Enrichment Activity & Super Saturday

CRAFTS ACTIVITY IN FERRON

A few months ago, my mom had asked if I could teach a class for her ward's Relief Society. She had seen a project I had made called "THE EXPLODING BOX". So for the last few weeks I designed the project, bought product the pieces, typed up instructions and then assembled kits.
Thursday I drove down to Ferron and finally got to teach the project to 37 women. I was a bit nervous when we first began, but as I went along I seemed to get in a groove and I think over all it went very well. All the women seemed to complete their boxes without many mistakes.

SUPER SATURDAY IN SOUTH JORDAN

My friend Sandra and I had been asked if we could design a Christmas scrapbook for our ward's Super Saturday. So at the Expo in September we purchased the product and designed the pages and then we both just went on with our busy lives. I was busy during this week prepping for the exploding box activity and Sandra, bless her soul, cut all the pieces for our class...25 kits...last night I went to house and helped collate everything and got it bagged up.

This morning was our Super Saturday. Luckily the women that signed up for the class were familiar with scrapbooking and were able to assemble their pages from the display and the photo copies that Sandra made for them at 10:30 pm last night, we were able to gt some of the projects that we had signed up for completed.I would love to share what I made, but some of them are Christmas Gifts, sorry, BUT our ward did have some wicked cute crafts this year.

Dear Mr. President

The beginning of October , we were at my parent's house. While we were there, I was sharing with Belle some of the mementos I have from my childhood. I showed her a booklet about the White House and Ronald Reagan that I had received when I was 9 years old. I received it in response to the letter and birthday card that I had sent to the then President Reagan. She was so amazed that the President had sent me mail. So I told her she could do the same thing. So when we got home later that weekend, she put pen to paper and wrote to her letter to President Bush.

It was quite cute, she told him about school and her siblings and sent a school picture along with the letter. Weeks went by and Belle would check the mail for her response from the President. Both Steve and I told her that it could be a while before she would received a response. I wish you could have seen her reaction when I handed her the large manila envelope today as she returned home from school. Of course I took pictures before she opened the envelope.

She read and examined every word in the letter and was thrilled to get a photograph of the President "from" the President. As she put the letter and photo back in the large envelope she declared that this was "the coolest thing that has ever happened" to her. As her mom, I have to say, it was one of the coolest things for me to watch my daughters face light up when we received that envelope...so thank you Mr. President for making my little girl's day and a memory that maybe she will be able to share with her daughter in 26 years!!!

The Kids Version of Stock Trading

Last night the Trick-O-Treat candy came out. The kids arranged the stash on the table and then the trading began. It soon became obvious which candies were each child's favorite.

Becky is a Butterfinger girl

Katie is a KitKat girl

Belle is a Hershey girl

Zack love his Reese's Peanut Butter Cups

It did get a little loud as they kids announced what they were willing to trade and the others would respond with their counter offers. The most interesting trade was a HUGE rice crispy treat for 6 fun size candy bars. It was fun to watch the children play they game and make their trades. This is definitely one of those memories I hope they will cherish once they are older and parents themselves.

Christmas Lights

Saturday was a beautiful day here in Utah. And Steve decided it was the perfect time to climb up on the house and hang our Christmas lights. When I came out to give moral support, I found not only Steve on our roof, but Zack had joined him. Most years, when Steve gets around to hanging the lights, it is freezing with a chilly breeze, so this was perfect. I sat on my lawn chair, read my book and watched as the two guys stringed lights and extension cords around the house.

It was cool to watch the two guys in my life work together. Zack is quickly becoming a little man. I think he actually was a bit of a help for Steve. For those who read my previous post, no worries, we did not turn on the Christmas lights... but I am counting and its only 18 more days until the lights can be plugged in. I will post pictures of our house lit up then...

Christmas Music and My Blog Crush

So today, November 1st, I got into my car and drove to the store. I scanned the radio looking for a good song to listen to. And I found it on KOSY 106.5. They have begun to play their Christmas music. Now I know that they are some out there that find this quite disturbing, BUT I look forward every year to the playing of Christmas music on the radio. I enjoy Christmas music so much that I sometimes will put a Christmas CD in the summer. The music just makes me happy. I have a pretty good collection Christmas music, but there is something about having it 24/7 on the radio that just makes me happy. If there are any of you out there that are jonesing for some holiday cheer...

LISTEN HERE!!!

So yesterday I went to Laurie's BLOG. Her topic was BLOG CRUSHES. And as I read about her crush with Heather D. White and knew exactly what she was talking about. There are two blogs that I enjoy popping into.

The 1st was Laurie's own blog. She just seems so stinkin cute. She is very creative. And has the cutest family.

She has a second site TIP JUNKIE, which has some of the coolest ideas and projects. I love that she likes to show off her ideas, but even more it has been a place that she shows you what other women are doing with their talents. That so ROCKS!!! She seems like a person that enjoys life and has inspired me on days when I am lacking inspiration.

The 2nd one is Kristi's EVERYTHING IS PINK . I have been in love with this site since my first visit. She loves finding treasures at Goodwill. She has the 2nd cutest of girls (mine are of course number one). I have gotten to see some of the sites in Washington DC. She introduced me to Hannah Anderson catalog via her blog.

She has started PINK CHRISTMAS. It is a gift swap that she has organized with other bloggers. It is a neat way to reach out and get to know other women out there.


She also ran in her 1st marathon a few weeks ago. I have been so inspired by her accomplishment. She writes up her blog entries so well, that as I read about her race I could feel the pride she had in herself. I actually cried as I read about it.

I hope you will pop into these ladies blogs and see why I think they are so awesome. Or even share with me who's blog you love so I can add it to my list. I love the time that I live in. I love that we can log into our computer and meet and learn from other women.

Halloween Festivities

The beginning of October and the costumes box was raided by our kids. Belle found the Zombie mask and decided she would re-wear her Dorothy costume from last year. She even had a skull in her basket to take the place of Toto. Zack found the claws and decided that it would be fun to be the Grim Reaper.

Katie and Becky opted to spend their gift cards to buy new costumes. Becky had gotten a black Webkin for her birthday and decided a witch costume would be fun to buy. Katie wanted to be a Fairy of Woodland Creature to go along with her Bunny Webkin.

Friday at the kid's school was the Halloween Parade. It was fun to see all the kids in costumes. Definitely Dorothy is a big favorite again this year.

Last night was our Ward Halloween Party. We started with a soup dinner. Then each family made a tombstone to help in getting to know each other's families (Our boundaries have changed, so we only know half the people in our ward right now) Zack took charge of making ours and Belle read it to everyone. Once this activity was done, the parents went out to their trunks and prepared for the trick-o-treaters. I had hung Christmas lights in my trunk and a even set up a little skeleton. I really love watching all the little kids come around and ask for their treats. It definitely was a good time.

SCRAPAWAY

On Thursday I packed up all of scrapping stuff (3 rolling bags, my tools case, a hard tote and 2 other bags) and my friend Suzanne picked me up and we were off to Heber for SCRAPAWAY. There is this cabin that a woman rents out. She has tables set up for scrapping, beds to sleep in and meals are provided. Sandra and some of her friends had planned this get away in the beginning of the year and extended the invitation to Suzanne, me and some of the other ladies in the neighborhood.

Once we got all of our gear up the stairs to the loft area where we would be scrapping, Suzanne and I got to work. I wanted to finish up the Mesa Verde album I had started in July after our trip there and I also wanted to make a tribute album of my father-in-law. I brought TONS of projects to work on and planned to take advantage of my uninterrupted scrapping time.

On Saturday night everyone took a break from our focused scrapbooking to just be silly. Some of Sandra's friends are just "nuts", but I loved it. It reminded me of my girls in Maine and the silliness we use to have together. There was some impromptu gymnastics, reenactments of Saturday Night Live Skits, and silly photos

Our hostess, Marcie, prepared all of our meals and just SPOILED us. She had a little dinner bell that she would ring when everything was ready to go. It seriously was like eating in a restaurant: yummy food, beverage of your choice, and you did not have to do the dishes...WHooHoooo!!!! She was just the nicest lady and seemed to enjoy putting these events on. There were all sorts of goodies to snack on if we should happen to get the munchies.

In the 2 nights we were there I think Suzanne and I slept about 8 hours. The first night we went to bed about 4:00 am and rised out of bed at 7:45 am, brushed my teeth and went back to work. Then we stayed up with Sandra the second night until after 4:00 am chatting and laughing. Then I awoke on Saturday morning at 8:00 am and tried to get a little more scrapbooking done before I had to pack everything up to come home to Steve and the kids.

It snowed the morning we were to leave our little retreat. It cleared up just in time for us to drive off the mountain. It was such a fun weekend. I met some very nice women, got to know Suzanne and Sandra a little better. They are both the sweetest girls and I am so grateful for the weekend we got to spend together.

First Snow of the Season

Every Saturday for the past month it has been rainy and a couple of those days it even snowed a little, but did not really stick. This morning as I walked down the stairs I heard Christmas music playing on the stereo. And as I walk toward the back door what did I see? My yard covered in a blanket of snow. It was beautiful but I am not sure I am ready to put away the capris and flip flops.

The kids were so excited for the snow this morning that they ate their breakfast and then went out to the garage to find the snow suits, gloves and boots. Then out they went to have a snowball fight. Katie rolled a large snowball and left it in a shaded area of the yard to preserve her treasure while we were at church.

It was a beautiful and fresh morning. Most of the snow has melted now and all that are left are the few snapshots I took this morning and our anticipation of more snow in the up coming months.

Katie's Harvest

This year Katie has developed a green thumb. It all started with her tomatoes. Steve bought each of the children a tomato plant. Katie was the one that was so intune with tending her pant. The first thing she would do when she came home from school was go out and water her plants. She was the first one to get tomatoes off her plant.

Then a few weeks ago I walked out our back garage door and saw this HUGE pumpkin vine that had taken over that section of the yard. Lo and Behold, under all the leaves and vines was the biggest pumpkin I had even seen grown in our yard. Later I found out that it was Katie's. Steve had given her a couple of seeds and and this is what they had produced.

YOWZERS!!!

I have loved seeing the pride she as in her accomplishment. We have put the pumpkin into our front yard so it can orange up. Katie has talked about wanting to carve her treasure. Watch for the next blog entry...

Steve's Marathon

Our friend, Brian, told Steve that he should try to run in the St. George Marathon, that the course was great and different from the course that Steve had ran in Salt Lake. So in May Steve registered to run in the St. George Marathon. He began to train, but in July he began to have problems with his hip. As October 6 began to approach, the problem had not completely subsided and within a week or two of the marathon we began to wondered whether we should cancel our hotel reservations.

Well, yesterday was October the 6th and we had driven to St.George the day before. Steve's hip had been feeling relatively fine, but we were not sure how his hip would take 26.2 miles. He woke up at 4:00 am and met our friends Brian and Suzanne in the front of our hotel to get a ride to the starting line. I slept another hour and then got dressed and brought my iPod and a book to the finish line and found a spot on a bleacher to spend the next 2 1/2 hours as I waited for Steve to cross the finish line.

His time for the Salt Lake Marathon had been 3:29, so because of Steve's injury and lack of preparation for this race I was not expecting him to cross until after 3 1/2 hours. As we rounded the 3 hour point I began to keep my eyes open for our friends Brian and Suzanne. Then at 3:14, as I was scanning the runners there he was. I was shocked!! I SCREAMED his name a couple of times and then yelled, "I LOVE YOU!!" He kind of turned my way, but still kept focus on the finish line.

When I finally met up with him, he was spent. Almost seemed a little dazed. I would talk to him and it was almost like he couldn't comprehend what I was saying. I think he was proud of himself, but also questioning whether he was crazy for doing this.

I was so proud of him!! his finishing time was 3:14:55, this gives him a qualifying time for the Boston Marathon (by 5 seconds)...so who knows, maybe in April 2008 I will be blogging his results from Boston.

A Double Baptism

Where has the time gone? My "babies" Katie and Becky turned 8 years old just a few weeks ago. It doesn't seem like that long ago that I had spent 3 1/2 weeks in the hospital waiting for their arrival. And then the came with their little hospital beanies on. The nurses had written Katherine and Rebecca on the caps so we could keep them straight. They were so little and beautiful. I knew that they would be depending on me for so much. And now those little girls are 8 and were so excited to be baptized and officially become members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

They came downstairs about 40 minutes before the baptism was to begin, dressed in the white jumpers that the Primary had brought over for us to use. They had this twinkle of excitement in their eyes. I tied their hair back with a white little ribbon so their hair would not float up.

Once at the church we said hello to some of the friends that were there. Because the baptism was happening in the middle of the week, some of our friends had other commitments and could not attend. One very special friend came in a t-shirt and jeans. I know she felt awkward of her appearance, but her appearance meant the world to me. My mother and father both spoke to the girls about baptism and confirmation and they did such an awesome job.

Their primary teacher put together a DVD of pictures and the girl's favorite primary song playing. I just boobed through the whole thing. The 2 photos that hit me like a punch in the gut was 1st a picture of Zack, Belle, Katie and Becky laying on the floor. the girls are not quite 1 years old and Zack and Belle have that baby fat, toddler look to them. Then at the end of the DVD was a photo from a few months ago on the first day of school. They looked so grown up. And I sat their trying to figure out where all the time had gone.

Chocolate Shakes & Onion Rings

On October 3, 1993, I had gone to Incahoots after work. I was hoping to see Steve there. We needed a chance to talk and a dance club is not a great place to have a conversation, so we drove over to a little diner named Kooky's because I was craving onion rings and a shake. We walked in, place our order and began to chat. We got back into my little red Paseo and drove back over to Incahoots and sat in the parking lot and finished our conversation. I said I need to go home and eat my onion rings and shake and Steve needed to go back into the club because his brother was in there. BUT before he got out of the car he turned to me and said, "should I tell Shelly I have a girlfriend?" (Shelly was a girl that was interested in him and he had spent some time hanging out with) And I said, "Yes, you should tell her you have a girlfriend." And then I drove away.

We now try to celebrate the date that Steve and I began dating exclusively by going somewhere and buying chocolate shakes and onion rings. The kids have even gotten into it. They know exactly what we mean when we mention onion rings and shakes. It is a fun little tradition that means the world to me. It is pretty yummy too!!