, ya. Well let me just compute your answers and we'll know where you want to eat. *pretending to fiddle with a computer* Ok so i'm just trying to see any kind of similarity in these.

Me: Do you want Cinnamon Twists?

Momo: Ya i'm kind of leaning towards Taco Bell but your answers were very clearly stating Little Caesar's.

Me: Hahaha Taco Bell it is.

 Ya. This is how we make decisions.

just call me E

i got to spend this last weekend with one of the cutest little girls ever: Miss Evie.

She's reached the age where she can mostly say your name. Like Ma, Da, Mar (this is for both Mark and Maverik), and Kin (pronounced keen, like in King). And me? Just call me E.

All weekend whenever she wanted me it was ""E, E, E!" Which speaks right to my little heart because that's adorable.

late-night spend-overs

Spend-over = the equivalent of a sleepover or spend-the-night. Miss Momo's niece, Arden, calls them spend-overs so we've adopted the word too.

Miss Momo and i love spend-overs. Especially the unplanned kind because it's generally super late and spontaneous (and who doesn't love spontaneity?)

These were fairly common when we were roommates and we'd end up falling asleep watching TV or just chilling in the living room. When morning came (and by morning i mean when we decided to wake up because it was technically morning when we went to sleep) we would have a cereal party. it was always grand.

Last night ended up with another late-night spend-over. We ended up watching House at the End of the Street with Miss Kirs and Bingo and Little J which made neither of us want to sleep alone. So we crashed on her couch and watched Gilmore Girls and talked.

i didn't realize how much i missed that. Just being able to talk about ANYTHING and EVERYTHING; school, boys, future plans...Just talk. At least the time for spend-overs isn't over.

cupcakes expanding

The last few months (this whole semester, pretty much) i've had a difficult time finding the motivation to bake cupcakes (which is strange because i LOVE to bake). i would want to and then realize i didn't have half the ingredients or i couldn't decide on a recipe or i was just so tired after school and work that standing for a few hours while baking didn't sound appealing. So i only ended up actually baking a few times.

Well that has all changed. My dear sister, Miss Kierston, gave me an early birthday present: a cupcake apron! it says "She who bakes takes the cake". Perfect.

This (and my recent obsession with Cake Boss) have led to a whole new drive for baking cupcakes!

Last night's creation was Chocolate Sour-Cream Cupcakes (my absolute favorite chocolate recipe!) and chocolate buttercream. Now the buttercream is the key here because i came up with it ALL ON MY OWN! And i kid you not, it tastes exactly like my mom's homemade fudge! Done and done, my absolute fave cupcakes.

i also decided to mess around with decorating and just do whatever i felt like; hence, the mish-mash of everything known to mankind in this one batch of cupcakes.

So be prepared, world, because it's summer and the cupcakes are coming!

a family trip and "see you soon"

Miss Shannee's wedding was last week and in honor of that my sisters from Colorado came out to visit. it was a glorious week of shopping, eating, late night conversations, and sleep overs. And the wedding shenanigans of course.

 The first night after all of the family had arrived we got to party it up with the Christiansen clan for Shannee and Jorgen's family dinner. it was the first time in probably 10 or so years that ALL of the Christiansen girls and ALL of the Toth girls were together in one place (in case you weren't aware that is a very long time and we thus had to celebrate this).

That night the nieces also got to have a very special spend-the-night at Auntie Em's apartment complete with nail painting, a cereal party, a massive sleepover in the living room, and watching Brave.

Zoey decided she was full of funny faces:

 

 

 The wedding followed the next day; there was much hustle and bustle to make sure everyone was ready (we did have about 10 people, almost all kids, to get to the temple in time to see the lovely couple). There was a lot going on at the temple and so many pictures being taken that i didn't get very many myself. But i did happen to catch Miss Calah, Little Miss Evie, and Miss Shannee cheesing it up super quick (aren't they beautiful?).

That very night my two oldest nephews had the grand opportunity of staying the night in Provo so that they could go to class with me on Friday. Stetson even said that he felt like he was already changing into an adult after he walked on some of the apartment stairs. Ya, it's that cool apparently. We did end up having a blast, me and the two boys. Our morning line up included breakfast at the CougarEat, meandering the book store and campus, and attending my one Friday class (Cognitive Development). Upon our travels we found that this very day the great people of BYU were creating the World's Largest Cardboard Castle. it was still under construction as we left, but they were doing a smashing job of creating the castle.

Now remember when i mentioned the Toth sisters being together finally (minus Miss Amber because they were in the process of moving and i think Tovah still had school, we did miss them terribly. And still do). But since the other four of us were together we celebrated the event with a Sisters' Night. These festivities were grand and all out fab. There was an absolute delish dinner at Chili's complete with chips & queso and dessert, a drink run to the Holiday (no not alcohol you crazies, drink run = fountain drinks aka heavenly elixir), and two whole episodes of The Vampire Diaries. it was pretty freaking awesome because we laughed basically the whole time and talked over each other and we were loud and it was great. Because that's just how we are.

 Easter also came early this last week because everyone had to leave before or on Easter itself. The kids got their Easter baskets and we all went to the park for an Easter egg hunt. it was pretty much the cutest thing because the little girls thought it was just the coolest thing ever, especially after they realized there was candy INSIDE the eggs. The hunt took a turn for being even more awesome when the adults began sliding on the curvy slides and Miss Kierston and Stetson began wrestling. i love my family :)

To top the whole weekend off Miss Calah and i had the grand opportunity of joining the Christiansen family for one last family dinner before Miss Shannee and Jorgen embarked on their next adventure across the Pond to Denmark (our family had already left back to Colorado at this point). One last drink run was made to 7-Eleven. We piled into the truck (literally) and it's one of my favorite adventures.

So as far as our goodbyes went it's "see you soon, Miss Shannee!" because "soon" sounds a lot better than "later" and it really isn't goodbye.

Goodbye 2012, Hello 2013!

it's been a while since i've written and, quite frankly, i'm not so sorry about it. i got back to Provo after Thanksgiving and life became a whirlwind of end-of-semester projects, finals, work, cleaning checks, preparing for Christmas and finally, Christmas break itself.

My break didn't consist of crazy parties or anything, just family time. it was perfect. There were plenty of sleepovers at my sisters' houses, playing with the kids, and spending time with the rest of the family. Dad even watched a few episodes of FRIENDS with me. :)

AND my little Zoester has cupcake footie pajamas that match my fleece cupcake pants! We were rather proud of that and she even brought them when she got to spend the night with me. AND my most proud moment over break was when she was riding on her scooter and called "Auntie Em! Auntie Em! Come watch me!" i've wanted her to call me Auntie Em for forever! Yay! 
 
Now i know most end-of-the-year posts are about reflection and what can i do better. But you know what? i'm tired and school has started again. As has The Bachelor which is a must-see for me and the girlies.

So goodbye 2012, it was wonderful! And hello 2013, let's make it a jolly good and fancy-shmance year!

Notice the fancy-shmance 'staches ;)

Stetson's 1st paycheck

Stetsypoo (as i affectionately call my second oldest nephew) got his first paycheck this week! Holy cow, the children are getting old. it's weird. And good at the same time.

in honor of this grand occasion i chose to document it with pictures (is there any other way?).

What a grown-up.

"Look at all this money i earned!"

"i'm so excited!"

Yay.

Never Forget: 11/16/12

in the future we will be able to tell our children that we remember when Hostess went bankrupt. We remember when the Twinkie was discontinued. And it was a sad day when this American novelty was no longer. There was a run on the stores and gas stations similar to that of when there was a run on the banks back in 1929. it was crazy. The article about the bankruptcy came out on Thursday and by Friday afternoon the only Hostess items available were the old-fashioned donettes and the weird fruit pies; which, let's be real, no one likes those anyways. Except maybe my friend's dad. But as far as everyone else goes those are bottom of the totem pole.

We figure the world truly will end as the Mayans predicted because the one food that's supposed to last till through the apocalypse has been discontinued. Way to go, America. 

Saturday morning Calah called me with a mission. She needed one Twinkie. Evie needed one Twinkie. The poor little girl needs to be able to say that she has at least had ONE Twinkie in her life. And so my qquest began. i stopped by three gas stations before i remembered that Momo had told me she had a Twinkie in the treats tin her grandpa had given her! i quick as a bunny called her up and asked if i could buy it from her (she doesn't like Twinkies anyways so it wouldn't be a big deal). Like the angel that she is she said yes. Huzzah!

Mission accomplished.

Although it will be a sad time without our Hostess deliciousness, Evie will have the grand opportunity to taste a Twinkie. Now, whether she actually likes it or not will be a whole other thing entirely.

witchy weekend

Every October Gardner Village puts on WitchFest. Basically the adorable little shops stay open till 10PM, everything is decked out all Halloween-ish and witchy, there's music blaring (a good variety too, like 80's and 90's stuff), and EVERYONE is dressed up. Majority are women (obviously. it is a witch fest after all) but you do get the few guys who come and get decked out too. One year we saw Batman there. No joke.

Anywho, this year we had all the girls come out from Colorado, except Brytt and the kiddos got sick :(. So she was there in spirit...

But we got to stay the weekend in Midway and veg and shop and eat lots of yummy food. One such place, a delectable place with cheesecake chimichangas, lets you color on the paper tablecloths. Genius! What did we end up with?

Tehya decided to draw the Earth's creation or something. Here we have Adam and Eve. Except instead of Adam it's Joey (from FRIENDS) saying "how you doin?"


We then decided it was time for the park (as the kids insisted). Which was actually pretty dang awesome as the park had a dinosaur. Who can argue with that?

Tehya was picking its nose...

And then they did their best dead dinosaur pose. (i realize Kaden isn't a girl and is at our girls weekend but the poor kid couldn't be left out of the awesome trip to Utah)

THEN came the glorious event that is WitchFest. The girls made the most adorable tutus and Calah and i had our fancy masquerade masks that Hyrum brought us back from Spain. Pretty much fantastic.

AND we discovered Kierston's wondrous talent of makeup and nails. Not that we didn't know she was good before, but the woman never ceases to amaze as she did ALL of our makeup.

 
Now. Every sunny weekend has to have a rainy day, right? Maybe it's not an actual rule but it totally proved true for our weekend. That rainy day happened to be the one day we had an outdoor event. But don't you worry. We made sure to have a wonderfully long time at dinner while trying to wait it out. And when that proved to be in vain we went anyways! it was very cold. And late.

We decided milkshakes were in order and poor Tehya had to decide between sleeping in the car and drinking her shake. Except, like the guy in the new Coke Zero commercial says, "who wants OR anymore? What about AND?" So she attempted to drink the shake and sleep at the same time. Needless to say we moved the cup to avoid any spills.

The rest of the weekend was some more shopping and good food. And when there's shopping there's obviously driving and Tehya and i got bored...

To round off a lovely weekend i made sure to bring my baking supplies so i could make some witchy cupcakes with the girls :) Now. The cupcakes themselves tasted weird. i blame the flour because who knows how long it's been in those cupboards. BUT how adorable, right?