Masterpiece

We had our family portrait painted this morning. Boy… Randy’s head has gotten big over the years, and my hair needs some TLC.


We went to our family party on Father’s Day and my Aunt went all out and made it pirate themed. Ever since then Brad has been talking about it. Here is one of the MANY pirate pictures he has drawn.

Hello Again Hello

We took the kids to Taylorsville Days this weekend with our neighbors. It was fun to be outside and just hang out. We started the day out at the parade in the morning, then ended up at the park for a concert. I could not believe how many people were at the concert before the fireworks. They booked Jay White a Neil Diamond impersonator. He performs in Las Vegas. I must say he looked and sounded just like him. The seniors in the crowed were going CRAZY. They had to hire extra security to keep them tamed. He got a standing ovation for “Forever in Blue Jeans”, it was so good he sang it again to gratify the raging crowd. The best part was when the firework show started and Neil sang “We’re Coming to America”… There is just something about patriotic songs and fireworks that get to me. I had massive chills and I had to stop and pull myself together so I would not start blubbering.

Randomness

--Randy and I took the kids to Murray Aquatic center on Tuesday with some of our neighbors. It was a HOT day and the kids loved it. I wasn’t sure how Claire would do. No problems at all. I didn’t even get pictures of Brad because he was busy going down the waterslide with Randy. We couldn’t get him to do anything else.
(I apologize for my pasty white, glowing, translucent, pallid, fair, colorless, ashen skin. I would never just post a picture of me in a swimsuit… But Claire looked so cute I couldn’t help it. Poor girl, she has my skin too. )

--The babies loved the pool. Don’t you just love the new plastic pants they make the babies wear? So stylin’!!! We have ordered them in every color. I think they go well with her eyes.
Seriously though… I am way grateful for the new restrictions and precautions. I don’t want any pool amebas, or cooties.


-- I finally cut my hair today. I haven’t even trimmed it since January. It was so nasty on the ends. I know when my hair gets separation anxiety when I don’t use an elastic band for a pony tail, that it is time to take drastic measures. It feels so much better. I was trying to get a self portrait of the new cut and Brad made a cameo in one of them. I look way better with a child accessory.
--I have a new obsession this summer!!! SLURPEE!!! I am infatuated with the frozen beverage. I can’t get enough. Good thing there is a 7-11 on every corner. I don’t even want to know how much sugar I have consumed this week alone.

Strawberry

We went to Strawberry this week with Randy's parents for a much needed vacation. We camped at Mud Creek right by the reservoir. The weather was beautiful. We ate a lot of food and played all week.


Brad got a bug catcher for his birthday and has been dying to try it out. I caught this bee for him. It was the size of his head. I have never in my life seen such a big bee. This picture does not do it justice. I forgot to let it go that night and Randy's mom had to release it. What a woman. I probably would have opened the door and ran away screaming. (Thanks nanny)

Claire loved to be outside. She is such a good little camper. Good thing... we go outdoors a lot.
Brad went on several four wheeler rides with his dad and his grandpa. All he could say was faster faster faster.
Tim and Kamie came up one of the nights and made smores with Brad. We had a fire every night. It was great.

All papa heard this week was...."Papa will you take me for a ride???"
Randy and Lance played around on their motorcycles. Men always turn into little boys when they jump on a machine. You should have seen their silly grins under their helmets.


What a fun weekend.

Dog days of Summer...

Steven and Kari have a new little addition. Meet Zoey!!! She is so teeny and petite. Brad just loves her. I can’t wait until Brad can have a dog. He has been begging us to get him one. We will just have to borrow theirs for now.

She peed on my tile so she is officially a part of the family. She obviously feels right at home.

Say CHEESE!!!

I went to Murray Park today with my sister in laws to try and get some grand kid pictures. It was such a joke. Out of all of the pictures (I am talking over 100) only one of them turned out. Good thing too because they are all so stinking cute.

Eric and Natalie's girls -- Kennedy, Kiersten, Whitnee
Aaron and Lisa's little boy-- Corbin
My little Claire.

Brad was last for the single family pictures and was ready to be done. He didn't want to smile or sit still for another frame. I just gave up. We will have to try again later.
I like to take pictures as a hobby but I could never take pictures everyday all day. That job would be so exhausting and frustrating.

Lagoon

We took Brad and his friend Lydia to Lagoon last night for our Stake Lagoon day. The kids had a riot and the weather last night was perfect.




This is the new ride at Lagoon called the ODYSEA it gets the kids wet. When they got off the ride, Lydia asked me if her butt looked wet. Brad quickly answered "I don't know let me feel" then patted her on the rear. Lydia looked at me totaly freaked out that Brad just patted her butt. I guess we need to have THE talk with Brad about keeping his hands OFF other girls behinds. Man that came early. At the end of the night they begged us to let them play in the water fountain. It got pretty chilly and we had no clothes for them to change into. We finaly gave in because we were leaving. We loaded them in the car quickly and all we could hear the whole way home was the chattering of their teeth. We kept asking them what their favorite part of Lagoon was and their response was the water fountain. Maybe we should have saved money and just let them run through the sprinklers.

Would you like a nice pot of Tea??

My Aunt Kristi and I went and had high tea to celebrate our birthday month. Kristi has taken me to tea parlors ever since I was a little girl. There used to be a beautiful tea parlor downtown 15 years ago called Lady Elizabeth. We would go eat scones, finger sandwiches, and petit fours. Then lovely women dressed in magnificent gowns would serve us high tea. It brought so much joy to me as a little girl. Well we have kept up the tradition and still go to tea parlors.
Gardner Village has a little shop called Protea Cottage that serves high tea. We took mom and Kari with us this time. We wore silly hats and laughed a lot. I was looking at their website and found their tea etiquette.

The Protea CottageGuide to Basic Tea Etiquette

1. Always arrive punctually in appropriate attire.

2. Be seated quietly and retain good posture..

3. Never sit with shoes on chairs. Feet should always be on the floor. Parents are asked toensure that even young children sit properly.

4. Use appropriate language and voice modulation.

5. Always remember to say “please” and “thank you”.

6. Do not chew gum at tea.

7. Unfold napkin placed on your left upon being seated and keep on your lap. If you leave thetable at any time during tea, loosely folded napkin should be left on your seat.Upon returning, place on the lap. At the end of tea, loosely folded napkins should be placedon the table once more.

7. When pouring tea, do not tilt teapot too far or attempt to pour too quickly. A modest flowof tea ensures less spillage or dripping.

8. Milk should be poured into cup first, followed by black tea or Rooibos.Do not use milk with green tea, herbals or fruit tisanes as it will curdle.

9. Stir one or two sugar cubes gently into hot tea.

10. Sip your tea quietly without playing with the teacup and never with teaspoon still in cup.

11. Little finger should NOT be lifted into air. (It's just pretentious..)Hold the teacup by handle with one hand only. Place back on saucer in between sips of tea.

12. Select one or two items from food selection: it is correct to begin with hot scones,then sandwiches and finally, cakes and tea breads.Do not stretch over others – ask for food to be passed to you instead.

13. Do not dunk your biscuits (cookies) in your tea. (Save that for an inferior brew.)

14. Heed your Mum’s advice: chew with your mouth closed and do not talk with your mouth full.

15. Do not allow children to play boisterously or to be disruptive towards others enjoying tea.

16. Do not imitate your hostess’s accent.

17. Enjoy yourself and come back again for tea soon!


I think we broke about 99.9% of these rules. Except the one that says enjoy yourself!!!! We are lucky they did not kick us out.

We will start the bidding at PRICELESS...

A couple of weeks ago our ward had a bake sale auction for the YM and YW. The only cake Randy wanted was this Austrian cake that a German couple brought. We desperately auctioned to no avail. We got outbid at $60 and we had just spent $70 on another cake. We just couldn’t afford this confection. So after weeks of begging, prodding and I am sure annoying the cutest little German lady to spill the beans on the recipe…we finally got it. Randy has a recipe from his mission but it is written not only in German but all metric measurements. I have wanted to taste the cake but not that bad.
Randy came home from Bishopric last night waving the 3x5 card around like a little kid. “Let’s make a cake. Let’s make a cake.” I couldn’t say no.
Here is the recipe….
If you can see past the filthy glass in my oven, here is the cake. (I think that was the longest 45 minutes Randy has ever experienced.)
And the finished product…
I must say it was pretty good. It is defiantly European because it was not very sweet. It tasted a lot like a breakfast muffin or cake. And it needed a tall glass of milk to go with it.


Speaking of cakes… Sunday I made Matt’s birthday cake. I got the recipe from Bakerella. To get the recipe go here.

This is not my picture… I embezzled it from her website. I forgot to take a picture of my finished product. But anyone who saw it back me up in saying it looked pretty dang close. If you like peanut butter this is the cake for you. It also needs a VERY tall glass of milk to go with it.

YUM!!!!!

I got tagged (Thanks Sara it was fun to read yours)

5 things I was doing 10 years ago

1. Starting my nursing pre-requisites
2. Getting emotionally ready to send Randy off on a mission
3. Getting used to the idea that High School was officially over
4. Rebelling against any idea my parents had (I just needed a reason to argue with someone and they happened to be an easy target)
5. Begging my parents for forgiveness for being such a moron

5 things on my to do list:

1. Get ready for the Pioneer trek
2. Put laundry away (I hate to put laundry away, I would rather clean a toilet)
3. Read Stephanie Meyer’s new book “ The Host”
4. remember to water my vegetable garden every day
5. Get a full 8 hours of sleep (which would mean getting to bed at a decent hour, I am really bad at that)

5 favorite snacks/food

1. Anything Mexican
2. Anything Barbeque
3. Anything my mom makes
4. Anything with sugar
5. Okay… practically anything that is edible

5 things I would do if I was a billionaire

1. Buy a BIG house
2. Hire a maid to go with the BIG house
3. Buy a BIG cabin…a nice one with showers and a laundry room
4. Hire a maid to go with the BIG cabin
5. I guess I should save some too, Oh and pay tithing

5 Bad habits

1. Waiting to put away the laundry
2. Eating just because it feels good
3. Skipping pages when I read to Brad ( I don’t do it very often, but when I am in a hurry it is better than not reading at all….right??)
4. Singing to the radio really loud in the car and forgetting that people can see me
5. Leaving bobby pins and jewelry all over the house

5 Places I have lived

1. Kearns, UT
2. Midvale, UT
3. West Vally, UT
4. Hawaii, IN MY DREAMS
5. Cache Valley, NOT YET BUT IN THE PLANS

5 people I tag

1. Stacy
2. Annie
3. Kari
4. Eric
5. Taren

Brad is a LUCKY boy

Brad’s uncle Lance just got back from Disney Land. While he was there he called Brad and asked him what he would like him to bring back as a gift.

Brad thought for a minute and said….”hum, …do they have foam fingers???”
Disney Land has just about everything…I can’t believe Brad picked the one thing that they don’t have. Lance bought him a “REALLY COOL” shirt according to Brad. Thank you Uncle Lance. He wore it that day, to bed that night, and again the next day. I could not peel it off his little body. I could not convince him that it needed to be cleaned. I think it was so dirty it took itself off and put itself in the laundry.
Brad has quite the collection of foam fingers. Last night Lance, Kendra and Tim took Brad to a Blaze game and got him a new foam finger. He lays them by his bed every night before he goes to sleep. I had to wait until he was asleep and sneak into his room and steal them for a picture.

Strike a pose there is nothing to it....Vogue, Vogue, Vogue

While Randy and Brad were having male bonding time this weekend, I decided to have crafty craft day. Randy’s mom and I made what seemed like hundreds of these tiny bracelets for Claire. She has one for every shade of outfit imaginable. My favorite one is the pearl bracelet. She wore it on Sunday with her little dress. She was so adorable. I just wanted to eat her. This is why I love jewelry so much. Little girls don't have a chance because their mommies adorn them with trinkets and frillies the day they are born.
I went to dinner with my parents that night and I changed her bracelet three times during dinner. I just wanted to see what they looked like on.....My mom could not stop making fun of me. I couldn't help myself. I am just jealous that she gets to wear them. Thank heaven for little girls.

Father and Sons

Randy took Brad to the Father and son’s campout at Pineview Reservoir this weekend. Randy’s dad joined them last night and stayed in the trailer with them. Brad informed me before they left that girls were not invited to come only the boys. Good thing too…by the looks of the ten foot long worm in Brad’s hand I might have run away screaming. It rained most of the trip, so all of Brad’s shoes came home soaking wet and muddy. Brad talked my ear off today about all of his adventures of sword fights, fishing, playing with his friends, looking at the lake, finding bugs, eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and getting really wet. I got the impression they had a good time.