Amy's Birthday

Today is Amy's 12th birthday! Where does the time go? She wanted me to surprise her with a cake. Natalie suggested an owl cake and then drew this design for me. I made it while Amy was at school. I think it's my favorite fondant cake yet! If you haven't tried using marshmallow fondant yet, you should try it! It tastes so much better than regular fondant and is really cheap and easy to use. The other thing that I love about it is that I can wrap the leftovers in plastic wrap and put it in a plastic container and it will stay fresh for a long time.

Fun Youth Activity!

We had a very fun joint Young Men/Young Women activity last night! My daughter found this great idea on Sugar Doodle: TV Commercial Activity. The idea of the activity is to divide the youth into groups and then give them a fake "Mormon" product that they have to make a commercial for.  My daughter also found someone on Mormon Share who had done the activity in their ward and had made printable images for the products. This was great and saved lots of time. Here is the link for those: Funny TV Commercials with images. We decided to make a few of our own as well. The ones we made were: Magic Monson Matches, Ammon's Fencing Academy, and Apricot Tree Popcorn. The youth had such a great time at this activity. Their commercials were awesome! I think one of the things that made it successful was that I told them there would be prizes for the Best Jingle, the Most Creative, and The Best Commercial - meaning I want to buy that product! Knowing about the prizes gave them the incentive to work hard and be creative. I also gave each group a chance to pick a random prop such as a large stuffed bunny or a basketball, that they had to incorporate into their commercial. These were chosen before they knew what products they would be trying to "sell." They also each were randomly given a slip of paper with a phrase they had to incorporate into their commerical, such as: "Four out of Five dentists approve of this message," or "Side effects include blurred vision, recurring happy thoughts, and an uncontrollable urge to hug your grandma." -->

Here are some pictures from the products we used. Some were found on the Mormon Share link above and some were my own creation. My favorite one that I made is the Magic Monson Matches. Anyone that heard President Monson's story from General Conference last week will appreciate that one! :) I designed this graphic and then printed it out and put it on a real (but empty) box of matches.

RM Ravioli - Made from items going bad in your refrigerator.

Word of Wisdom Cereal - Made from all the grains from which we can freely eat.

Molly Mormon Muffin Mix

The other side of the muffin mix.

Apricot Tree Popcorn

Ammon's Fencing Academy - Learn to chop Arms like Ammon did.

Dancing with the Deacons - to prepare for your first Stake dance!

Here are some pictures from a few of the skits that the youth performed at the end of the evening. They were so entertaining. We had a difficult time picking winners because they were all so great!

 

Natalie made this.

This is from a wonderful talk by Dieter F. Uchtdorf.

What a Saturday!

Evan and Natalie both had academic competitions on Saturday. Evan was in a Math Counts competition. He was part of a 4 person team from his school. He and his teammates came in third place, and received a trophy. They did an excellent job!

Natalie had a district academic team competition. She came home with three gold medals! She was first place in written composition, her team was first place in Future Problem Solving, and she was captain of the first place quick recall team. Her school was first place overall as well. They did really well, especially considering most of the fifth graders were in Washington, D.C.

Interview with Lauren, age 3 years 11 months

I dare you to ask your kids these questions :)

1. What is something mom always says to you?
You love me.

2. What makes mom happy?
Setting the table.

3. What makes mom sad?
Don’t set the table

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
Tickle me.

5. What was your mom like as a child?
Lauren

6. How old is your mom?
45 (I don't think so! She just aged me an entire decade!)

7. How tall is your mom?
7 (She held a little stick up to me and moved it up as she counted to 7.)

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Exercise (Too funny that she thinks this.)

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Go to the store

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
a grandma

11. What is your mom really good at?
cooking

12. What is your mom not very good at?
jumping on the trampoline

13. What does your mom do for her job?
do messages (I think she means sending email :)

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
macaroni (I don't eat macaroni. Maybe she's thinking of her favorite food.)

15. What makes Mommy proud of you?
get out of bed by myself

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Dora’s mom

17. What do you and your mom do together?
go to the library

18. How are you and your mom the same?
.play a computer game together

19. How are you and your mom different?
I play on the computer and she does messages on the computer :)

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
She gives me a hug

Proud Mom

Evan took the ACT a couple of weeks ago. Yes, the actual ACT that high school students take to enter college. He was invited to take it because he is part of the Duke TIP program that identifies academically talented 7th graders in this region. If you score above a 21 in any category, you receive State Recognition, and if you have high enough scores, you receive Grand Recognition. Evan's scores came today, and he had a composite score of 27! We believe that Evan qualified for Grand Recognition in three categories: Composite, English (he scored a 29) and Reading (he scored a 31!) You only have to qualify in one category. All I could say when I saw his scores was "Wow!"

25 Random Facts About Me

1. I really have a thing for the color brown. I always gravitate to brown clothing at the store, so I have way too much brown in my wardrobe, but that’s okay with me. I sometimes have to force myself to wear another color so I'm not always monochromatic.

2. I really don’t like the cold, and I complain about it all the time. Raymond keeps reminding me that we’ve lived in Utah and Indiana and it was colder there, but I think I'm getting wimpier. I’m still a California girl at heart. I would be really happy if the weather could stay between 70 and 80 degrees for months at a time.

3. I come from a family of 8 children. The first seven of us were each born on a different day of the week.

4. I love being a mom. I have the best mom and I wanted to be just like her and have lots of children. Of course, for me that meant four children, not eight!

5. Raymond and I celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary in December. It’s been a fabulous 15 years!

6. I’ve had two surgeries in my life. The first was when I broke my nose at the age of 13, and the second was arthroscopic knee surgery at the age of 19.

7. I love to grow vegetables in our garden, but I have the hardest time getting zucchini to grow. Who has a hard time getting zucchini to grow?

8. I’ve never mowed a lawn. (A benefit of having lots of brothers) I've always been afraid to admit that one because I'm sure that someone will make me do it and ruin my streak!

9. I have a degree in elementary education from BYU. I started college as an accounting major because I thought it would be a good career for me since I love math and I’m good with numbers. I figured out pretty quickly that it wasn’t what I wanted to do. I had always had a desire to be a teacher, so I immediately knew what major I should really be in.

10. I had never watched a Jane Austen movie until last year, and now I’ve watched them all and I’m hooked (Thanks, Taralie!) My favorite is the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. Collin Firth is the best Mr. Darcy.

11. I can’t remember where I parked my car, but I remember my locker combination from high school, the price of specific groceries at the store, and almost everyone’s birthday. Numbers stick in my head but important information gets lost easily.

12. I love to make cards, and I remember the date of almost everyone’s birthday, I just don’t remember to send cards on people’s birthdays. I have the best of intentions, though. So, if it's your birthday and I forgot to send you a card, at least you know that I will think of you when I see the date on the calendar.

13. My favorite snacks used to be Sun Chips, ice cream, Slurpees, and Spree candy (although not all at once). Now that I’m eating healthier, I love dark chocolate. However, I can enjoy any yummy dessert, especially if it involves chocolate, peanut butter, or both!

14. I hate making decisions, even small ones. I don’t care where we go out to eat as long as someone else picks the place!

15. I don’t have my ears pierced. There really isn’t a reason I don’t. I’m not against them or anything. But at this point, I feel like I need a compelling reason to get them pierced, and I haven’t come up with one. I’m fine without them. I guess it kind of goes back to the not being able to make a decision thing.

16. I once had a job as an olive sorter. The olives came by on the conveyer belt, and I picked out the mushy ones. Imagine doing that for 8-10 hours at a time! I guess that’s what happens when you grow up in the “olive capital.”

17. I love to sing, even though I’m not that great at it. I enjoy singing in choirs, singing along to the stereo, and singing karaoke. I’m just not cut out for singing solos. I need my voice to blend into the crowd.

18. I used to run track, and I could run a mile in under six minutes. How come I can’t keep up with my three year old?

19. I’ve been out of the country twice, and both were two week trips with Raymond after having kids. The first trip was to London and Paris, and my parents watched our kids. The second trip was to Brazil this past year to visit my parents while they are serving a two year mission. Raymond’s mom watched our kids this time. We had a fabulous time on both trips.

20. When I put cups away in the cupboard, I will not stack cups together that clash. The red cup cannot be touching the pink one! I will rearrange the cups until I'm happy with the ones that are touching each other.

21. I have such a problem with wanting to do things perfectly, that many things don’t get done or put away or organized because I haven’t figured out the “perfect” way to do them yet.

22. I’m extremely shy by nature. I have to force myself to talk to people that I don’t know well, and I always have a fear that they won’t want to talk to me. I love to get to know people, it’s just difficult for me to make the first step and approach people and talk to them.

23. I am surprised to learn how much I love living in Kentucky. It’s a great place to live and raise our family. We have great friends here and it really does feel like home to me now.

24. I couldn’t ask for a better family. My parents are wonderful. I’m blessed to be the only girl in a family with seven brothers! I am not completely left out on the sister thing, though. I now have three daughters (and a son) of my own, eight sisters-in-law, and I’ve been lucky enough to find a “sister” here in Kentucky.

25. I love being in my 30s and feel that life keeps getting better and better with each passing year. I feel much younger than I am, although my body reminds me now and then that I’m not in my early 20s anymore.

A poem from Natalie

Natalie brought me this the other day. It wasn't an assignment for school. She just wrote it because she wanted to. Sometimes it's great to be a Mom.

Mom
A Poem Written Especially For You
By: Natalie

A mother isn't someone who just cleans up after you, but is much, much more.
She is the person you hug when you come home after school.
The person whose voice you hear whispering in your head while falling asleep.
The sun that ends the rainstorms.
The first glimpse of color in the springtime.
A mother is all that, but even more.

She is the water providing for your heart and needs.
The colorful leaves that fall in the autumn breeze.
The moon that gives forth light to those around her.
The twinkling starts that are gazed upon.
The flower sprouting beautifully although surrounded by darkness.
A mother is all that, but even more.

A mother is the feeling of love that helps me to grow and learn,
preparing me to spread my wings when it is time and fly for my dreams.

What a wonderfully Wicked Day!

My amazing husband, Raymond, gave me a wonderful Christmas present. He gave me two tickets to go see the musical Wicked. I took my best friend Taralie with me.


The show was on January 31st. We had the most wonderful day! On the drive up to Louisville, we saw lots of snow and damaged trees from the ice storm that hit Kentucky earlier in the week. Many power lines were still covered in ice. When we got to Louisville (despite my poor attempt at navigating), we had lunch at a great little place called Bristol Bar and Grille. We weren't sure where to eat, but we followed some well dressed ladies and figured they would know a good place to eat, and sure enough, they picked a good one :) We had fun picking out the groups of ladies in the restaurant that we were sure were also going to see Wicked. The food was sooo yummy. We asked the waitress for recommendations for appetizers, and she definitely pointed us in the right direction. We ate Green Chili Won Tons with Guacamole and Artichoke Fritters with Remoulade. It was sooo delicious! For entrees we had Chicken Florentine and Pork Dijonnaise. It was an excellent choice! After lunch, we walked to the Kentucky Center where the musical was being performed. The show was absolutely fabulous. We had very high expectations because of all the great things that we had heard about it before we went, and it exceeded our expectations! Galinda was played by Katie Rose Clarke, and Elphaba was played by Donna Vivino. They were so great. We couldn't believe how much Katie Rose Clarke looked and sounded like Kristen Chenoweth. This was definitely up to par with a show you would see on Broadway in New York City. Right before intermission was the big number "Defying Gravity," which blew us away. One of the things I didn't realize about Wicked before the show, was how much humor there is in it. We were laughing and smiling and holding back the tears all through the show.


After the show, we actually had issues finding the parking garage (I'm still not sure how that happens.) We didn't mind, though, because we had a pleasant walk through a beautiful snowy courtyard.


When we finally found our parking garage and car, we drove to Mall St. Matthews to hang out for awhile and get dinner. We got on the list to eat at The Cheesecake Factory and then did some shopping while we waited for our table. Our dinner was worth the 75 minute wait. I ordered Orange Chicken, and Taralie had Bang Bang Chicken and Shrimp . For dessert, we had cheesecake, of course. We picked Adam's Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple! Yummy! I think we made excellent choices for food all day. I have to say that was the best Christmas present ever! Thank you soooo much to my sweetheart Raymond for giving me tickets to see Wicked, and thank you to Taralie for coming with me and making it such a fabulous day!

Celine!

On January 13th, Raymond and I went with our good friends Mike and Taralie to see Celine Dion in concert in Nashville! We had been looking forward to this since last January, and we were not disappointed! Celine puts on a fabulous show! Before the show, we went to dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory. It was the 40th anniversary of Old Spaghetti Factory, so the meals were 40 percent off! It was definitely a bargain of a meal! We walked from the restaurant to the Sommet Center for the concert. It was supposed to start at 8:00. The opening act went on a little long and then when he left the stage at 8:30, we thought Celine would come right out. However, she didn't come on until a little after 9:00. She came out with a bang, though, singing "I Drove All Night." Celine sang lots of old favorites and some new ones as well. Celine is definitely just as good or better in person as she is in the recording studio. Her voice blew me away. I think my favorite moments were when she went acapella on the song "All By Myself" and when she sang "The Prayer" with Andrea Bocelli. His part was prerecorded and shown on the large screen, but she sang live along with him. She sang "My Heart Will Go On" for the encore. It was amazing! The concert was definitely worth the wait!