I love to ...

On our girl trip when we were discussing our "colors" and the characteristics of each, one of the topics of conversation that came up was what is something you love to do - something you are a little obsessed with and can do for hours and don't really notice the time go by.
Well, my immediate answer was "reading." I love to read. I can do it all day and stay up late (well, not as late as I used to). I would rather read than watch a movie or TV.
I spent the day reading today. And I didn't feel one bit guilty about it. I was doing laundry all day and couldn't go anywhere. In between switching the loads and folding and putting away laundry I read. I finished the book I was reading and now have 4 more to read that I just checked out from the library. I'm going to start A Thousand Splendid Suns, by the author of The Kite Runner.
I guess I better not start it until tomorrow night after I've done some chores and grocery shopping.

Quote for today

"What you want and what you get are usually two entirely different things."
--Nicholas Sparks mother in his book A Memoir: Three Weeks with My Brother.

Model of Fashion

The Big 4-0

I wanted to document what I looked like on my 40th birthday.

I cannot possibly be 40. I don't feel 40. What does 40 feel like anyway? I'm sure there are some of you out there that will let me know.
I had a great day. Slept in instead of going to Muscle Up. Got a flu shot at my husband's job. Went to lunch with him and Jared and Kamryn to Sweet Tomatoes. It was very good and the little gremlins were very good and ate great (both of those things can be a rarity these days).
I received visits from my parents and good friends today.
I took the kids to Burger King for dinner (we went there last year on my birthday too).
We went to part of the varsity Brighton volleyball game and all of the sophomore game. This was my choice for what to do tonight.
After the games my family sang happy birthday and gave me presents.
It was a great birthday and my last. Or I guess I'll start going backwards now.

Blog Surfing

Yesterday I was kind of vegging around most of the day in my jammies - post trip and pre birthday kind of day. I was reading my friend's blogs and linked from Susannah's blog to the Wilkinson's web page and blogs. Fascinating reading. I'm go glad they are sharing their experiences. I can kind of somewhat imagine what they are going through. And what beautiful babies. I almost wish I lived in Austin so I could help out.

Girl Trip

Over the weekend, seven of us from our ward went down to St George for a little girl trip. It was fabulous and so nice to get away.
First of all, thanks to Desiree for sharing her beautiful house. And also for driving.
Thanks to Judy for sharing her knowledge about colors.
Thanks to Desiree, Brenda, Julianne, Stacie, Cynthia, & Judy for coming and making it so much fun. I love you all and am grateful for such great friends.

The righteous part of the group on a tour of the St George Tabernacle

Julianne and Judy

I wish I had more pictures to post. I didn't do a very good job taking pictures on this trip. next time.

Red Day

I wanted to share what Justin looked like on "red day" last week during Red Ribbon Week. It just so happens that almost everything he has red is Ute red. And it was really convenient that it was also a Utah game day (where they beat TCU - yeah!)
He's got spirit!

2 trouble makers

So, the other day, I left Justin and Brooke in charge of Jared and Kamryn while I ran to the store and did a couple of errands. I was gone longer than I said I would be and I completely blame myself for what happened. My first mistake was asking 2 kids to be in charge. It's always better to just ask one of them. So this time Justin thought Brooke was watching them and vice versus. So when I walked in the door I was greeted with a fairly big mess. Jared and Kamryn decided to make their own dinner (I assume this is what they were thinking). They had half of the fridge emptied and both fridge and freezer doors were open. There was an open ice cream container lying on its side on the table, parmesan cheese sprinkled all over the floor and on other food and in the big bottle of apple juice. There were half eaten apples out and half eaten containers of yogurt on the table. After taking in this mess I look up to see those two little wonders walk in and they have mascara all over their faces. Kamryn had also gotten some pink fingernail polish and dripped it on her brand new white shirt and pink pants.
All this happened while Brooke was in the next room reading and she was thinking Justin was watching them. And he wasn't even there because he'd left to go to soccer practice.

Twilight

So I've been absent from my blog due to the Twilight series. I've been meaning to read the 3 books ever since school started. I needed to read them so I could understand what all the YW were always talking about. So I started Twilight last Friday and finished Eclipse last night. My house is a bit of wreck, needless to say. I'm glad I read them so I can understand what all these girls are talking about and I've had some good discussions with Brooke about the books and characters. I enjoyed the books and to me they are definitely page turners but they do have some issues. I would rate them PG-13 but I have no problem that Brooke has read them.

Check it out

My sister is just getting into the blogger world. I helped her a little today with her blog and getting it to look like she wants it. So, do me a favor, check out her blog and encourage her to share her thoughts. She has five kids and they say and do the funniest things. For example, a conversation I had with her 4 year old today:

Jake: "I smell Justin's video games." ( he is obsessed with our game systems and always wants to come to our house to play)

Me: How do you smell video games?

Jake: With your nose (said to me like I'm idiot, of course you smell with your nose).

Wheeler Farm

Yesterday we went to Wheeler Farm to have our family picture taken by Steve Barrus of Barrus Photo. It actually went pretty well considering we were dealing with 2 2-year-olds in the family. Luckily the photographer didn't mind acting very goofy in order to get Jared and Kamryn to smile. After we were done, we took a little tour of the grounds and let Jared and Kamryn enjoy the animals and the farm equipment (much to the chagrin of my older children who just wanted to go home.)

Jared having fun in the big wagon.

and

Kamryn loved talking to the geese and ducks.

Favorite Weekend

Conference weekend is probably my favorite weekend of the year. I love staying home and listening to our prophet and the apostles. And usually the weather makes it so you want to just stay in your jammies and snuggle down under a blanket. We were really lucky today and it was such bad weather that the soccer games were cancelled and we were able to stay home all day and listen/watch both sessions today.


Jared and Kamryn were cute this morning when we first turned on conference. They loved the singing and got all settled on the couch with Justin. They even seemed excited when they saw President Hinckley speaking. But then when the first real talk began I guess they'd had enough and wanted to watch a movie. So we put a movie on for them and the rest of us went downstairs to watch conference. That worked out perfectly for everyone.

Fall Favorite

Yesterday I made Carmel Popcorn. I hadn't made it in forever. It's my mom's recipe and it just reminds me of fall. She made them into little popcorn balls and I took them for my birthday treat when I was in kindergarten (back when you could bring in homemade treats).
So here's the recipe:

2 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup light corn syrup

Melt these first 2 ingred together and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
Add in:
1 stick of butter and bring to a boil again, stirring constantly.
Add in:
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk.
Remove from heat and add 3/4 tsp vanilla.
Pour over 3 gallons of popcorn (about 2 cups unpopped kernels.)
Store in airtight container.

Watch out - once you start eating this you can't stop.

Gasp

Gasp ... I actually went visiting teaching tonight. I've had tons of guilt over this issue, especially lately. When we moved back here from Phoenix the RS president took pitty on me with the new little babies at our house (she'd had twins of her own many years ago and knew what I was in for). So I didn't get a VT assignment until Jared and Kamryn were 1 - that was 1 1/2 years ago. So I received my assignment and kind of laughed -
*I was assigned one of the counselors in the YW presidency so I see her every Wed night at the very minimum
*I was also assigned one of my very best friends who I exercise with every morning. I visit with her every day and know in great detail what is going on in her life.
*The 3rd woman is someone I've known forever and used to babysit her kids.
My guilt comes from not properly visiting the first 2 ladies - a visit in their home with a message. But my big guilt comes from not properly visiting the 3rd sister. She is single and would probably really enjoy having her VTers come.
So in the 1 1/2 yrs I've had this assignment I've done very poorly. Yesterday when the phone rang while we were eating dinner Justin went to see who it was and he told me and it was my VT supervisor. I said don't answer it - mostly because we were in the middle of dinner and because I was so embarrassed to tell her again that I had not met with sister #3.
So I went out visiting to all 3 sisters tonight - a real visit in their homes with a message. It was a very enjoyable evening and I'm so glad I went.
I pledge right now to do better. (and it's a great relief to be able to call the supervisor with a 100% report).

Even More Zoo Fun

Having fun with the tigers.

Playing in the famous Lion drinking fountain.

I'd been wanting to go to the zoo for a long time and finally made it. My sister and good friend came too with their kids. It was so much fun watching Jared and Kamryn explore the zoo for the first time. I was very impressed with the new habitats for the elephants and the tigers. It had been several years since I'd been there and it was great to see all of the improvements.

More Zoo Fun

Kamryn and her cousin by the big "frozen" elephant

We had fun watching the penguins get fed lunch.

Kamryn and Jared with their cousins posing by the "frozen" tigers.
Jake, my sister's 4 yr old, said "There sure are a lot of "frozen" animals here.

A trip to the Zoo

Kamryn thinks she's one of the monkeys.

Jared was scared by most of the animals.

Checking out the elephant encounter.

Day Trip

On Tuesday I was able to get away for the day to Phoenix (we had flight credit that was going to expire and I couldn't let it get wasted).
One of the best things about getting away on my own is the chance to read. I finished two books while waiting at the airport and on the flight.
I met my good friends at Cheesecake Factory, one of my favorite places. We had a great time visiting and catching up.
After lunch I did a little shopping and it was so nice to be in and out of stores quickly and not have to chase down little ones.
I did some more visiting and then it was time to head back to the airport. It was a great day and probably the last one for a long time.
Thanks friends.

It's been a bad day

It's been a bad day -
*first of all I was insane enough to tell my exercise buddy that I would still be going this morning even though I knew I'd be getting to bed late after arriving at the SL airport at midnight (more on that later). So I got about 3 1/2 hours of sleep but I still got up and went walking this morning and I'm glad I did.
**second, I had to go to the dentist again. I don't think I've written about my woes of going to the dentist but long story short - I didn't go to the dentist for 2 1/2 yrs and know I need 2 root canals, and about 6 cavaties filled. I've been meeting with the dentist weekly for all of September and I don't think I can take much more. Today he filled two cavaties and the whole right side of my face was numb, including my nose! I've never had that happen before. The only good thing about going to the dentist was the I was able to listen to the whole Wicked soundtrack while there.
***third, my best pair of pants got ruined in the dryer today. It was the first load of the day and I noticed when I was getting clothes out of the washer that there was a big black spot on the inside of the washer. It was INK!!!! Now, I'm not the best at checking pockets but this load I thought was innocent enough - some towels and my pants and my favorite new white T-shirt and 2 of Paul's dress shirts. It was his fault (he owned up to it when I showed him the pen). I thought it was going to be okay because I noticed this before stuff went in the dryer and I checked everything before I put it the dryer. But my nicest pair of pants (that will probably be impossible to replace) came out of the dryer with ink stains on them! So frustrating!!
****fourth, all of my kids were in trouble for something today. Justin left after school and didn't tell me where he was going or leave me a note. Taylor has his big county report due at school tomorrow and he asks me if he can watch a movie when he has not even practiced his oral report once. Brooke didn't do her dishes job this morning so we're behind all day.
*****fifth, I've had a headache all day due to the lack of sleep and the visit to the dentist. So I'm going to bed and hopefully tomorrow will be a better day.

Potty training for the 4th and 5th times

I can't believe I've actually begun one of the most awful tasks of motherhood - potty training. And this time it's with 2 toddlers at the same time - talk about insanity.
I guess we officially got into it today. We've been talking about it a lot but we actually got out the potties (notice the plural use, 2 of them sure take up a lot of room in a somewhat smallish bathroom) today. Jared and Kamryn love sitting on them and trade potties every 3 seconds. I'm not sure how that is really go to work when we really get serious.
My plan is to have them sit on the potty in the morning and at night for now, and before bath time. So tonight after I stripped them down they both went in the bathroom and sat on their potty - one looks more boyish with primary colors and one looks more girlish with purple and green coloring. Ready for the shocker - Jared actually produced! I couldn't believe it! We did some real celebrating and hi-5 ing.
Maybe it won't be so bad.