Deperate Times...

Aubrey has shown very little interest in potty training. By this age, Jenna was very confident in her ability to pee in the potty. In a desperate attempt to interest Aubrey in the potty, I put some blue sprinkles (like you decorate cakes with) into the potty. They dissolve a little and turn the water blue. Aubrey's goal is to turn the water green. She loves it! So far it is helping her want to be in the bathroom. We'll see what happens next...

Wild West Jordan Park

We went to a fun park with Kat and her kids last week- Wild West Jordan park. Here is what we found!

Can you fin the kids on the porch?

Our wild woman, Aubrey.

Aubrey and Zach played so cute together!

Makayla on the swingLydia

Pioneer children sing but don't talk, don't talk, don't talk....

This was a really fun park that was big enough for the parents to enjoy, too.

Six months already

Lydia is six months old today. I can't believe how the time has flown! She had a check up today and is perfect! She is right at 50% for her height (25 1/4 in) and weight (16 lbs 5 oz) and 75 % for her head circumference (17 inches). She is starting to enjoy cereal and baby food more. She tries to roll, but HATES being on her tummy. She sits for a little while before tipping over. (Darn giant head!) Still not much hair to speak of. She smiles and giggles and talks to us all day. So sweet!!

She is such an angel! I can't imagine our family without her. When I think at how close we came to losing her or me when she was born, it really scares me! So many things can go wrong, but we are so blessed!

Here are some recent pictures of her.

First shot at the tooth fairy

Jenna lost her first tooth last night and could hardly wait to collect her dollar! (She informed us that is the going rate) The TF almost missed the boat, but luckily she was awake at 5:15 and remembered and stopped by for a visit.

Here's Jenna's new smile.


Here's the note she got.

We are experiencing technical difficulties. The pics might have to wait...

Ward Party

We had an awesome ward party last night! It was officially called a dutch oven cook off & dessert contest sponsored by the Elder's Quorum and Relief Society. In other words, my sweet husband was at the mercy of my party-planning fetish.

We had an amazing turn-out! I lost track at 120 people as I was counting. We had 40 families represented, which is unheard of in our ward. (some Sundays we are around 60 people when church starts.)

We have wonderful neighbors and it was so fun to enjoy so many of them at once!

Hopefully the you can see the slide show and see how much fun we had!

Thanks to all who participated, and especially Kim & Lisa for all the phone calls to the ward members. Thanks also to Jill Arveseth as well as the Brighton Pointe Ward- their ward parties were the inspiration for this one.

Trying something new

boys vs girls

Here's a brief observation. On Sunday, we had some friends over and we were playing Disney's Scene It. One of the other couples has all boys, we have all girls. It was so funny to see the difference in movie choice/knowledge. Tim and I knew Mulan & Cinderella like the back of our hands and they knew Chicken Little and some others that now escape my mind. I thought it was so funny! I had forgotten how much of what we watch is determined by the little girls!

By the way, that game was really fun! It was something we could all play together, including all the kids. (We had 3-6 year-olds) Jenna even beat us on a few clues, including Cinderella and Holes. Thanks Aimi and Joe for bringing the game and thanks Colleen and Russ for staying to

play!

Trying to be smarter

In an attempt to jump-start my brain before possibly going back to school next fall, I have decided to read more. I was watching Studio 5 on KSL last week and they had a list of 10 classic books every woman should read. I love to read, and I thought this would be a better way to choose books than randomly picking things up as I chase Aubrey through the library.

I am starting with Mrs Dalloway and hope to read most if not all of them eventually. I have included the list below. I'm not sure about Little Women. People rave about it, but I've never been particularly interested. I think growing up with three sisters and later living with up to 9 other girls at a time in college, I haven't needed more female drama ona grand scale. we'll see when I get there.

One of my all-time favorite books is number 4 on the list- that makes me feel a wee bit smarter than I did an hour ago. Ü

The librarian that presented the list has a blog. The link is at the end of this post.

See if there's something that interests you. Post your book review here, if you'd like.



Criteria: published at least 50 years ago; strong female protagonist; a woman's place or experience in history, family, society, and religion.

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (1813) British "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single gentleman in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife," is how Austen begins her unforgettable comedic satire of the marriage mart in Regency England. The Bennets have five marriageable daughters but which sister will the wealthy Mr. Bingley and his even wealthier friend Mr. Darcy choose?

2. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (1847) British Jane Eyre becomes a governess at Thornfield Hall where she is irresistibly drawn to her older employer Mr. Rochester, who appears to care for her in return, however, the secrets of his past could destroy them both.

3. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys (1966) Dominican Written as a prequel to Jane Eyre, Rhys tells the history of Bertha Antoinette Mason and allows the reader to decide whether she was "mad" or misunderstood.

4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960) American Miss Maudie explains to Scout that, "Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy. They don't eat up people's gardens, don't nest in corncribs, they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird" (98). In this Pulitzer Prize-winning coming of age story, Scout learns what it means to kill a mockingbird when her father Atticus Finch defends a black man accused of raping a white woman in a small Alabama town during the 1930s.

5. Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (1925) British This novel about one day begins with Mrs. Dalloway buying flowers. Throughout the day the reader learns about Clarissa Dalloway's past and present life from her own thoughts to the thoughts of those around her as she prepares for her party that night. Meanwhile, Septimus Harding a "mad" war veteran talks to a tree and makes a decision that affects everyone around him, including Clarissa Dalloway, who he's never met.

6. Middlemarch by George Eliot (1871) British As the title suggests this book is not about one character but a town. Middlemarch has people from all social classes all who ambitions for careers, politics, and love. Dorothea Brooke is a privileged girl who longs to do something great and good so she marries the much older Mr. Casaubon hoping to be of some use to the world, however, she finds herself more confined then before.

7. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (1868) American The story of four very different sisters during the middle of the 19th century. Jo March is rough and wild and wants to be a writer. Meg March is the eldest and resentful of the family's poverty. Beth March is quiet and often overlooked until a kind neighbor gives her a piano to play. Amy March is the youngest and the most spoiled. Together the sisters play, fight, fall in love, and grow up.

8. The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton (1905) American Lily Bart is 29 years old, beautiful, of high social standing, but has no money. She must marry a wealthy man and soon. Can she sacrifice herself to the expectations of society and her own standards of comfort?

9. Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell (1848) British Henry Carlson, the son of a factory owner, flirted with Mary Barton a factory worker. Carlson is found shot. Who killed him? Jem Wilson who has loved Mary all his life? Or John Barton, Mary's father, who is a radical trades unionist fighting against the higher classes? Read the story that Charles Dickens found so compelling that he wrote to Elizabeth Gaskell and asked her to write for his magazine.

10. Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery (1908) Canadian Anne spelled with an ‘E' is, as Mark Twain observed, "the dearest and most lovable child in fiction since the immortal Alice." Brought to Prince Edward Island by mistake, Anne must convince Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert to adopt her. All would be well if Anne could stay out of scrapes, like dyeing her hair green, long enough for Marilla to make up her mind.

For more recommendations check my "Bewitched Librarian" blog: http://www.lady-lefroy.blogspot.com/_______________________________________________________

About Jim

So, my dad called and Jim is ok, all things considered. He has a badly broken arm that will require surgery. His hip and shoulder are really banged up, but apparently ok. A city truck didn't see him and hit him. He's going to be ok. Sorry for the panic, sisters.

Doom's Day

We have decided to skip September 11th next year. It already has bad memories for the nation as a whole, and today has been a stinky day.

The transmission in our van went out this morning- bad noise followed by no gears. As the tow truck was driving away Aubrey was crying, "Vanny, I miss our van..." It took 10 minutes and a few calls to Grandmas to calm her down. I never knew she was so fond... Anyway, in $2500 our van should be feeling much better.


To put that into perspective, my dad just called to tell me that he is on his way to the hospital because his brother, Jim was hit by a truck while riding his bike. The only information he had is that Jim was breathing. Whether that is with a ventilator or not, I don't know.

I still have to go to Riverton to pick up Tim at 6:00 and then I have an Enrichment Committee meeting at my (dirty) house at 7:00 and Tim has a stake meeting at 9:30. Ahhh!

Luckily I got a good night's sleep, oh wait....

Things can only get better tomorrow, right?

Ojala que si.

Maintain a healthy level of insanity

20 Ways To Maintain A Healthy Level Of Insanity

1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.

2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don't Disguise Your Voice.

3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, ask If They Want Fries with that.

4. Put Your Garbage Can On Your Desk And Label it "In".

5. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks Once Everyone has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch to Espresso.

6. In The Memo Field Of All Your Checks , Write " For Smuggling Diamonds".

7. Finish All Your sentences with "In Accordance With The Prophecy".

8. Don't use any punctuation.

9. As Often As Possible, Skip Rather Than Walk.

10. Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face.

11. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is "To Go".

12. Sing Along At The Opera.

13. Go To A Poetry Recital. And Ask Why The Poems Don't Rhyme?

14. Put Mosquito Netting Around Your Work Area and play tropical sounds All Day.

15. Five days in advance, tell your friends you can't attend their party because you're not in the mood.

16. Have Your Co-workers Address You By Your Wrestling Name, Rock Bottom.

17. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream "I Won! I Won!"

18. When Leaving The Zoo, Start Running Towards The Parking lot, yelling "Run For Your Lives! They're Loose!"

19. Tell Your Children Over Dinner, "Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go."

20. And The Final Way To Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity ..

Send This To Someone To Make Them Smile.

Its Called ... therapy.

Hope you enjoyed that. It made me laugh!