Happy Holidays !

By the condition of my house you would think I've not gotten anything done. The truth is I've been so busy and so productive, it's just that taking care of the house has taken a back seat. Life is good here. There are those daily mishaps or stresses but really if that's all I have to complain about then life is good.

Thanksgiving came and went. We found ourselves full of good food and time with good friends. This year we stayed in town instead of visiting with family. We'll reserve that for Christmas. Ken was the ultimate chef again cooking one turkey in the "green egg" and deep frying another turkey. Believe it or not there were no left overs. Of course when you are eating with a bunch of people it's easy not to have left overs.

The kids and me and our good friends visited the Renaissance festival. Last year when we went it was blistering hot and humid. This year it was cold. Note to self: standing on your porch to check the weather is very different than being at a festival in the open air. We happily suffered through it and had a great time. Dustin tried out the bungee jump. It was so funny to watch him. I couldn't tell if he really liked it or not even though he had a smile on his face he kept saying "ok that's enough, that's enough" but every time he said that the man would bounce him higher. He said he loved it. It was the perfect day for shooting some photos, which is one of the main reasons Jen and I go. So while we were there the kids heard the bagpipe players playing the "old Scottish tune" which if you don't know what melody that is, it's the tune that the "Praise to the Man" song is set to. Dustin looked at me with wide eyes and said "MOM! that's Praise to the Man!". Laughing, I said "no, it's just the Scottish tune". But it was cool to hear it in real life.

Dustin on the bungie jump

Daria trying to get warm in Ino's RuneScape Cape.

Had to post this picture of Jen, ordering her tickets for Renfaire before putting her skirt on. Who knew that Maidens used the computer!

So we had to take a picture of this guys legs, which are probably the nicest man legs you'll ever see. He was dressed like a barbarian and was probably a professional body builder based off of all the muscles this guy had. He was a good sport with us taking his picture.

Both Daria and Dustin had their recital Monday night. Daria played a "Sleigh Ride" duet with Janalen. This was a tough song, 5 pages long for each and Daria did a great job. This was Dustin's first ever recital. He said he was nervous but sat down and played both his pieces very well. He played "Jingle Bells" and "Cheerful Chimes". I was lucky enough to attend a recital without feeling completely overwhelmed with fear. Since I didn't take lessons this semester that meant no recital piece for me. I am still playing at home but felt I needed to step down since Dustin was just starting and I knew I would have to sit with him a lot. I just couldn't justify spending time with him and myself at the piano. Hopefully I can start up again sometime next year.

We attended Daria's 4th grade winter program and let me tell you. It was by far one of the best elementary programs I've seen. The songs and music were exceptional, along with all the movements the kids performed with each song. They had some great solos including one boy who did some Santa rap. I'll try to post that video too, sometime in the future

Sometimes life just cracks me up. It really is funny if you think about it. The mindless things that happen. As parents we all have to look at the little successes our children do, even if they are not exactly where we want them to be yet. For instance. My kids are good at doing their chores and homework. It's really not a battle. Now how those things are done is sometimes questionable. The other day I reminded Dustin it was trash day. He quickly gathered the trashcans from around the house. Later that day I noticed that while he had started his chore properly, putting back the trash cans was not done correctly. My bathroom trashcan was thrown in the bathroom, nowhere near where it came from. All of the other trashcans seemed to miss their proper spot too. This is one of those moments where you just have to be glad that they tried and gently remind them at a later time how you put trash cans away.

Funny thing two. What thoughts run through your head when you go to your friends house and on their front porch are your daughters socks? Better yet, after you've asked her to pick them up they are still there 3 days later? Then when you go into your friends house you see another pair of your daughters socks. I'm still trying to figure out why when my kids get home the first thing they do is pull their shoes and socks off. Daria made a big deal about Dustin making his peanut butter and jelly sandwich on the counter before cleaning it off. I reminded Daria that she had just spent the evening running around the neighborhood without shoes or socks and then played with her toes and forgot to wash her hands before she started her sandwich. What's the difference?

Not so funny thing three. Ken went out of town on business. His flight was at 12:40pm. He calls me at 11:50a to inform me that he cannot find his license. He never takes his license out of his wallet. Anyway, no license, no flight. They will however take his passport. Notice the time frame. We start church at 1pm. On any given day I wouldn't mind being late to church but on this particularly Sunday we were getting a new Bishopric, and for us Mormon folk, since nothing else interesting happens at church, this is a pretty big deal. Who wants to miss that?! Oh wait, bringing Ken his passport is more important I remind myself. The kids got dressed quicker than they ever have in their whole life. We make it to the airport on time to deliver the glorious passport. Ken gets on the plane. Still, we are in the dark wondering where that license could be. Ken says a prayer. Then has the impression for me to check my purse (which I had already checked). Several weeks ago he had a small procedure done and I had carried his license and insurance card but SURELY I gave it back. I check my purse again, this time the small outside pocket which I never put anything in. Sure enough there is the all important drivers license. This means that not only has Ken been driving around for a few weeks without a license, it also means I had it with me when I dropped off the passport. Lame. No drivers license also means that Ken can't rent a car, which is a nice perk when you are spending a week in another state. So Fed Exing the license is necessary (especially since he'll need it to drive home). So I was guessing that rates probably went up a little from when I used to work and send out a lot of Fed Ex packages. Well a little ended up being a lot. A whopping $38.00 lot. The silver lining to the story is that through this whole thing neither of us got upset at each other and neither of us got impatient. I drove home from the Fed Ex store still boggled at the whole situation.

In the middle of all this Dustin turned 7. SEVEN? where did time go? Actually Ken and I were thinking "he's only 7?" It seemed like he was already seven. Life plays strange tricks on you! Anyway, for his birthday we drove to the Lego store as a family. We are lucky to have one in our state. I'm one of those mom's who likes Legos, so I'm ok with him getting them. Dustin by far LOVES Legos. He picked out two Star Wars Lego kits. After that we ate some ice cream to celebrate. The funny part is that we got home late so the kids had to go to bed. We all know what it's like when you get something you've been wanting for months and months. Who can go to sleep when it's sitting in your room staring at you?! I check on Dustin who is sitting on his floor staring at the two boxes with his chin in his hand in gleeful contemplation. I make him go to bed. I pass by his room later. He's sitting on his bed in the dark staring at the two Lego boxes. I remind him he needs to be asleep. It is not surprising that he and Daria were up early the next morning putting the kit together.

This is the last week the kids are in school. I am the home room parent for Daria's class. I did not sign up to be the home room parent. I've never wanted that position and always sign up just to be a helper. But this year no one signed up to be the home room parent so they asked me if I would. So of course I did, I mean who could imagine a class without a home room parent? So far it's been ok. I've received a lot of support from the other parents in the class. There are 21 kids and when I sent requests for items for the winter party, 18 sent in items. Can't beat that!

My last thought to leave each of you is to let you know that one of my most favorite things of the Christmas season is all the cards, pictures, and family letters I get in the mail. We always sit together and open them one at a time. So thank you for sending us a bit of you and your family!

Back to bloggin'

Here is Ino & the boys, showcasing the costumes that Ino made.

This is my friend Amber. I couldn't resist putting these two pictures up. Amber sewed both of these outfits herself. Amber is the nun. Her husband is Nacho, as you can see in the picture. These costumes were so well put together I think she would make a pretty penny customizing them for buyers. Brett, or "Nacho" acted the part perfectly. It was almost impossible to not bust out laughing! Perfect!

I don't have any real reason that I've not blogged lately. Not to much of interest going on I suppose. I did however notice that it's been over a month since I've last blogged and that is by far way to long in my opinion.

October came and went. The sewing frenzy was a blast. There were about 6 of us friends who got into the spirit of it. At one time I had 3 tables set up in my house as we women chatted and sewed the days/nights away. I admit it was fun to have an excuse to talk non-stop with friends and still be productive. Now I know why quilting b's were so popular! Now lest you think that sewing is just for the ladies, even Jeni's husband joined in the fun and sewed 3 RuneScape costumes in one weekend (impressive). I spent a lot of time sewing a really cool cloak for Dustin, but by that night it was to hot to wear it. It is big enough to last for several years.

We had something fun happen to us this Halloween. A few days after the candy festivities, a mysterious note was found on the kitchen counter from none other than the "Switch Witch". She left us a poem about how witches need to keep rotten teeth so they look for houses after Halloween with lots of candy. If you leave your candy outside your bedroom door she will "switch" it out for something else. Daria and Dustin were intrigued by this idea. Daria was willing to give up all her candy. Dustin initially gave 10 pieces but by bed time re-considered and left all of his candy but a few pieces. The next morning the candy was gone and each of them were happy to find that the candy had been "switched" with something fun. Daria got a small stuffed animal and Dustin got a mini-Lego kit. Nothing big, but you would have thought it was Christmas time. Interestingly enough I have a sneaking suspicioun that the Switch Witch is closely related to our Tooth Fairy.

Also in October I attended my very first book club. I went away wondering why I've never participated in a book club before. It was so fun! We read a super great book titled "Leadership and Self Deception". Check it out, the title is misleading but this book teaches a great lesson. I didn't particularly like the style of writing, but I liked the content.

Just recently Ken and Daria attended another Daddy Daughter dance with the Faith in God girls at church. The theme was the "80's". I dare say it was a blast preparing for that one. I found a shirt at Goodwill for Daria to which she remarked "that looks like something someone would wear today." "No Daria, this is a perfect 80's shirt" I say. I also bought a pink sweater at Goodwill, cut the sleeves off and made leg warmers. Hilarious I know. Ken was all but determined to go as "Crockett" from Miami Vice. So 2 Goodwill Stores, 2 NAM Stores, and 1 costume shop later we still had not found anything that resembled a white suit. Finally we journeyed downtown to the Buffalo Exchange. By the way, the Buffalo Exchange has locations all over the US and it is a SUPER cool recycled clothing store. They cary the trendy city, college age and sometimes retro clothes. Super good condition and at a super good price. I would recommend you look them up if there is one in your area. Jackpot! we were able to find pants and a jacket that at least were white. For the big night I made Daria's hair BIG (with the help of a banana clip that I still have). My dad and step-mom would have appreciated it (I think my big hair will always haunt them, but they were always so kind about it).

Daria getting ready. Daria & Ken

A friend of mine and I took pictures of the girls with their dad's. After that we had some fun with the camera.

I also baked my very first turkey ever. I've always had the privilege of eating someone elses turkey, my mom, my step-mom, Ken, my mother-in-law. So when we held this months Enrichment at church and we decided to serve turkey, those of us on the board were recruited. I was slightly freaked out about cooking a turkey for the first time and hoping it was tasty enough for all those women. I was surprised at how easy it was. Thanks mom! (for the instructions over the phone)

Last week I braved the 12:01am showing of Twilight with just about every other woman and teenage girl in our town. It was late, but it was fun and I loved the movie.

The most imporant thing that happened this month is the celebration of our 16th wedding anniversary. Seriously now! can I really be old enough to be married that long? Why is it that some of my good friends were born the year I graduated? Something is wrong with this picture. I am so thankful for the 16 years I've spent with Ken. I love being able to look back over the years and see how much we've grown, how far we've come, and I look forward to where we will go. Here's to you Big Guy!

Let the Sewing begin.... or begin again that is...

It's that time of year again. Halloween costume sewing. Just for the record, I'm really not into the "Halloween Holiday" per say, I could take it or leave it. BUT I really like the chance to dress up. Each year we've tried to get our patterns earlier hoping that we would be done early. It's not possible. Bought pattern during summer break. Cut out pieces in August. Sewing two weeks before Halloween. Oh well I'm not complaining. This is an easy pattern. The original pattern I chose called for 17 yards of fabric. This one is WAY less. Unfortunately even though my measurements matched what was on the pattern envelope, once I sewed my dress, and tried it on I found that two of me could have fit in it. Spent the day picking the seems out. Re-cut at the smaller size. Spent the evening sewing it back up. No problem just irritating. As I've been sewing I was thinking of why I even sew costumes because I do find it enjoyable. I have come to find out that for me, I am drawn to period costuming. NOT that I've ever made an authentic period costume but it interests me and I think that one day I just might make an accurate historical piece of clothing using real patterns and materials. One day...

On another note. There is this family owned grocery store in town. It's been around I think as long as the town has been and so far hasn't been gobbled up by Wal-mart. I find myself there periodically, like yesterday. It's like a step back in time, but a good step. The store is clean and bright. Elevator music is playing and somehow when you come in the music is so soothing you feel like slowly going up and down each isle. It reminds me of when I was a kid. The atmosphere is welcoming and personal. I was lucky enough to find some "Classic Dentyne". Why is this so interesting? Well, I am always on the hunt for gum that does not have artificial sweetener in it. Hate it. Hate its taste. Hate its aftertaste. Furthermore why do they even need to put artificial sweetener in gum anyway? Seriously, how many pieces would you have to eat to make an impact on your health? I did buy some from the health food store but this didn't stop my search. So I saw this new "Classic Dentyne" and bought it. Put a piece in my mouth. Again, it took me back about 20 years in its cinnamon packed flavor! Ahhhh and NO aftertaste.

Our community had a garage sale this past Saturday. All of us earned a good chunk of change. Dustin is saving money for a Lego Star Wars set. Daria is just saving money. Ken broke his big toe during the whole process. Ouch! It will take 4 weeks to heal but he will be fine.

Now I'm off to enjoy a delicious piece of classic gum!

Memorable Moments

This past Sunday was our ward Primary program. Initially it was supposed to be in September, but the lack of electricity due to the hurricane pushed it to October. I was really looking forward to this program. While subbing one Sunday I was able to hear the children practice and even then the selection of songs and balance between song, scripture and talks was inspiring. BUT, the main reason I was looking forward to this program is because Daria and Dustin were singing a song together, just the two of them. This is the first time they've done something like this. I'm still amazed that they were willing to accept the assignment. When Janalen called me to extend the assignment I thought it was a great idea but told her that she would need to ask them. If I asked them they would say no (parent child dynamics unfortunately). She asked them and to my surprise they said yes. So we practiced for a few months at home and darn if they didn't sound so cute together. The song they were to sing was "Home is Where the Heart is". Daria sang the first verse, Dustin the second and then they both sang the thrid verse.

At any rate while they sang it well during practice I wondered if nerves would get the best of them while singing in front of 300 people. My worries were put to rest as they both sang clear and loud enough for the audience to hear. Oh how I wish I could have recorded it. It was so sweet!! WAy to go Daria and Dustin. They also spoke their individual parts very well.

This program brought to light some things about my kids that I've not ever noticed or thought of.

Dustin. When I look back on Dustin's short 6 years of life, one thing that can be said of him is he is fearless and couragious about sharing the gospel. He has always been forward about inviting others to church, singing the hymns around friends, playing "Army of Helamen" with his friends (pretending to be NEphites), handing out Books of Mormon without being prompted. So I suppose it was no surprise at the beginning of the year when the kids started learning songs for the program that Dustin announced he would like to invite his Kindergarten teacher. Fast forward to September Dustin, who is now in 1st grade with a different teacher, asked me if I had invited Mrs. H. Then the hurricane happened. Now into October he continued to press hoping that Mrs. H. would come to the Primary program. I left a message on her cell phone but didn't hear back. Sunday morning, I felt sad for Dustin because he continued to hope she would be there. I felt prompted to call. No answer. Then a minute later the phone rings. Mrs. H said she WAS coming to the program. Oh my!!!! can you believe that? She did show up along with her teenage daughter and sat with us. She was delighted that he invited her and she was delighted to see another boy who is in her class this year and said she enjoyed the program. I thought to myself that I really just think Dustin has a great measure of faith in that area. It was neat to see one of his small gifts.

Daria. When DAria takes on a challenge she takes it seriously and wants to do well. She says she doesn't like being in front of other people performing and gets nervous but I think that nervousness must be transfered into poise. When she plays the piano in her recitals it's as if no one else is in the room, she seems at ease. Sunday morning she came down stairs and exlaimed that she didn't want to sing in front of everyone, not that she wouldn't but she was nervous. But when it was her turn to stand up and speak her part she had it memorized, leaned into the microphone and looked out directly at the audience and spoke smoothly and clearly. When it was time to sing her song wiht Dustin she stood straight and tall, poised and composed and sang very well. I had not really noticed that about her before, although when I look back on her choir concerts I remember that she did the same thing.

Another thing about Daria that I've noticed is her excitement to serve others. I've mentioned it before that when our friend was diagnosed with cancer her first words were "who'se going to cook for her?". Daria made two full square meals all by herself this summer for our friend and her family. For my birthday she asked me to pick out some scrap material from my material box. I did. Then she shut herself in her room for the day. I could hear the sewing maching humming away. The outcome was a super cute pillow with "mom" stiched on it as well. What could be better than a gift that someone thought up and spent time making.

Thanks for letting me admire my kdis for a moment. The biggest lesson I learned this past month is that all to often I'm focusing on the things about my kids that need to change or be worked on that sometimes I forget the super neat things about them.

Church History Vacation # 2

Nauvoo and Carthage Illinois

As promised I've finished my next video from our Church History Vacation this summer. Making this video was not an easy task. Nauvoo alone set me back about 900 photos. How do you choose the photos that will easily convey the "total awesomeness" without using them all? A note to anyone who has not been to Nauvoo in the last 5 years or more. It's been COMPLETELY rebuilt. We could have spent a whole week there and maybe visited everything we wanted to visit, or watched all the shows. Plan carefully!

1. Getting to Nauvoo was an adventure in itself. Due to the recent flooding that the Midwest experienced right before our trip, we encountered several detours, several very frustrating detours.

2. At midnight we came across an accident where one semi-truck ran through the side of another semi-truck carrying pigs. Not a pretty sight.

3. Thanks to the nice police lady who let us through the wreckage and our 2 way radio's to talk to Greg & Celeste with, we were able to get on our way.

4. Trying to find the bridge that crosses the Mississippi at 1:30a in the morning was like looking for a needle in a haystack. One stop for directions, kids who were wide awake, and some very frustrated drivers, we made it to the toll bridge. The lady looked at Ken and said "you look so sad", to which Ken replied "you have no idea".

5. At 2:00a we arrived at our awesome hotel which was directly across the street from the temple (thanks to Greg our super trip scheduler). Basically we paid a gob of money for a night that we didn't even use. But it was worth it the next morning to wake up and open the window and see the temple.

It is amazing to think of the events and people who settled this area. I felt that everywhere I walked was packed with history. You may wonder why I took so many photos. Well in Nauvoo there are over 60 places alone that you can visit and tour. This doesn't include any other spots that are marked but not tourable. Then there are the shows that we missed.

For those who've never been, the LDS church has gone in and restored, reconstructed and built many of the 350 buildings that existed when the saints lived there. Everything is run by missionaries dressed in period clothing. You tour, you learn, you get to do hands on things. The kids loved it. Daria, Dustin, and Hannah learned how to make candles out of animal fat, brush wool, spin yarn, make wicks, tin, boots, bricks, bread, and guns. They even made their own jump rope, tasted some root beer from Joseph Smith's Red Brick Store, and took a test in the school house.

Probably one of the coolest tours was the Jonathon Browning Gunsmith building. This is Celeste's direct ancestor. When we walked in there was a picture of her great grandmother (I think it's 5 greats) and she looked just like Celeste's grandmother. Lulu was amazed!

I never made it by the land records office. My great grandfather (5 greats) David Evans lived in Nauvoo (he ended up Mayor of Lehi, Utah). That was on my dad's side. On my mom's side I had another ancestor who lived in Nauvoo, Thomas C. Smith.

The visitors center also boasts a beautiful Women's Monument garden that celebrates the divine nature & heritage of women. I was moved by this garden & it's monuments. Where in the world can you go as a woman to be celebrated for who you are, not some huge worldly thing but because you were created a wonderful woman by God. Totally amazing.

900 photos could have been 1300, but unfortunately the Community of Christ church owns the Joseph Smith sites. They charge a minimal fee to tour the locations and do not allow any photographs inside. This was VERY frustrating (it was the same in Missouri and Ohio). But the tours were awesome.

The Nauvoo temple by far is the most amazing temple I've ever been in. Salt Lake is cool, but this one was incredible. The outside is constructed exactly as it was in 1841. Because they didn't know what the inside looked like, it was constructed using materials and designs from that era and resembled some portions of the Kirtland temple. It had tons of deep rich woodwork, & spiraling staircases. There were also some neat artifacts there as well, like Mary Fielding Smith's slippers, & other temple artifacts. We were so thrilled to be able to attend the temple there.

Anyway, I could go on and on, but you will just have to visit and experience it for yourself. We know that we will be back!

Here is the video. It's long, about 12 minutes. Sorry, it's lengthy, but my real purpose for making it was for our family and Greg & Celeste's family to reminisce about our trip. Hopefully you have the time to sit down and enjoy it, heck, sit down with a candy bar and enjoy. Don't forget to turn up your speakers. The songs I've selected were chosen for a reason. (if you've not watched the video from Missouri, it's on the September 1st post).

Lame

Ok, so I worked my tail off putting together a video for the second leg of our church history vacation. Only problem is I can't upload it to the internet. Why you may ask? Well even though we live in the age of amazing technology, heart transplants, cell phones, and Wii's, you can't upload videos that are more than 100mb (mine was only 93mb) nor longer than 5 minutes, UNLESS you want to pay for services to allow you to upload a 10 minute video. I've looked at youtube, photobucket, smugmug, and can't do it. Blogger allows 100mb, but for some reason it won't let me upload and I have a feeling it's because it's 11 minutes long.

So I sit here frustrated. I KNOW I've seen videos on the web that are bigger and longer. Seriously people!!!! I want to upload my video!

vent, vent, vent.

Life around my house

Before the new school year started my only hopes were that Daria and Dustin would get teachers who have a love of teaching, who would inspire the kids to have a love of learning. Both got great teachers but I'm especially thrilled with Dustin's teacher. She's older, and has been teaching for 19 years. But let me tell you, she is AWESOME! She absolutely loves teaching, loves stimulating the kids minds, she positive and extremely creative. Her husband is a CEO of a very large company so she doesn't have to teach. She teaches because she WANTS to, she loves it and it shows. Every day Dustin will come home and share some great story she has told or something she has taught.

With that said, let me back up a bit. Dustin has always enjoyed having me read him a story. I taught him to read before he started kindergarten, but he was never motivated to use his new skill unless I challenged him to. I having jokingly considered him a kid who doesn't realize he knows how to read. Everyday since school started, when Dustin arrives home he will explain in detail the books that his teacher is reading to the class. He loves these books. He begs for these books. Amazingly it's not any super heroes, and it's nothing modern. The set of books he loves is none other than a series titled "The Happy Hollisters" all written in the 1950's. I admit that his excitement has made me look forward to hearing "what happened in the story today". He informed me that you cannot buy these anymore you have to look on e-Bay (tell me why a 6 year old understands that you can buy things on e-Bay). Normally I try to just check out books at the library, but you can't find these at our library, and since he's been so excited, I felt inclined to purchase a lot of 15 on e-Bay. This he still does not know, it will be a surprise.

So a few weeks ago Daria comes home and while reading a book proclaims to me that when its hot on the bus she sweats and her armpits smell. Seriously I thought, how smelly can a sweet cute little 9 year old girl be? I said "really???" Daria then said while lifting up her arm (she's still reading her book as she's talking only now one arm is up in the air) "yeah, smell". So like any good mother who wants to make sure her daughter understands how to take care of her body, I walk over and still believing since she's my itsy bitsy teeny tiny little girl that it wouldn't smell and I take a huge sniff. WOOAHHH!!! Ok, so long story short, yes my little girl has smelly armpits. I thought to myself "How can this be? You are not even a decade old and you are going to have to wear deodorant?" I don't even think I wore deodorant until I was like 12! I really just can't stand that she is growing up much faster than I like. So, again, like any good mother we take a trip down to the store and smell about 20 different brands and scents of deodorant until she finds the one she likes (she picked the cheapest, that's my girl! learning to be frugal) and now she's taking more frequent showers. I still can't believe it every time I pass the bathroom and see her deodorant sitting on the counter. Well, I'm glad the only thing that is changing is her b.o., and that she still is my super sweet little girl who enjoys little girl things.