Magnetic rocks?

(Excuse the glare)


Tim, being tall, occasionally sets things on top of the car or van. I, being short, never see them from my vantage point. This was the case when Tim set a baggie full of geodes and fossil-filled rocks that he found during the deer hunt on top of the van last night.

I had no idea they were there until I looked out the window this afternoon and saw them atop the van, which was parked in the driveway.

Now this might not seem noteworthy except that in between I took Jenna to school, went to the grocery store a few miles away, made two trips to preschool, and one trip through the automatic drive-through car wash!

Towards the end of the car wash I heard a strange thump overhead, but forgot about it by the time we left. I can't believe that the baggie was still there. It was in between the bars of the little luggage rack, but that isn't exactly heavy duty. I am also impressed at the strength of the WalMart brand zipper bag! I should do a commercial!

Rock star super stars

Jenna and Aubrey started tball this week and after tonight's games Aubrey said, "I am the tball rock star all star!" She was pretty proud of her performance!

They are both doing awesome!

In her first game Jenna hit a home run, clear past all the fielders and onto the grass. Tonight she had another big hit out of the infield as the coach pitched- no T! Go Phillies!

Aubrey is also a great hitter and fielder. She is almost the only kid on her team paying attention and always fields the hits and throws the ball to first base. Go Brewers! (or Bluebirds, as Aubrey calls the team)

They are having a great time! So far, this is way better than soccer!

Interview with Aubrey

My sisters interviewed their little ones and I thought it was funny so I thought I'd give it a try to. Aubrey answered all of these questions herself- some are a little strange, but here you go.

1. What is something that mom always says to you? Clean up your room.
2. What makes mom happy? When I do it. (clean room)
3. What makes mom sad? When I don't do it.
4. How does your mom make you laugh? Do silly stuff
5. What was your mom like as a child? me
6. How old is your mom? 52
7. How tall is your mom? Up to here.
8. What is her favorite thing to do? Watch me
9. What does your mom do when your not around? sew
10. If your mom becomes famous what will it be for? for your family
11. What is your mom really good at? cutting, sewing
12. What is your mom not very good at? doing hair sometimes
13. What does your mom do for her job? This one is kind of tricky
14. What is your moms favorite food? green beans
15. What makes you proud of your mom? for doing something she asked you to
16. If your mom was a cartoon character who would she be? Daisy Duck
17. What do you and your mom do together? watch tv
18. How are you and your mom the same? Because we like each other
19. How are you and your mom different? Sometimes we don't watch tv with each other.
20. How do you know your mom loves you? you always help me do stuff
21. What does your mom like most about your dad? That he gives you kisses
22. Where is your moms favorite place to go? McDonald's

Twirly skirts

I just found a new sewing project for us to try. These twirly skirts look so cute and the tutorial makes them look very easy. The person I found them from said this was the first time she has sewn clothes and they were easy. Get out that machine!

The world according to Jenna

The things this girl comes up with!

A few weeks ago she came to me with a very serious tone and asked what the disease was called when you used your computer too much. Huh? I asked a few follow up questions to try and figure out what she was talking about.

Then she told me this:
My teachers computer- the kind that folds in half (I assume a lap top) is sick. She used it too much and now it is sick and doesn't work. It has computer asthma.

At this point I was trying not to laugh out loud because she was obviously very concerned about this poor computer. I think her teachers computer has a virus, but perhaps they have uncovered a new disease. Maybe that's why some computers can't move as fast as others! Darn asthma!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Last night I told Jenna that I didn't feel well and I had a very sore throat.

"Oh, is that from yelling all day, Mom?"

Is that how she perceives me! Some days that might be true, but yesterday that was NOT!

Picture day at preschool

I know I just paid money for another version of this, but here is Aubrey after school on picture day. I wish I had taken this before school when her ringlets were fresh, but she's beautiful either way. We still aren't sure where this long blonde hair came from!

18 months and full steam ahead!

I can't believe 18 months have gone by since my baby joined our family. She wasn't really a plan at the time, but I can't imagine our family without her. Heavenly Father knew right where she needed to be and when!

This kid is a riot! For those who know her, you are my witnesses. She loves to make people laugh and pulls funny faces and does silly things to get you to smile. She LOVES having her picture taken and says "cheese" when someone holds a camera any where near her! If she sees the camera she pulls a funny face, so it is hard to get a natural smile on film.

She never does things half way!


Whether she is climbing to the top of the tallest slide at the park all by herself or reading a book to daddy with animal sound effects, dancing and singing at the top of her lungs with her sisters or eating her favorite foods (which is a full-body experience) she does everything all-out. She also thinks she is five years old and a foot taller, which can be dangerous and scary for the adults nearby!

She idolizes her sisters and wants to be right where they are, much to their dismay at times! They love her so much and play with her like a best friend!

Lydia gives great kisses and won't let daddy leave for work without kisses and hugs. She doesn't want anyone left behind and will stand and beckon "c'mon" and wave her pudgy little hand when she thinks you are falling behind the group. She loves a nice cold 'gilk' (milk), crackos (crackers), and always 'mo pleez' of whatever she's eating. If someone else has a treat she is right there asking 'me too?'

For such a mama's girl, she did great on her first real day of nursery, which I'm not sure I'm completely happy about. Doesn't she still need a mommy?

Lydie, you are an angel who brings light to our lives. Even if you don't have time to stop for kisses in your busy day, we are so glad you are ours! Love you!

What do they have in common?

Here's a puzzle for you. What do alpacas, parade floats, Christmas trees, scrapbooking, and the Salt Lake County Republican party all have in common? Give up?

Not much really, but I have attended events at the Southtown Expo Center for all of them.
(Lame puzzle, huh!)

Thanks, Tim, for being superdad Friday so I could go spend the whole day at the scrapbook expo! I am not a die-hard scrapbooker, but I enjoy it, so having a day to do only that without interruption is really nice!

I got about 22 pages done. Considering I haven't scrapbooked at all in at least two years, that was a major accomplishment. A few months ago we were looking at some of the scrapbooks I have done in the past and Aubrey got sad and asked why there weren't pictures of her, just Jenna. I felt like mother of the year! I dedicated my scrapping to her pics- or the ones I had already printed out from the last time I went to the expo but didn't finish. She was only 4 months old when we got the digital camera, so there are thousands of pictures of her, but they are all in the computer. Anyway, this was my attempt at preserving our heritage a bit and I had a very relaxing day in the process.

It comes again in March. Let me know if you are interested and we can make a date!

Cake Wrecks

OK, so I've blogged too much today, but I found this blog called Cake Wrecks and had to look. I had my own cake disaster recently where I dropped a fully frosted cake on the floor 20 minutes before neighbors were coming over for dessert, so I had to know what this blog was.

It's worse than dropped cakes, it's cakes that survived!

The post that had me laughing uncontrollably was the cupcake cakes. Scroll down to the Curious George/Teen Wolf one. I can hardly type this because I still can't stop laughing!

The other one you have to see is the baby cake. Would you eat that! It's worse than the armadillo cake in Steel Magnolias!

Last, but not least, look at this wedding cake. Yikes!

The girls and I can't look away- so here's the anti-wedding cake!

Scary Big Sale at Carter's

Carter's having a "Scary Big Sale" that you might want to check out. I just got Lydia a new wardrobe for 32.99, including tax. For that price we got 5 short sleeve shirts, two long sleeve shirts, a jumper, three pairs of pants, a fleece jacket, and a bib for a baby gift. That's 13 items!!
Besides the great sale I had a 25% off coupon. If you want one, I can email it to you. It can be dangerous living this close to a Carter's!

Photo tag

My sister Hillary tagged me. What you do is run around and take pictures of certain things in your home right now, as they are. No cleaning them up, be honest now.

First- pictures of what the family is doing right now. Such posers! No one else is home...

Next, pics of my laundry room. (Or rooms as the case may be.) This needed 3 pics. One of the washer, one of the food storage that surrounds the washer and one of the lonely dryer that still lives in the garage. If nothing else I get a little extra exercise on laundry days!

Next- Our bed.

Here's our closet.

A picture of the fridge. I just went grocery shopping!

Me- Thanks Aubs for taking my picture.

Our disaster of a kitchen sink. (I couldn't have picked a worse day to take pictures here!)

There's what my house looks like today. (For shame!) I guess I should turn off the computer and go clean!

I tag Crystal, Melissa, Angela, Clairesse and anyone else who wants to do it!

Brilliant!

Hill, have you ever wondered what you look like when you're having a great idea? Here it is!

Photo by Aubrey Jane

CJ's baby shower

My youngest sister spoiled us all when we had our first babies. Now it is her turn. Courtney and Jake are expecting their first baby (Nathan) at the end of October. We had a shower for her last weekend and I hope she feels like she was pampered a bit. After all she's been through, we wanted to make it special for her!

It was a combination of family and and friends from the ward we grew up in, so we had a good crowd.

Hill, Kat and I made her a diaper cake with 82 diapers, bottles, spoons, lotion, hand sanitizer, gas drops, toys, bottle brush, shirts, hats, bibs, tiny shoes, etc. This was so fun and I hope it was a fun surprise for her. She acted quite surprised when we unveiled it, anyway!

There was plenty of yummy treats. We had the aforementioned cucumber sandwiches, fruit, and cake. You had your choice of a Weight Watcheresque orange cream cake or death by chocolate Triple Fudge cake. Yummy!

A few days earlier, Kat, Court and I made chocolate dipped pretzels for favors. Working together we did about 100 start to finish, wrapped and all in about 90 minutes. With the help of three little ones, that was an impressive time!

Aubrey took about 250 pictures during the shower, so here's her view of opening presents. I could make a play-by-play flip book with her pictures. She didn't miss a thing.!

We have a tradition of tying quilts at these showers so the baby has quilts with a bit of love from everyone. Here are Marcie and Nikki at one of the quilts. Thanks for all the help!

We love you, Court and Jake and are so excited for your new adventure!

First day of school- a month ago

OK, for journaling purposes, this is better late than never.

Jenna and Aubrey both started their respective school on August 18th. Jenna is in first grade and loves it! She was so happy to see all her friends again. With year-round school her summer was only 6 weeks long, but that separation from her friends was torture! She is doing very well and loves her teacher. Jenna is an excellent reader and likes learning math.

Aubrey started her second year of preschool and is excited to have her friend Marit in her class. Their bdays are only a day apart, so that made them instant friends! She says her favorite part of preschool is everything. She loves scissor time, since I don't let her cut things very often at home. Ü

Lydia and I are enjoying our few quite hours together. Sometimes she naps the whole time, sometimes we play blocks or run errands. The first few days she wandered around the house calling Aubrey's name- that was a little sad!

We are all glad that school is in session again! I don't know how people do homeschooling. I am not diligent enough to maintain that kind of routine, so more power to ya!

Yummy sandwiches

Hillary made some yummy cucumber sandwiches for Courtney's baby shower Saturday. They were Grandma Sycamore bread spread with veggie cream cheese on each slice with cucumber slices in between. They were so light and yummy with the crisp cucumber inside. (I have texture issues with food, so I need something to crunch. )

They went together really quickly and were a hit with the guests.

I have altered it slightly for Weight Watchers, only 2 points for a big sandwich. I use Sara Lee's Deliteful bread- 1 pt for two slices. Spread one wedge of Laughing Cow Lite spreadable cheese- French Onion flavor is perfect for this (put half of the wedge on each slice of bread so it doesn't get soggy), and then pile on the cukes! It is so yummy and satisfying!

Thanks, Hill, for the inspiration!

Making Strides Against Cancer

Ok, I think I set up our team site correctly. If you go to www.makingstridesinutah.org you are able to register for the walk. Click on "join an existing team." Our team name is Conner House Babes and Friends. (I am not creative enough to come up with a cleaver name.)

For those who are planning to walk, we need to order our shirts. I need to have your info by September 15th. Please let me know what size (size Small- XXXlarge). They are $10. As long as you promise to pay me, I will pay for them all up front. We are also going to put the names of our heroes and angels who are battling cancer, who have beat cancer, or who lost their fight. Please email me any names you want to add by the 15th.

If you have any family members or friends who want to participate, they are more than welcome! I am really excited for this and I hope you are too.

There is no fee to sign up, you don't have to donate if you don't want to, you don't have to go the full three laps. This is a no-pressure activity. I can't wait to see you!

Crockpot blogs

I love to use my crockpot, especially since Tim got me a programmable one! Fall feels like crockpot weather to me, so I thought I'd pass along some blogs devoted to crockpotting. (Is that a word?)

The first came from Janice via Jene. This lady resolved to use her crockpot everyday this year and puts her recipe and how it turned out each day. Amazing! I am lucky not to repeat the same meal twice a week!

The next is a link she had on the crockpot365 blog. Thought you might like to see, if nothing else, this is for my benefit so I can find these again in the future.

Thanksgiving Point Dinosaurs

This is a few weeks overdue...

Like 10,000 other people, we went to the Dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point in August on $2 Tuesday. I was amazed at the throngs of people who went- and stayed in line forever. (I am also amazed at the number of posts about this that I have blogstocked into in every direction!) When we went we got there at 9:30, so we were 5th in line and got right in. The girls had a great time!

We met the Prestwich cousins there and explored all the displays. The favorite was probably the sand pit/digging area. My girls aren't all the into dinosaurs. The Land Before Time is a little intense for them! They loved it anyway! Thanks, Jen, for coordinating the trip!

19.8

I should have cut my hair this week and made that 20 lb mark! Ü I changed to the Core plan this week instead of counting points and it improved my weight loss! I lost 3 lbs this week. I'm sure walking 2 miles most days help, too. I'm telling you this so I can be accountable, so I will be so good at CJ's baby shower (and the days of baking and chocolate making leading up to it)!

That homesick feeling...

Every year, when Fall approaches and kids go back to school, I get homesick for Ephraim.

This morning I was in Ephraim and decided to walk around the track at the college for some exercise. When I got there it was locked up tight, so I decided to do a few laps around the big campus block. It was cool, cloudy and a bit rainy, perfect Fall weather. It made my heart ache for Ephraim! And not just Ephraim, but for my amazing roommates and friends from Snow College. I was very blessed to marry, one of those amazing people, so I get to go back frequently and ALWAYS have him with me, but I want the rest of you to know that I miss you guys.

I found myself looking around for people I know. It was 9 am on Labor Day, so there wasn't ANYONE around, let alone people I know. As I walked past the Tute, I remembered fun dances, great classes, end of term breakfasts, Friday Forum, and so many other great memories.

As I went past the corner where the social science building used to be, I remembered sitting in on Val's psych class with Mr Meade. Going past the AC I thought of early morning racket ball with Tara and getting a ticket for making an illegal U-turn there with Jamie Kerr. Going past the stadium held more memories than I can count. Homecoming 1997 kept me very busy there and when I worked for summer programs, I spent endless afternoons there with youth groups doing water games. I saw Eva's house where I lived with and took care of a beautiful 97 year old woman. It is now student housing and I feel sad that the girls that live there won't know the wonderful former occupant!

I think the thing that set me off was that I was listening to a Peter Breinholt CD on my way there. That will forever connect me to the Conner House babes. I didn't dare go near the house, as I was bordering on over-sentimentality and that would have finished me off. Strangers don't need me crying on their front lawn!

Anyway, all you former Badgers, know that you are missed and that I treasure the times we had together. I think I will always be homesick for you every Fall!