October 31, 2009

This is Halloween....

Have a wonderful hauntful Halloween. It's our favorite! (Halloween, 4th of July and Christmas are all really big with my family).



The witch is my mom, I'm a nerdy librarian, Zach is a dragon, Kat is a vampire, Jade is the Corpse Bride, Luke is the Grim Reaper, Ivy is a Belly Dancer and Harrison is a Vampire Skeleton.


Happy Halloween from all of us!

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Ever wonder what I do at work?

I spend my days with these people. They only dress like this once a year. (I'm really glad that it's only once- we didn't get very much work done today)- but the girls got a lot of candy.



HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

October 30, 2009

Reading together

While Jade is in school, Ivy has been going to story time at the library. She gets to memorize different poems each week and pass them off for a treat. She's really loves repeating them for us and we have multiple poems on film now.
Jade doesn't want to be left out of the fun, so while Ivy recites them, Jade enjoys reading them. If she starts struggling with a word, Ivy will help her sweetly.
It is so fun watching both girls so absorbed in learning. They both find so much joy in learning and helping each other learn. Jade has a math mind and Ivy has a mind for words.

Happy Halloween!

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October 29, 2009

Smart Cookie...

Apparently I am a sucker for a good cookie. A dear friend of mine introduced me to Smart Cookies. I'm in love.
The other day I took the girls and Miss Kim to top off our pizza with a sweet treat. The girls both got ice cream and we loaded up on different cookies. The sugar cookies are soft and yummy. There are several different frosting flavors that are all really good. I love that you are not limited to sugar cookies- they have a wonderful selection of milk chocolate chip cookies and semi sweet chocolate cookies with toffee bits, with oatmeal, with nuts -- so many yummy choices.
The girls loved the decor and spent the whole time trying to guess who was in the photographs on the wall. Smart Jade even knew who Amelia Earhart was.

Best Street Display!

My Aunt sent me these pictures of some Mormon Missionaries somewhere in Russia. I would have loved to do that street display with the elders. I can only imagine how successful it would have been.
When I was in the Ukraine, as a missionary, we weren't allowed to do street displays. There were two ways that we could find people to share the gospel with, the first was referrals. Referrals were a fantastic way to find interested people, because they already knew a little about the Church because of their friend. The other way was much harder, we could stop people on the street and ask them about whether or not they believed in God. It was not an easy way to start a conversation.



October 28, 2009

Jade and the Sun Flower

Do you ever stop to think about the little things that make your kids happy? Jade, very often surprises me by the ways she finds entertainment.
We were spending the evening at my parent's house. Dad had left a great big sunflower head on the table outside. While everyone else was busy inside, Jade disappeared. We found her sitting quietly on the table, plucking seeds out of the sunflower so that she could feed the birds. She worked very hard on it and was being very serious.
A couple of days later we were back at my folk's house and the first thing she did was run out to the table to see how the birds had feasted on her offering. She was thrilled to find many of the seeds were gone.
I was really glad that mom and dad left her mess so that she could enjoy it days later.
What are some of the funny things your kids do for entertainment?


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October 27, 2009

When will it end?

Honestly, I understand that ice is the limiting factor, but that is a lot of snow on Timp to be playing in the water. These boys are truly insane and I'm shocked neither has come down with some awful head cold. I will divulge that Scott's legs were much more sore after this freezing cold outing than they typically are. Or, maybe it wasn't the cold that caused the pain, maybe it was because he was pushing himself so hard. What do you think?



October 26, 2009

A friend was sealed...

There are many things about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints that really make me happy and grateful to be a Mormon. The other day I was blessed to have the opportunity to attend a sealing at the Oquirrh Mountain Temple.

A sealing is a marriage that takes place for not only time on this earth but for the eternities. It is a blessing that ties you together with your spouse and children after you have left this earth. It is a very special occasion for all who choose to enter into this covenant.

If you would like to read more about what goes on in the Mormon Temples, click here and read about it.

Kris and Dennis have been through a lot to get to sealed for eternity. Sitting in the room with them and their family and friends was so beautiful. The love in Dennis' eyes as he looked at his lovely wife was so touching and sweet. The gentlemen that was conducting the ordinance was so inspiring. He told them to remember that each of them are alive because of each other and that if things get difficult, remember that they are here for one another.

I loved getting to share that very special day with them. Thank you for inviting me, Kris and Dennis. You are an amazing couple!







October 25, 2009

Blue Lemon- Yum!

Melissa and I ventured out and tried the Blue Lemon in Highland. First impressions were very good. The decor was very fun and very beautiful. Then we looked at the menu and it was so enticing- there were so many amazing looking choices. We narrowed it down to the Chelle’s Famous Vegetable Lasagna and Blue Lemon Portobello Burger with Sweet Potato Fries on the side. We wanted to try the soups but knew that we had more than enough food, so we just sampled the Tomato Bisque and the Butternut Squash. Oh my goodness, the Butternut Squash was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.
Everything about the meal was fantastic. I would really recommend going to the Blue Lemon for a wonderful meal.
After the meal we walked over to the Bistro and enjoyed a cupcake and an eclair. The treats were fine, but not my favorite. But, their specialty drinks looked wonderful and next time I'll finish my meal with one of those instead of a baked good.



Crazy Hair Day!



I love Red Ribbon Week at Renaissance. I love that Jade has so much fun doing every day's theme.

Monday was Performance Dress Day with Red Ribbons. (Jade missed that one because she had a fever all weekend).
Tuesday was Inside Out Day. She couldn't believe that there were kids that didn't participate.
Wednesday was Crazy Hair Day. As you can tell she really got into that. We put a cup under her ponytail and we have some "Bratz" hair color that washes out with water.
Thursday was Mismatch Day and they didn't have to wear uniforms. She wore jeans, a flowered skirt, a long sleeved shirt and a tank top over it. Jade thought it was a blast getting to wear crazy clothes.
Friday was All Dressed in Red Day. She has been looking forward to wearing her cozy red sweatsuit all week.

It's crazy to think about the theme days we had when I was in school. We had 50's Day, Pajama Day, Backwards Day and as I got older we added Hippie Day. Maybe we should bring theme days into the office. It might be a lot of fun- the closest we have is Halloween in the office and that is pretty fun too.
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October 24, 2009

We have a mouse problem...

I got a text from Miss Kim telling me that a mouse had come out of the fireplace. Another time I got a text telling me one had just ran down the stairs. Then another came telling me that a mouse had run from under the fridge into the pantry.
I hate mice. They creep me out.
So Scott got several mouse traps and we waited. The first night we had the traps set, we were all sitting in the family room watching a show, when we saw a little mouse running really fast behind the TV. I jumped on the couch and the girls followed me. Scott blocked the mouse from running away and the trap went snap. I screamed so the girls screamed. Then we scampered upstairs and hid.
Jade decided she had to see the mouse but she remained scared.
Since that first mouse, we have trapped 6 of them. I think we're free of mice for now, but we will have to find out how they are getting in and block it off.
The girls won't go into the bathroom by themselves because they are afraid there might be a mouse in there. In fact one night, I had to go and turn on the lights at 2 am for Jade.

We can't continue with the girls being scared to do anything, so Scott came up with a really great idea. He took us to the PetsMart to hold a mouse and get past the fears of mice. It was a lot of fun and the girls decided that they really really want a guinea pig and are adding it to the Christmas list.

Are they still afraid of mice? Will they go into a dark bathroom by themselves? Yes- still afraid and no- won't go alone. Sigh, it was a great idea and maybe we'll have to try it again.



October 23, 2009

Haunted Train Ride...

In preparation for Halloween we went on the Heber Creepers Haunted Canyon. The weather was great and almost everyone had a great time. Jade and Ivy loved everything about the ride. They loved the ghosts, the ghouls and the werewolves. Harrison raved about the characters and Luke covered his eyes the whole time.
It was fun hearing all of the stories about the haunted canyon. Some of them were more believable than others, but all were fun.
My only complaint is that it only lasted 35 minutes round trip.

October 22, 2009

Halloween PJ's

Last Halloween, my mom made the grandkids adorable pj's and nightgowns. This year, she made everyone really cute pj bottoms and got them halloween t-shirts. The girls LOVE them and look so cute in them.
Last year I had a hard time getting cute pictures of them in their pj's and this year proved just as difficult. Ivy is going through a funny stage where she loves to be "crazy" for pictures. And if you let her do her crazy ones, she still won't be "pretty" for a picture. So- here are the fruits of my photographing labor.
Silly spooks.