A little reminder to me!

I am getting excited for Christmas. I love this time of year and the spirit that comes with it! I know sometimes I get to busy and forget about the true meaning of Christmas. Ben has been a great example to me. He has helped me to refocus on the true meaning of Christmas and how we should give to others. The other day at the store, he saw a gentleman who looked like he was having a hard time and handed him some money. I know that man's day was brighten by Ben's small act of kindness. I know I need to do better and remember to serve others and recapture that Christmas spirit in my heart! Thanks Ben for that little reminder!

i am 4

We are grateful for our Justin!!! He definitely keeps us on our toes and he teaches us patience and love!!! Happy B-day, big guy!!!! We love you!

We love fall!

Today, I decided to bundle up the kids and let them go jumping in the leaves. They had a blast!

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from the Clore family.

Fun little date!

Ben and I had the opportunity to join with very rich people and go to an art auction to benefit children who are abused. Even though we didn't have enough money to bid, it was still fun:-) Our dinner was paid for by Ben's work (150 dollars a plate). I was hoping the food would be 150 dollars worth of good stuff but it wasn't:-) We did get the see the Attorney General of Utah, Mike Shurtleff. I guess it was a once in a life time kind of experience so I can't complain. Plus I could spend time with Ben with out kids! Here is a picture of us:

Trying something new!

I have seen people do coupons and I didn't believe they could get things free so I decided to do my own research and find out how.
So this is what i got:

This was all free and I was paid 5 buck to take it out of the store.

It is cool that even when the economy is not doing so well, you can still find things that can help you save money!

Girls Weekend Getaway!

Ben was a good sport by letting me go for 4 days down to Phoenix. My sisters got together and went to a conference called, "Time out for Women." It was such a nice getaway and it was definitely needed.


My little niece was baptized while I was down in Arizona. She looked beautiful and it was fun to see her.



The gals posing by the conference center.


The conference was great. I loved the music and the uplifting speakers. Sheri Dew and Virginia Hinkley were my favorite. They taught me the importance of being a holy woman and they renewed my heart to do better.





While there, we went shopping and found a great deal at Walgreens. These items were only 10 cents each:-)


We had to go to the mall too!
p

We had fun trying on the fake fur coats.


Posing at Olive garden.


We loved getting the free samples at the hotel.

When I came home, I was impressed with Ben's hard work. He did a great job taking care of the kids. I guess I should go on more trips:-)

B is for Bus

I decided to join some moms and do a Joy School. Justin loves to learn and it has been good for him to have friends. Last week the kids went on a field trip on a bus for the letter B and loved it! Justin even found a little girl friend.

Reason why I hate parks AGAIN..........

So I took Justin to the park with his older cousin. They were jumping on a little bridge and a little girl came running and tripped on the bridge. She started balling and ran to her mom. We were about to leave and the mother told me she would like to talk to me.....(I am thinking in my head oh boy here we go again that my son did something wrong to her child.) Her little girl said...yep I think that is the one. I thought she would tell me that my son pushed her on the bridge...I was wrong...she told me she thinks my son told her daughter to pull up her dress and pull down her panties. It blew me for a loop. I told her my son is a little to young and that is not even in his vocabulary. I told her I have been watching him the whole time and he has not even played by her daughter except on the bridge where she tripped. I told her I saw an older kid that was wearing an orange shirt and could have asked her. She finally calmed down and the little girl couldn't remember if it was my son or not. Yikes....I feel like I attract trouble:-)What would you have done in that situation???

18months

Brookie:
Loves flowers, cats and dogs and bugging her brother. She is up at 5:30 ready for the day to start and she is a sweetheart and definitely loves her dad. She is learning everyday to say new words and she gives the best kisses. I adore her smile!!

Boys:-)

Boys will be boys and get dirty....

Crabby Lady!

So it was 2 dollar Tuesdays at the Dinosaur museum and I decided to take my kids. It was great not paying very much, but man it was crowded. We were at the water table and Justin and I were playing with a dinosaur having fun. This kid who is about 6 comes up to Justin and yells at him saying he took his dinosaur and he goes to tell his mother. His mom walks towards me and she tells me that my son needs to give it back because he was playing with it first. I told her WE have been here the whole time and her son was not playing with it. I also said there are so many dinosaurs your son can play with you just need to find them. She tells her son, "Looks like this mom won't give it back to you because she is a bad mother." I replied by saying, "excuse me that was very inappropriate to call me a bad mother." She walked away and I went and found her son some dinosaurs to play with. I told him to go tell his mother that I helped you find them. She told her son to be quiet and she would not even look at me. Did I do something wrong???? I fell that there are two types of mothers in this world. Those that feel their children are perfect and can't do anything wrong and those that correct principles when their child does something wrong. I definitely would have given the dinosaur back to her child if Justin did take it away. Because he didn't, I felt that her child did not deserve the dinosaur for lying. FUN DAY!

Bennie's new ride!

My poor husband has driven old, junky trucks since high school. When we got married he got me a nice car and kept driving his junk truck. He never complained and worked very hard for his family. Finally, last weekend, we decided to sell his old truck and get him a new truck. I have never seen him so excited in his life. I am proud of him and his hard work!!!!

Ways to earn extra money.

I have tried to find ways to make some extra spending money and here is what I have been doing...

Secret shopping: It is a fun way to shop and get paid for it. I like it because I can bring kids with me. I have made about 700 dollars since January.

Online surveys: When I have down time while Bennie is away doing an evening job, I am bored, and kids are asleep I do surveys. I have earned about 300 dollars since Feb.

Find a hobbie: I love to clean homes, so it is great to get paid for what I like to do.

Sell online: I am learning to sell used or old items I have in my house or what I can find at the DI online. I love amazon and KSL. I have sold 5 things this last month and made 100 bucks. (say goodbye to garage sells. :-)

Good luck....If you have any other ideas, please let me know!

Fun Summer

Even though summer is not quite over, we have had a lot of fun doing various activities:

We decided to take the kids to the Children's museum. They definitely loved it!



Having a picnic with the cousins was a lot of fun!




Of course Bennie has to wear his shirt he got from target at my family reunion:-)



Family went to the copper mine

We stayed at a hotel that had a water park. It was a blast. Here is Bennie chillin with the guys!


Brookie playing with cousins.



Girls night out at Los Hermonos!

Had fun at olive garden for my bday!

Good Heavens!

So I had a not so fun, embarrassing day..........My phone got stolen yesterday so I had to go and get my new phone reactivated at Sprint. I thought it would be a easy in and out and it would be alright to tackle it alone with my kids....WRONG....When I walked in, the store was very busy and my name was 7th on the list. First off, my kids thought it was a candy store with all the fun phones to play with. Then, Brookie thought it was funny to scream bloody murder when I tried to pull her away from the phones. Second, Brookie and Justin decided chase each other around the store. Third, I tried to grab my kids and the great mom that I am, I tripped and landed right on my face right in the middle of everyone. I think the guy saw my pain and came over and asked if I was Stephanie. With a sigh of relief, I said yes...Fourth, while the guy was helping me, Justin kept doing the potty dance and said mom I really need to go bad. The guy told me that they did not have a public restroom that we could use and this would not take long. Justin told me again that he had to go bad. The guy said, "he wont pee on the floor would he." I said yes he would if he had to wait any longer and then he gave up and said I could use their restroom....I was so glad to get out of that store! :-)

Our Kids First Bowling Night!

For family home evening tonight, we took our kids out for bowling. They loved it and they sure were cute!

Justin's First Campout!

Justin has been excited all week to go camping with his dad. He is living it up getting dirty and playing with his cousin, Brennie. He has had a blast and probably will not want to come home. I think his dad was also excited to take his son out. (Waiting 3 years!) I am definitely enjoying the quiet at home and the relaxation on the couch:-)



Justin learning to shoot a gun


Helping Grandpa with the fire


Water is never to cold to get wet!

Their "trophy tree" ( must be a guy thing)


My sweethearts!

Slumber Party!

My sisters and I got together and had a slumber party at my mother's house. It was fun to talk and play games. I am so grateful for my family!

I will miss my Grandmother!

I love my grandparents so much. It has been a great blessing to have them in my life. I am also grateful that I was able to create great memories with them. My grandmother, who was the last one living, just recently passed away. I will truly miss her and her sweet spirit she had. Here is her obituary:

Barbara LaRue Lambert 1922 ~ 2010 Barbara LaRue Zwahlen Lambert died peacefully Saturday, June 5, 2010 at the home of her loving daughter, Shirley. Barbara was born January 18, 1922 in Castle Dale, Utah, the 10th of 11 children to Joseph and Viola Petersen Zwahlen. She graduated from Davis High School. Upon graduation from Brigham Young University, rather than taking a position with the food and nutrition department she was offered at BYU, she chose to join the Marines where she served as the chief instructor in mess hall operations and cooking at Camp LeJeune, North Carolina during much of World War II. She married Paul Woodbury Lambert June 17, 1944 in Wilmington, North Carolina where he had traveled while on leave in the Navy. Shortly thereafter, Barbara was discharged from the Marine Corps to care for her ailing mother. Paul and Barbara were sealed later that summer in the Logan, Utah Temple. Nine children blessed their lives. She is preceded in death by husband, Paul and daughter, Beverly. Surviving are: Charles (Betty) Lambert, Joan (Gary) Willden, Duane (Wendy) Lambert, Doug (Laurie) Lambert, Karen (Del) Benson, of Saipan, Marianne (Keith) Rowley, Shirley (Russell) Walgren, David (Kristi) Lambert; and her youngest brother, Kenneth (Betty) Zwahlen, California. Barbara loves her 38 grandchildren and 40 great-grand children. She served faithfully in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in many callings from Primary to Relief Society presidencies, music to genealogy, instructing to visiting teaching. She loved designing and quilting beautiful quilts that are cherished by children and grandchildren who received them as gifts. Barbara was a gospel scholar who loved reading the scriptures and listening to gospel talks. Over 50 years ago, Paul and Barbara Lambert founded Lambert Floral, Spring Garden Plants, which is still being run by two daughters. Funeral services will be held Thursday, June 10, 2010, 11:00 a.m. at McDougal Funeral Home, 4330 South Redwood Road where viewings will be held Wednesday, June 9, 2010, 6-8 p.m. and Thursday, June 10, 2010, 10-10:45 a.m. prior to services. Interment, Valley View Memorial Park, 4335 West 4100 South.

Barbara LaRue Lambert 1922 ~ 2010 Barbara LaRue Zwahlen Lambert died peacefully Saturday, June 5, 2010 at the home of her loving daughter, Shirley. Barbara was born January 18, 1922 in Castle Dale, Utah, the 10th of 11 children to Joseph and Viola Petersen Zwahlen. She graduated from Davis High School. Upon graduation from Brigham Young University, rather than taking a position with the food and nutrition department she was offered at BYU, she chose to join the Marines where she served as the chief instructor in mess hall operations and cooking at Camp LeJeune, North Carolina during much of World War II. She married Paul Woodbury Lambert June 17, 1944 in Wilmington, North Carolina where he had traveled while on leave in the Navy. Shortly thereafter, Barbara was discharged from the Marine Corps to care for her ailing mother. Paul and Barbara were sealed later that summer in the Logan, Utah Temple. Nine children blessed their lives. She is preceded in death by husband, Paul and daughter, Beverly. Surviving are: Charles (Betty) Lambert, Joan (Gary) Willden, Duane (Wendy) Lambert, Doug (Laurie) Lambert, Karen (Del) Benson, of Saipan, Marianne (Keith) Rowley, Shirley (Russell) Walgren, David (Kristi) Lambert; and her youngest brother, Kenneth (Betty) Zwahlen, California. Barbara loves her 38 grandchildren and 40 great-grand children. She served faithfully in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in many callings from Primary to Relief Society presidencies, music to genealogy, instructing to visiting teaching. She loved designing and quilting beautiful quilts that are cherished by children and grandchildren who received them as gifts. Barbara was a gospel scholar who loved reading the scriptures and listening to gospel talks. Over 50 years ago, Paul and Barbara Lambert founded Lambert Floral, Spring Garden Plants, which is still being run by two daughters.


I enjoyed hearing the stories about Grandma. My favorite story was one shared by one of the sisters about how Grandma was determined to get an education. It was not common in her day for a lady to seek a higher education degree. She wanted and education and did all that she could to fund it since her parents were unable to help finance it. Grandma ran out of funds and was unable to pay for her last semester of College. She asked her parents what she should do. Her mother gave her a quilt that she had hand stitched and told her to go door to door and sell it for the amount that she needed. My grandmother did just that and was able to finance her last semester of college. She earned a bachelor's degree at the BYU Academy. Grandma instilled this desire in each of her children and in turn my father has instilled this desire to learn in me.

Our little getaway!

To start off the summer, Ben and I went on a well needed getaway. It was nice to have my sister come and watch our kids while we were out having fun.....just the two of us. So we decided to go to a bed and breakfast for one night. It was fun and it definitely rejuvenated me to go back and tackle my two kids again.

The benefits of having a big brother

Today I was getting frustrated because Brookie was being cranky and she wouldn't snuggle with me on my lap. Justin comes over and says, " Momma, can I hold Brookie." I said sure and right when I handed her to him, she perked up and loved it. It was cute to see them together. I am so grateful for my little son and the help he gives to me!

Little Buds

Justin loves his buddy, Freddie! (Don't you like the stylin Justin)

Little Miss

Our sweet girl has definitely developed a cute personality. She loves to get into everything and she thinks it is funny to take things and run away. She loves to smile and she definitely likes to explore the world around her.