Marci Coombs

Random Wednesday.

2013-05-22T17:53:00.000-07:00

* Why on earth do they constantly advertise for 'lubricated cathedars' during commercial breaks on the Jodi Arias trial?

Ewwww.

{P.S. So ready for that trial to be over.}

* Speaking of Headline News....I honstley wonder HOW MANY times their news anchors have said the phrase 'You won't miss a thing!'

Good gosh. We know already! That's why we watch your network in the first place!

* I've officially decided that those soda fountain machines that offer like over 50 flavors of soda? They're nasty.

It offsets the normal flavor of my Diet Cokes and Diet Dr. Peppers.

Anyone else feel this way?

* Is a grilled chicken sandwich still considered 'healthy' if I lather it with Ranch sauce?

Specifically...Chick Fil-A's Ranch?

I honestly cannot get enough.

I like to think it's still 'healthy'. Don't burst my bubble.

* Speaking of Chick-Fil-A....why on earth do they have the WORST toys ever with their kids meals?

Seriously!

Are they WANTING the kids to turn them in for ice-cream so they can recycle them into the next kid's meal and save money?

They're THE LAMEST toys ever!

* I really really hate the word RAD.

And I really wish people would stop using it.

* Why don't ALL stores have the SAME floor plans?

For instance...Target.

I can shop at my favorite Target in Chandler, but then I go to Mesa and it's all switched up on me!

I can't find my go-to aisles like I normally do!

It's like they're playing an evil trick on all of us loyal shoppers!

* I will never ever make the mistake again of buying Costco's name brand frozen chicken breasts.

Those individual pacakges are a PAIN IN MY REAR to open up when I have a whole crockpot to fill with them!

* Have you ever worn a certain type of deodarant for awhile and then all of a sudden one day discovered that....it stinks? I wanna know why.

* Why do some celebrities like to make themselves look homeless?
And smelly?

Joaquin Phoenix

Mary Kate Olsen

They have all the money in the world and they choose to go out like THAT?

Not being judgemental {ok maybe a little} but seriously?!?

2-fer Tuesday.

2013-05-21T18:11:00.000-07:00

TWO CANDLES I'm LOVING right now:

These two fresh scents from B&B make my house smell SUPER yummy.

TWO recipes I've tried that are DEEEEE-LISH!

Strawberry Cake by The Country Cook

My friend Jamie made this up a few weeks ago and it was sooooo GOOD!

The perfect SUMMERTIME cake I tell you!

Chocolate Covered OREO Cookie Cake

My sister made this up for our Mother's Day dinner and I have been dreaming about it ever since.

Oh. My. Chocolatey-OREO goodness!

This Weekend:

2013-05-20T16:10:00.003-07:00

* Started off exactly the way I like.

Joe and I went Friday morning and got our very favorite donuts. Ever.

Bosa.

The best in all of AZ.

{Might I add...their Chandler location is the VERY best of all? It puts Mesa's to shame}.

* Clean clean cleaned my nasty bathrooms Friday afternoon.

WHY do they get SO nasty?!?

* Friday night BBQ and pool party at some of our favorite friends' house.

Burgers + Swimming =

our life for the next few months.

{Anderson's..I'm really not kidding when I say that we will practically be living at your house this summer to swim. Consider yourselves warned.}

* Stayed up late watching Dateline's Wild Wild Web episode.

Dang I'm a sucker for Dateline.

And it's most ALWAYS the same scenario....husband kills wife or wife kills husband.

It gets me EVERY time though!

* Saturday we met our favorite first grade teacher for lunch at

Barros pizza.

Gosh we're gonna miss her when she moves.

{Sniff.}

* Kiddos went swimming at another friends house. Yet again.

They are FISH I tell you.

* Saturday night date night with some of our favorite peeps.

Dinner HERE.

Yet another Chandler staple.

{Their fettucini alfredo with chicken is the bomb diggity.

And so is their Diet Coke.}

* Churchey-church on Sunday.

Taught THIS lesson to my cute girls.

* Relaxed in our jammies the rest of the day.

Man it felt nice.

*Pot roast for dinner.

{It's become a Sunday tra-dish}.

*Watched my taped episode of Rock Center once the kiddies were in bed.

{I really do love Brian Williams. He's such a likable journalist.}

*********************

Onto a week full o' swim lessons and end of the school year festivities.

Summer is so close I can smell it.

Scripture Study Handout and Camp challenge.

2013-05-19T20:04:00.005-07:00

Today I was able to teach my cute Laurels class {teenage church girls ages 16-18} the lesson on:

Why is it Important to Study the Scriptures?

Our church believes in the Standard Works of scriptures: The Old Testament, The New Testament, The Book of Mormon, Doctrine & Covenants and the Pearl of Great Price.

Studying the scriptures in my own personal life has brought me so much joy, peace and helped me discover the answers to many of life's questions. I LOVE teaching about the importance of studying the scirptures in our own daily lives. I was THRILLED to get to teach this lesson.

I started out my lesson with homemade rolls.

{And homemade cinnamon honey butter too because well that's just a necessity with homemade rolls}.

And by 'homemade' rolls I really do mean....I bought the frozen ones from Deseret Book, let them rise and baked them at home.

{Fun fact: Yeast scares me. I only ever attempt it with my cinnamon rolls}.

As soon as each girl got their roll, I showed them THIS video/talk by Sister Julie Beck.

{You'll understand my need for handing out homemade rolls better if you watch or read this talk first. There is a connection}.

I LOVE this talk. I couldn't give this talk justice unless I just showed it in it's entirety.

{The talk lasts only about 10 minutes}.

Once the video was finished we went over a few important scriptures that I felt the girls needed to make sure to have marked in their own scriptures:

2 Nephi 32:3

1 Nephi 15:24

D&C 84:4 5

I had the girls talk about what each of these scriptures meant to them and then I added my own 2 cents.

I then handed them out each a copy of THIS talk by Elder Scott.

{Side note: I really really really REALLY love this talk!}

We went over paragraphs 2-7 and anytime I felt there was an important line or quote...I had them mark it or right a note out to the side. Which was basicaly the entire talk {smile}.

I LOVE what Elder Scott has to say about memorizing a scripture and forging a new friendship.

It made way for my handouts this week...

Friendship bracelets made by my cute 12 year old niece.

For a copy of my handout click HERE.

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I get lots of requests for ideas on Girls Camp which is why I must share an idea that one of my camp leaders came up with. I just LOVE it.

Our Girls Camp is in just a couple of weeks {GaSp!}.

My asst. camp director thought it would be a good idea to purchase a

Conference Ensign for EACH girl and then challenge them

to read EVERY talk before camp.

{If they started when the challenge was made...it only ends up being like one talk per day}.

We plan to base our devotionals and nightly chats off of different talks from this Ensign.

{She may have promised them a special treat too for accomplishing it.}

Our Relief Society has done this every summer for the past few years and I've been able to take part in this challenge. I can say I honestly LOVE reading over these talks, highlighting things that stick out to me, making notes.....my testimony is always strengthened by doing this. I am SO thrilled that our Young Women now have that same opportunity to pour over the words of tbe prophet and his apostles, and to learn and to grow.

Recipe for Sangria.

2013-05-16T15:48:00.001-07:00

One of my very favorite drinks to serve up whenever we have mexican food is

{my good friend Tiffany's recipe for}

Non-Alcholic Sangrias.

They are YUM-MY!

Enjoy!

1/4 c. sugar

1 c. orange juice

1 Tbs. lime juice

4 c. 7-UP

4 c. light cranberry grape juice

Sliced 1/2 fresh lemon

Sliced 1/2 fresh lime

Combine all ingredients except 7-UP. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Add 7-UP just before serving.

Angry BIrds BIrthday Party.

2013-05-14T16:14:00.004-07:00

A couple of weekends ago we threw an ANGRY BIRDS themed

BIRTHDAY PARTY for Carson and his buddy Cameron.

{They both have the same exact birthday. They go to church together and are in the same school class together. How could we resist?}

Cameron's mom and I went in on everything....she did half the work, I did half the work....and it worked out PERFECTLY!

Here are some of the crazy fun details:

I purchased red paper sacks at Hobby Lobby.

Printed off THESE printables {had to scale them down slightly first}.

Cut them out and glued them right on front.

Easy. Peasy.

Here's what I included in there:

'Poop' aka....gumballs

Gummy Worms...because what bird doesn't love a good worm?!

Fruit snacks, graham crackers and drinks were found at Wal-mart.

{I had high hopes of doing something cute with the 'barrel drinks' and making a label that said 'bird bath' or something to that effect. Alas...I ran outta time. And energy. Sigh.}

My friend made the cake.

Isn't it darling?

We purchased a regular sheet cake from Costco and had them write the Happy Birthday part on it.

She added all of hte Angry Bird details.

She used those wafer cookies, an airhead, Kit-Kats and then she even drew Angry birds faces onto the gumballs with edible ink.

C-L-E-V-E-R!

As for dinner we served: pizza, watermelon and drinks.

For the drinks I purchased mini gatorade bottles.

Took off the labels.

Printed out THESE labels....cut and taped em right on front.

The games were made up by my friend and they were a HUGE hit.

HUGE!

She found green rubber balls and her husband painted on the piggy faces.

The kids seriously had a BLAST trying to knock them down.

Darts.

Egg Toss.

I've come to learn that kids just LOVE old fashioned games.

Like the egg toss.

They had such a ball passing these Angry Birds Eggs.

She took raw eggs, died them red and drew their faces on with marker.

The kids {of course} started close and then each round took one step back.

{We had lots of hand sanitizer ready to go

for when the eggs broke. Smile}.

The Birthday Boys were pleased as punch with how it all turned out and so were their mommas!

Oh yeah...and did I mention that we held it at the park right in between our houses?

Best idea of all.

No messsy houses and the clean up was minimal!

This Weekend:

2013-05-13T14:14:00.000-07:00

...was a perfectly pleasant Mother's Day Weekend.

*We kicked things off on Friday with

Donuts for Divas

at the boys' school.

The second grade was in charge of singing a few songs and my sweet little Grant was SO excited!

* London and I headed to the mall afterwards to get a few last minute

Mother's Day needs.

Yes. See's Chocolate is definitely a Mother's Day NEED.

The mall was packed and I vowed to never go there again on the Friday before a holiday.

* Friday afternoon, Carson's class hosted the most adorable 'Ma-Spa' in their classroom.

The event included Carson giving me a massage, reading me his favorite book, him brushing my hair and us making a craft together. It seriously melted my heart.

Oh yeah...and he made me the sweetest booklet that included this page.

Translation: IF MOM COULD HAVE ONE WISH COME TRUE, SHE WOULD WISH FOR HER WHOLE FAMILY GOING TO DISNEYLAND.

Do my kids know me well or what?!?

* Friday night for date night we saw THIS movie.

It was definitely interesting...and even a little different...but REALLY good.

I thoroughly enjoyed it.

{And the two little boys in the movie certainly should be up for some type of acting award.}

Everywhere was PACKED for dinner afterwards so we ended up HERE.

{I seriously LOVE their Diet Coke and chips and salsa!}

* Saturday morning I treated myself to a pedi from a tattoed man at our local pedi place.

I'm not gonna lie. The men almost NEVER give as good of pedis as the women.

{Why?}

Needless to say, my crusty feet are not half as crusty as they WERE so I walked out feeling refreshed.

I even got to run my Saturday morning errands ALL BY MYSELF.

{Gosh I love milking Mother's Day weekend for all it's worth}.

*Saturday afternoon London had her Spring Dance recital.

Little girls in cute dance costumes ALWAYS melts my heart.

* Saturday night we met Joe's parents and siblings HERE for our Coombs' Mother's Day dinner.

Joe and his cute mom.

Yummy food and fun company were had in the 'Pope' room that night.

* Saturday night Joe and I stayed up late laughing hysterically at
SNL's weekend update:

These two bits are some of our all time favorites.

Almost peed our pants laughing so hard!

* Sunday morning we headed over to my sister's house and got to skpe with my nephew all the way from Barcelona, SPAIN.

Proud to report....Elder Rupa is doing AMAZING things and really changing lives over there.

We are so proud of him.

* Was treated to a dee-lish breakfast back at home from Joe + these 3....

I didn't even have to do the dishes!

* We spent Sunday evening over at my parents house.

BBQd dinner with all of the fixins.

So grateful for my mom.

She's pretty much a rockstar.

I felt so blessed all weekend long.

My very favorite gifts?

The handmade ones from my kiddies.

Now that I'm a mom...I finally get it.

It REALLY is all about the THOUGHT that counts.

Blessed Indeed!

xoxo

LOCO for our Teachers!

2013-05-12T13:29:00.000-07:00

Teacher's Appreciation Week has come to an end and I thought I'd share one last little gift we gave out.

Have you ever been to Kiwi Loco?

Oh.My.Yummy.

Our friends just recently opened one up right by our house and it's our new favorite GO-TO place for frozen yogurt. And since WE love it....EVERYONE ELSE must love it too, right?

{Hehe}.

If you live locally...or in a spot that is lucky enough to have a Kiwi Loco close by...

and would like a copy of my super easy printable for YOUR teachers...or just whomever....

leave me a comment with your email address and I can send you the printable, which you can edit with your very own names.

WINNER!!!

2013-05-12T12:43:00.002-07:00

And the winner of my 3 Brunettes Mother's Day Giveaway is......

Stacy Tait of Orlando Florida!

You are one lucky lady Stacy!!!

Please email me your mailing address and we'll get your goodies sent off to you asap!

joemarcicoombs@mac.com

Congrats!

Another Teacher Appreciation idea.

2013-05-09T18:17:00.000-07:00

Today's gift was SUPER easy.

{And what female doesn't like getting flowers, right?!?}

Buy a bouquet of flowers at your grocery store.

Put them in a vase.

{Wal-mart has super cute vases right now for only $2 in their floral dept.}

Add some ribbon...preferably your teacher's favorite color!

Print THIS cute tag out onto cardstock.

Cut out with a paper punch and tape onto a bamboo skewer and...

Wa-lah!

Cute printable via Landee See Landee Do.

P.S. Have you entered my fabulous Mother's Day GIVEAWAY yet????

Click HERE to enter!!!

Teacher Appreciation idea.

2013-05-08T14:18:00.000-07:00

This week is TEACHER APPRECIATION WEEK.

I like to spoil the kids's teachers every day during the week by having them bring in something fun.

{With the exception of today. Yikes. Last night got the best of me.}

I stumbled upon the MOST darling printable that I just knew had to be put to good use.

Printable from SKIP TO MY LOU.

Printed it out, stuck on my restuaruant gift cards and wrapped em up cute.

Doesn't get much easier than that!!

{P.S. My sister is a teacher. Ya wanna know what are teachers very favorite thing to receive?

Gift cards.}

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If you're a ROOM MOM...here's a tip:

At the beginnig of the school year, I have the teacher fill out an ALL about ME sheet....stating their 'favorites' of everything. Something like THIS cute one.

When Teacher Appreciation Week rolls around...I send out a sheet to all of the parents that says to bring in something different each day throughout the week to surprise the teacher with.

{I also make sure that they know this is NOT MANDATORY....they can bring stuff in ONE day, TWO days, ALL days, or NO days. IT IS UP TO THEM!}

Monday - Favorite Drink Day

Tuesday - Favorite Restaraunt Day

{A small $5-10 gift certifictate to one of their fave restaurants}

Wednesday - Favorite Treat Day

Thursday - Favorite Color Day

{Bring in something with their favorite color on it... a nail polish, lotion, flowers...}

Friday - Card and Picture Day

{Have your child write a note tday for the teacher or draw a picture or send in a picture of your child with their teacher from the year!}

Under each day...I list the 'favorites' that coincide with that day as well.

P.S. Have you entered my MOTHER's DAY GIVEAWAY

HERE?!?!

Mother's Day GIVEAWAY!!!

2013-05-07T14:30:00.003-07:00

I have a super cute friend named Brooke.

She's a brunette.

She has 2 sisters that are brunettes as well.

And they're ALL darling!

The 3 of them started up THE CUTEST company called

3 BRUNETTES.

{Clever, no?}

They sell THE MOST darling and trendy accessories.

Ever!

Lucky for US....they gave me a handful of goodies to giveaway to ONE lucky READER this Mother's Day weekend!

Here's a sampling of what you can win:

One PINK Teardrop Pendant Necklace

One Little Girls BLUE Beaded Necklace

One ORANGE Bubble Necklace

One TEAL Teardrop Necklace

As WELL as...

One WHITE Skinny Belt

that looks DARLING with tunics, maxi skirts and everything else!

How fun are all of those accessories?!?

One of YOU could win ALL of it!!!

Here's what you need to do to ENTER:

1. Head over to the 3 Brunettes Facebook Page HERE

and give them a LIKE!

2. Come back to THIS post, leave your name and where you're from and tell me what your FAVORITE item from their company is.

3. {You can enter this giveaway TWICE if you are or become a follower of my blog!}

That's it!!

This contest will close THIS Saturday night {May 11th} at 8:00PM Mountain Standard Time.

Winner will be chosen randomly through random.org

Not pictured but also included - white skinny maxi belt.

GOOD LUCK!

Wouldn't all of this go GREAT with your new SPRING wardbrobe?!?

xoxo

This Weekend:

2013-05-06T16:10:00.001-07:00

*Thursday night through Saturday afternoon

it was just this chickadee and myself.

So naturally we started out the weekend Friday morning by eating out at our favorite breakfast joint.

I'd like to say we had a relaxing rest of the day but we were busy busy busy!

We had Carson's birthday party to prepare for and my craft room to clean out.

{Picture a bomb exploding in a craft room, debri everywhere, cardstock, stencils, glue, etc. everywhere possible...and that was my craft room x 100. I'm happy to say...I can now at least walk into it without tripping over my glue gun.}

* Friday night GNO with our girlfriends the Miller's at Barro's Pizza.

{Their ranch dressing? Seriously the bomb.}

*I stayed up until 1:00 am that night wrapping Carson's gifts and watching the closing arguments of the Jodi Arias trial.

Yes..I am on pins and needles this week.

Team Travis all the way!

*Saturday morning donuts at our favorite local grocery store.

I love this picture for the main reason that London chose to wear her jammies out in public but NOT BEFORE grabbing a headband from her room to accessorize it.

*The boys traveled home from their Fathers and Sons Campout in the mountains on Saturday....

which was a HUGE success to say the least.

* Saturday was also CARSON'S 7th BIRTHDAY!!!!

London and I decorated the kitchen table {a family tradish}...

....and eagerly awaited their arrival home.

*Once they made it home, Carson tore open his presents like a mad man.

He got a scooter, skateboard, Wii game, t-shirt and......

....yes....DEODARANT!

And guess what? He said the deodarant was his VERY favorite present.

{Sigh.}

Back story: He's been sneaking Joe's deodarant on every day before school lately, claiming that he wants to 'smell like a man!'

* The boys freshened up and we were off to the park for Carson's BIRTHDAY bash!

Carson has a cute little friend name Cameron who has the same exact birthday as him and so we joined efforts at throwing the two boys an ANGRY BIRDS themed birthday party!

It was a HUGE success and I can't wait to share pics and deets in the next couple of days!

* Saturday night came to a wrap back at the house with the kids and their Foster cousins laughing hysterically at silly YOUTUBE videos.

Like THIS one.

* Sunday we went to church.

{Does anyone else feel like they are serioulsy rounding up the zoo when it's time to get kids ready for church? It's definitely not calm and peaceful at our house on Sunday mornings. Just sayin.}

* We had Carson's Birthday celebration numero DOS on Sunday night with

Joe's side of the family.

The evening consisted of: chicken nachos, homemade beans, homemade salsa, chocolate silk pie, a water gun fight, jumping on the trampoline with Uncle Ryan and a mean game of Just Dance 4 with Uncle William.

Oh yeah....and we made sangrias.

The non-alcoholic kind of course!

I'll be sharing the recipe for this tasty, kid friendly beverage later this week as well.

Needless to say....I was POOPED today.

{Smile}.

Grateful for such fun opportunities and family times!

BLESSED INDEED!

Crockpot Breakfast Strata.

2013-05-02T16:39:00.000-07:00

As promised....here is the ever so yummy Strata recipe from my

Tomato themed breakfast last weekend.

I absolutely LOVED that I was able to make this up the night before and not stress over it in the morning. Enjoy!!!

Crock Pot Breakfast Strata

Ginger Wellard...thank you Ginger!

12 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

salt and pepper to taste

1 lb. bacon, cut into small pieces, browned and drained

1 {32 oz.} bag frozen hash brown potatoes

1/2 cup onion, diced

12 oz. shredded cheddar cheese

Layer the ingredients in your crock pot in the following order: 1/2 potatoes on bottom, 1/2 of the bacon, 1/2 of the onions, 1/2 of the cheese. REPEAT.

{Make sure and salt and pepper your hash browns each time really good! Next time I'm going to add some onion salt and garlic powder as well to add a little flavor!}

Beat the eggs, milk, mustard and a dash of salt and pepper together. Pour over the entire mixture in crock pot. Cook on low for 10-12 hours. Serves 10.

2-fer Tuesday.

2013-04-30T16:17:00.000-07:00

Two songs I'm LOVIN right now:

*THIS JT single.

Wow.

It's been on replay in my car all week long.

The Justin Timberlake legacy continues....he is incredible.

{And I might just have a small celeb crush on him. But it's ok. Joe knows. And just between you and me...I think Joe has a small celeb crush on him too. Hehe.. I kid!}

* THIS song.

I'm pretty sure this will be 'THE' song of the summer.

So fun and upbeat!!

Two movies I CAN'T wait to see:

It just came out this past weekend and Joe and I are antsy to see it. Soon!

This one comes out at the end of June and I might be {just as} if not MORE than excited than my kiddos to see it. Summer fun for sure!

Super Duper Easy Homemade Salsa

2013-04-29T21:46:00.004-07:00

I've finally discovered a salsa that is EASY and DEE-LISH!

I discovered it from The Frugal Girls and tweaked it just slightly.

Enjoy!!!

EASY HOMEMADE SALSA

2 cans Mexican style Stewed Tomatoes
1 can Original Rotel
1-2 cloves of Garlic, crushed {I used 2!}
3 Green onions, chopped
2 handfuls of cilantro
1/2 an onion - white or yellow
1 tsp. salt

Combine all ingredients in your blender or food processor.
Serve with chips and an ice cold Diet Coke!

This salsa is a SUPER easy little gift to make up and give to someone as well.

Find the Salsa label printables HERE.

This Weekend:

2013-04-28T20:51:00.000-07:00

* Friday morning Visiting Teaching appointment with one of my favorite ladies.

We like to meet up HERE each month.

I've discovered that Visiting Teaching while sipping Diet Coke is a MUST!

* Friday night date night with some of our very favorite friends HERE.

I love this place.

Their Roasted Corn pizza and Orange Fennel salad are my two favorite items..

I also got a couple of Mother's Day goodies in their shop.

LOVE their merchandise.

We laughed hysterically with our friends all. night. long.

* Saturday morning I held THIS breakfast for some of my sweet Young Women.

So blessed to be surrounded by such terrific girls.

* The kiddos had TWO different birthday parties to attend.

Our kids are so blessed to have such great friends.

Great friends who have great parents as well.

* Saturday night we ordered pizza and sat outside and watched the kids play with some of their peeps.

This weather right now at nighttime is perfect.

Not too many more weeks before the heat hits for good and it gets too hot to even go outside at night!

{GaSp!}

Bytheway...have you tried Little Ceaser's new deep dish pizza?!?

It might just be my new fave. Serious.

It's comparable to Pizza Hut.

Yup....THAT good. And only 8 bucks!

* Meetings and Church on Sunday.

* Our friends suprised us after church and brought over lunch.

Oh. My. Yuminess.

They made 'tostadas compuestas' and they were TO DIE FOR.

As was THIS dessert they made.

I was so full afterwards....

could not get enough!

* Sunday afternoon nap on the couch.

* Kids in bed by 7.

Welll....everyone except for London.

Bedtime + London is a battle I haven't wanted to fight lately.

So yup....I let her stay up with me while I watch the news and type on my laptop.

I'm becoming 'one of THOSE moms'.

And I really don't care.

{Chuckle!}

TOMATO THEMED Breakfast.

2013-04-27T18:46:00.003-07:00

Remember THIS Conference Challenge I gave to my Young Women a few weeks back?

Well I'm SO proud to say that NINE of my cute girls watched ALL FOUR sessions of conference.

Their reward?

A special BREAKFAST at my house.

I knew I wanted to have some sort of 'theme' for the morning and I knew I wanted to base it off of a conference talk.

When I heard THIS talk by Elder Ballard during conference, I just KNEW that I had to use his tomato analogy. It was one of my very favorites.

After we finished eating, I spoke to the girls for about 5 minutes and retold the analogy of the tomato.

I challenged them to look within themselves to see if there were 'wilted tomato plants' that needed to be nourished in their lives....Whether it be: scritpure study, personal prayer, family relationships...

I re-iterated Elder Ballad's promise that if we 'nourish our tomato plants' in life....our lives would be blessed and we could REAP in those blessings.

Place Settings.

Printable name tags found HERE.

'Tomato Grow Kits' found in the $ bins at Target.

Super simple centerpieces from tomato cans.

Fill the cans up halfway with water and add flowers!

On my serving table...I displayed Conference talk printables found HERE.

This one....was one of my VERY favorites...

Read the entire talk HERE.

{Totally putting this framed quote in London's room.}

I gave each of the girls a jar of HOMEMADE SALSA to take home....

since SALSA is my VERY FAVORITE thing to make from TOMATOES!

We feasted on.....

....fresh fruit, orange juice and milk.

Recipes for the above breakfast items AND homemade salsa...COMING SOON!

I also went around the table and had each of the girls share THEIR favorite conference talk and if they wanted to, they could explain WHY it was their favorite.

It was such a fun morning...one that made me realize {as I do often} how much I LOVE these sweet girls AND my calling in the church.

BLESSED INDEED.

After it was all over and I was putting up my feet to relax....I realized I got NO pictures of these BEAUTIFUL girls. NONE!

Sighhhhhh.

Next time I guess. Next time for sure.

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Tomato Analogy from Elder Ballard:

I am reminded of a sweet seven-year-old showing her grandfather a small tomato plant she had started from seed as part of a second-grade school project.

She explained that from one tiny seed would come a plant. And if the plant were cared for, it would grow many tomatoes that would each have many seeds.

She said, “And if all of those seeds were planted and grew more tomatoes, and you planted all of those seeds, in a few seasons you would have millions of tomatoes.”

“All,” she said in amazement, “from one little seed.”

But then she said, “I almost killed my plant. I left it in a dark room and forgot to water it. When I remembered the plant, it was all wilted and dead looking. I cried because I thought of all of those millions of tomatoes that would never grow.”

She was then excited to tell her grandfather about the “miracle” that happened.

She explained, “Momma said maybe the plant wasn’t dead. Maybe all it needed was some water and some light to bring life back.

“And she was right. I gave the plant some water, and I put it in the window for light. And guess what?” she asked. “It came back to life, and now it’s going to grow millions of tomatoes!”

Her small tomato plant, so full of potential but so weakened and wilted from unintentional neglect, was strengthened and revived through the simple ministration of water and light by the little girl’s loving and caring hands.

Brothers and sisters, as the literal spirit children of our loving Heavenly Father, we have unlimited, divine potential. But if we are not careful, we can become like the wilted tomato plant. We can drift away from the true doctrine and gospel of Christ and become spiritually undernourished and wilted, having removed ourselves from the divine light and living waters of the Savior’s eternal love and priesthood power.

Wall collage.

2013-04-25T15:46:00.002-07:00

We've lived in our house for 8 years now.

I love our home. I really do.

There are spots here and there that STILL have yet to be decorated but I love the way I feel inside our home. And that's all that matters, right?

A few months ago I finally got around to decorating the wall by my staircase.

I've been wanting to do a wall collage for quite sometime now but never seemed to find just the right frames. I knew I wanted them all black but that's all I knew.

Enter Hobby Lobby.

I love their frames.

And I LOVE that they're usually always 50% too.

I scored mostly all of these frames there...with the exception of the frame that has 3 pictures in it.

That one was found at Rod Works.

Here are a couple of simple tips when doing a wall collage like this:

Lay all of your frames out on the floor FIRST and play around with different settings.

Once you've figured out the way you'd like things, use push pins to temporarily hang the pictures onto the wall....while you play around with heights and spacing.

Once you've sealed the deal and are set on how things look....nail the frames into the walls!

It was seriously THAT easy and I LOVE the outcome!

2-fer Tuesday.

2013-04-23T21:58:00.001-07:00

Two things I'm LOVIN tonight:

* THIS recipe. It's a family fave and never gets old. We sub the beef for chicken and it is DEE-lish. My kids snarf it down every time.

* THIS song. How am I just NOW discovering this singer? She's ah-maze-ing.

LOVE LOVE LOVE the song.

Two upcoming concerts I want to see:

Fleetwood Mac

Selena Gomez

Yes. Both drastically different. But I LOVE both of them.

{Is it weird that I like a band from way back when AND a teeny boppin Disney star?!?}

Happy Tuesday!

Doesn't EVERYONE stick their tongue out a little when coloring?!?

Earth Day Treats {Version 2}.

2013-04-22T21:29:00.000-07:00

Cupcakes in flower pots?

I say WHY NOT!

Here's a look at the treats I brought into Grant's class today...

*Make sure and rinse your pots with soap and water before beginning.

1. Place half of an oreo in the bottom of each pot to cover up the hole.

2. Mix a regular cake mix {chocolate!} and bake in pot.

I placed all of my pots once they were filled, on a baking sheet and cooked them in the oven on that.

You'll need to bake these about 10-15 min. longer than the box calls for since they are so deep.

3. Let cool and then frost with chocolate frosting.

Add crushed Oreos for the 'dirt' and chocolate coated candy rocks.

A gummy frog {or gummy worm!} adds a nice touch too!

I placed green paper straws into the middle of my cupcakes and then placed my artificial flower stems right down the middle of those so the flowers stood up better.

London LOVED the way these looked on our kitchen counter and was so disappointed when I had to take them up to the school.

Happy Earth Day!

See my other 2013 Earth Day treats HERE.

Earth Day Treats {Version 1}.

2013-04-22T21:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Earth Day!

I can't seem to let a holiday slide by without celebrating.

I surprised the boys today and brought treats into their classrooms.

Here are the cupcakes I shared with Carson's class.

I got the idea from BIRD ON A CAKE.

I followed her instructions however, I found it easier to just pipe the frosting heart right on top of the cupcake....instead of cutting it out with a heart shaped cookie cutter first.

This Weekend:

2013-04-22T13:31:00.003-07:00

...was action packed.

And super fun.

*Friday I was completely glued to my television as I watched the events in Boston unfold.

Fun Fact: I'm obsessed with the news.

Like severely obsessed.

I check CNN constantly throughout the day.

And I HAVE to watch the local news before I go to bed each night.

Which means when a BIG event like the Boston bombings occurrs....I have to know every last detail.

So thankful they got the suspects. My heart goes out to all of the people affected by that tragic event.

* Friday night the boys' elementary school held a Sock Hop/Spring Fest.

My boys were ALL about gettin their groove on, on the dance floor.

They've got Moves like Jagger, yes they do.

* Saturday morning the boys headed out to the golf course with Joe...

...while London and I headed to the candy store.

I'll take candy over golf ANY day!

So many options....
London had to get down on all fours just to decide!

* The boys got haircuts afterwards at the Barber shop.

The Barber shop gives THE BEST boys haircuts in town.

Another fun fact? I have OCD when my boys' hair starts to grow the slightest bit over their ears.

We like their hair short here in the Coombs' household.

* Saturday night date night with fun friends HERE.

Why does their Cactus Blossom have to be so. dang. good?!?

* Churchey-Church on Sunday.

Same sass, different day.
London decked out in church attire.

* Taught THIS lesson.

* Sunday night dinner at my parent's house.

I {heart} whenever I don't have to cook dinner on Sundays.

It's the best.

And so is my mom's cooking.

Book of Mormon Handout.

2013-04-21T21:56:00.000-07:00

Why Do We Need the Book of Mormon?

This was the topic I was assigned to teach my sweet young women today.

Fun Fact: Did you know that The Book of Mormon is my very favorite book to read? Ever!

It's true.

{And I've read A LOT of books in my lifetime}.

Which is why I LOVED preparing this particular lesson.
{For notes on my lesson and how it was taught...keep scrolling.}

As for my handout this week...I knew when I spied these POP DROPS at the $ store....they needed to be used somehow.

I immediately thought of the phrase STOP, DROP and ROLL..

and turned it into more of a 'pun-ish' challenge, if you will.

For a free copy of my handout click HERE.

{I changed the wording to say Take THE Challenge instead of....Sis. Coombs' Challenge}.

I KNOW that The Book of Mormon is true.

It testifies of Jesus Christ and contains the fullness of His gospel.

Never read it? Well it's your lucky day because I'd be happy to give you one.

Or ship you one. If you live in a far off land.

Like Kentucky. Or somewhere else like that.

I'll even pay for the postage!

Yes...I really do love this book THAT much!

*****************************************************************

Notes from my lesson:

* I started out by asking the girls "What do we know about the Book of Mormon?" and writing their answers down on the chalkboard. We came up with a pretty good sized list.

* We then discussed: Where did the Book of Mormon come from?

How and when was it translated?

And Why do we have it?

* I asked my Laurels ahead of time to come prepared with a scripture from the Book of Mormon, to share, that has influenced their life for good or inspired them in someway. We went around the classroom and shared these scriptures.

* We read the Introduction to the Book of the Mormon and focused on the last two paragraphs.

* We watched THIS short clip from Elder Eyring.

* I bore my testimony to the girls and then encouraged them to take on the challenge of finding out for THEMSELVES...if the Book of Mormon was true.

Because afterall.....how do you really know if a book is true....unless you read it YOURSELF!

Tortellini Primavera.

2013-04-20T17:47:00.003-07:00

Here's a recipe that's definitely worth trying.

It's one of my favorites.

I had my Young Women over the other night to teach them how to make a meal from scratch and this is what we made. Had I have been more prepared...I would've taken pics.

You'll just have to take my word......this dish is delish.

And simple.

And quick.

Enjoy!!!

Tortellini Primavera

1 cup sliced mushrooms {yuck! I always omit these}

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 clove minced garlic

2 Tbs. butter

1 package {10 oz} frozen spinach

8 oz. softened cream cheese

1 medium tomato, chopped

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 tsp. italian seasoning

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

10-12 oz. fresh cheese tortellini, cooked and drained

Cook and stir mushrooms, onion and garlic in butter until tender.

Add all remaining ingredients except for tortellini. Mix well and cook just until mixture begins to boil, stirring occasionally. Stir in tortellini, cook until thoroughly heated.