Tomato Juice And Pretzels.

I canned tomato juice last week. The jars have been sitting on my counter for that long. So yesterday I decided it was time to get them to food storage. When I got there I began to put them onto a shelf. Then it happened. They fell and one of the quart jars broke. Shattered actually. Tomato juice everywhere. I eventually got it cleaned up. But man it smelled tomato-y. Then last night I was walking along in the family room on this very rug and something crunched underneath. What could it possibly be? Um. That's a pretzel. Stashed under the rug. And I stepped on it and crushed it. Thank you. Bye.

Girl's Night Out.

I invited Ruthann to go out to the Taste Of Home Show with me last night. We got dressed up, put some blush and eye shadow on Ruthie. Then with a little douse of body spray we were off.
We had fun going through our goodie bags and watching the cooking show. We got lots of new and fun recipes to try.

We ate nachos and popcorn.

And enjoyed each other's company.

Ruthie suggested we do another girl's night out before next year's show. Like dinner and a movie. Sounds good to me.

In The End There Was Joy.

But first we had a great plan. We were to meet for dinner. My mom, my grandma, my aunt, my cousin, my sisters and sisters in law, aka:sisters. So we did. We met at Mimi's Cafe, for which only one sister had a camera and hasn't yet sent copies....Ahem Emilie!! It was so nice. Yummy. Then some had to bail to take care of kids or hubbies or whatever. Most of us went back to my mom's for dessert and then to watch the LDS Women's Conference rebroadcast at 8pm. That was the plan. And according to the plan, we had yummy dessert. Then some more bailed for the aforementioned reasons. We turned the TV on and....and....and....No rebroadcast. Say what?! It wasn't there. So the rest of us bailed.

I was so disappointed. Several of our Stakes, including mine, had tickets to go to the broadcast and so weren't showing the original in the Stake Centers. We decided to bail on getting tickets because there are a couple of really little babies who need mommies. Actually, only one little tiny baby needed his mommy. We chose the rebroadcast so we could all be together and enjoy it. But the rebroadcast, which has never failed me in all my married years, failed me. Drat.

On Sunday I helped the Sunbeam teacher with her little beams of light and asked her how the conference was. She suggested listening to President Uchtdorf's talk asap. I was already disappointed, but just knowing I missed President Uchtdorf?? Well. I was pretty bummed.

So after church I pulled the laptop into my room and began to watch the conference on LDS. org. Oh amazing. The RS General presidency spoke and did fantastic wonders with words. Then he spoke. President Uchtdorf, who is the second councilor to President Monson, spoke. And I saw the purpose in the plan being shifted the night before. I cried. He was speaking to me personally and when that happens, well, I feel it.

He spoke about the little forget me not flowers. He used the 5 petals the flower has to teach. Each petal represents something we should forget not...
1. Forget not to be patient with yourself. We are not expected to be perfect. Needed that.
2. Forget not the difference between good and foolish sacrifices. There is always something much better. Duh moment.
3. Forget not to be happy now! Now! Don't wait for the golden ticket, enjoy the chocolate now.
4. Forget not the "why" of the gospel. It is God's plan and we have such a great part in it.
5. Forget not that the Lord loves you. He loves me.

Go here to watch.

Now each of those spoke to me on a personal level. Things I need to be working on or that made me remember and be better. But the one I loved so much was number 3. Be happy Now! For gosh sakes. He shared the story of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and how so many lived just to get the golden tickets. That elusive goal of the golden ticket can keep us from enjoying what is right in front of us. Enjoy the Chocolate Now! I love that. And it reminded me of something very important. Joy. My Joy. I haven't done a Joy post in a while. And I am surrounded by it. The problem is, the golden ticket seems to cloud my vision. So I got myself some chocolate and enjoyed it. And now I am going to enjoy each moment of Joy in my life.

So be ready.

At the end of his talk, President Uchtdorf said this..."I do know now I was never forgotten. And I know something else and as an apostle of our master Jesus Christ, I proclaim with all the certainty and conviction of my heart and soul, neither are you. You are not forgotten! Sisters, wherever you are, whatever the circumstances may be, you are not forgotten. No matter how dark your days may seem, no matter how insignificant you may feel, no matter how overshadowed you think you may be, your Heavenly Father has not forgotten you. In fact, He loves you with an infinite love. Just think of it! You are known and remembered by the most majestic, powerful and glorious Being in the universe. You are loved by the King of infinite space and everlasting time. He who created and knows the stars knows you and your name. You are the daughters of His kingdom!"

I cannot even express how these simple words hit my heart. Because I have felt forgotten. Alone. And these are the words I will remember when I feel I may have been forgotten by God again. He knows me. He knows my name. And I am a daughter of His kingdom.

Joy.

White Water Rafting On The Snake.

Here we are! Finally. This is our trip to the Snake in August. Part of our last hurrah before school began.

Here we're getting started. All my kids in the front. Daniel and me and Ken's wife (can't remember her name, darn) in the middle and Ken, Randy's son, driving on the back. We had just found out that the wife is Daniel's cousin's daughter. So we talked about that until the water got rough.
Here we are coming up on Lunch Counter. Lunch table? Something. Look at Daniel and the wife paddling! I sat in the middle on purpose. I did offer to paddle, but the wife was nice and did the whole ride. You can't see me because every time we hit white water, I'd grab onto the end kids' life jackets. If they fell out, at least I'd have had my hands on 'em first. Or something like that. Plus I just needed something to hold onto.

Ruthie and Sam had switched places. Look at the smiles. And look at Sam's face. Everytime they'd get splashed in the face, they took it as a Snake River insult.

And getting out of the Lunch Counter white water. I love that Ruthie had turned around and was waving to Randy. Bye!

So there you have it. Proof of our white water trip down the Snake. We hope to do it again next summer as a last hurrah again.

From The Drat Files.

I can't see my eyebrows to pluck them. And I never think to ask my sister in law to also do my eyebrows when I go get my hair done. And the hair is still frumpless, thank you very much! So I sometimes, sometimes, take the little clippers that I use to clean up the boys' necks to just go down the middle of my eyebrows and just get rid of the fluff. I'm in the process over the past several years of thinning my brows. Not by choice, mind you. They just do it on their own. So this morning I took those clippers and went down the middle there and then moved my hand, with the clippers going, and got my eyelashes. If you look just above my pupil there in the eye on your left, you will see a very faint red mark just above my lash line and then NO LASHES right under it! I have a bald spot on my lash line.

I really hope they grow back.

And is it just me, or does my nose look really big?

See No Weevil.

I don't have pictures. You may be pleased that I don't. Tonight's dinner was homemade mac and cheese. yummmm. I made. I served. I began to eat. So did the kiddos. Then I saw it. A whole and plump weevil. In my mac and cheese. So I ordered everyone to stop! Stop eating! Take your plates to the sink. I then went to the flour. No weevils. I went to the macaroni. Weevil flakes. You know. When weevils die they turn a bit flaky. Weird. So I ran down to the food storage and opened the big bucket of macaroni. Weevil flakes. Darn. All the macaroni is gone. I just made a box of regular mac and cheese. Not as impressive. But no weevils!

While we're talking about gross food... Last Saturday up at the Ranch I had all the lunch fixins out on the table. Peanut butter, honey, jam, ham, cheese, mustard, mayo and ketchup. Ketchup? It was requested. These are 2 of the sandwiches made....

Bread/honey/peanut butter/ ham/ketchup/bread

Bread/peanut butter/honey/cookie/Cheetos/bread

My children are strange.

But we saw no weevils at the Ranch!

A Day In The Life.

First, I need to show you this. Ruthie wrote this at school. My favorite part is "Clearly, I know many thi[n]gs about goldfish." Don't argue with a girl who knows all that!
So you wanna know what's up with us? Well, now, let's see. I stopped blogging about a week and a half ago. Daniel has mentioned going back to A Day In The Life posts. I'm still thinking about it. Until I decide here's just a peek at our life minus the pictures...

9/9
Isaac had earned his Tenderfoot rank in Scouts and received it Friday night (the 9th). He is close to finishing up his Second Class and hopefully will have that and his First Class before he turns 12. Earlier that evening, though, I got that dreaded phone call from Daniel. On the side of the freeway. In a dead car. He was close enough to his folk's house so he called his dad and he towed him home. His car wouldn't start at all. So he had his nephew come out and blah blah blah. The part the sensor said was needed didn't make it start. So we had to make plans.

9/10
I took kids to the swimming pool where Isaac was taught the basics of the BSA swim check. We spent hours there. I came home to Daniel saying he'd take his car into the guy who fixed it all a few years ago. So he planned to be home the whole next week.

9/11
Daniel and I had our kids watch the footage of the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. We talked about what we were each doing that morning as we learned what happened and that we sat in front of the TV all day and every day for a long time. We talked about air travel coming to a complete stop and how our trip to China to get Ruthie a couple of years later would call for long lines and pat downs. I cried as we watched the Towers fall. I cried and my kids were glued to the TV as we watched the Ground Zero Memorial go from a plan on paper to a reality. We talked about going to New York one day so we can see that Memorial together. It was a somber day. Yet how blessed we are to live in a country with liberty and the protecting arm of the Lord.

9/12
Okay. I am not an official PTA member, but I support and sign up and help whenever I can. And I enjoy it. Monday night was the school carnival. And it was planned to be the one big money making function of the year. For the record...I HATE FUNDRAISERS! I hate the fact that they tell the kids in a big assembly that they HAVE to sell as much cookie dough/wrapping paper/candy bars as they possibly can just so they can go on a field trip. So the carnival was a winner in my mind. Never would the school make an easy $50 off me in any other venue. It was fun. I got to run one of the games and I love that many of the kids know me. And that many will actually call me "SISTER so and so" at school.

9/13
Oh, Daniel's car was being worked on. Friends came over to play after school. I made dinner for a family who just had a new baby. Cute baby! I went to a Relief Society thing. We made cute little books. Book of Mormon, Prophets and Joseph Smith along with Church History. There was an ABC one, but I didn't do it.

9/14
Piano lessons. Cub Scouts. Scouts. I'm tired just thinking about it.

9/15
I went to the Logan temple with Mandy, Alison and Judy. I'd never been to the Logan temple. It was beautiful and small. There was a large bus of people from Malad there, too. Crowded. Now that school is back in, Temple Thursday is back! Wanna come, just let us know.

9/16
My official post on the PTA is popcorn committee. I love going and doing the popcorn. I don't know why. They say it's the toughest spot to fill. Once a month and I get a little popcorn out of it. Daniel's car was fixed. He should get another several years out of it. We headed up to the Ranch to spend the night. We stayed up late and watched 17 Miracles. Seriously. You need to see it.

9/17
It had rained all night long at the Ranch. We were up all night long at the Ranch. So Saturday was a cranky day. We got to visit Cassidy (the goat) on our way home. She's getting fat. The Billy gets to go in at the end of the month. So we hope to have Cass back and pregnant in October. Then new kids in April or May.

9/18
Oops. We slept in. We were a little late for church. We did hear the Sacrament meeting talks though. They were wonderful. Grandma and Grandpa came for dinner and stayed to visit for a while. We love having them come over.

And today I have my house all to myself. Kids are at school. Daniel is at work. Laundry is getting done. Survivor has been watched. Diet pepper is being consumed. And now my blog has been updated.

Maybe I will go back to A Day In The Life. It means I need to take pictures for each day. It's not a bad thing, I suppose. I just have to do it. See ya.

Gotta See It.

Last weekend Daniel and I took the kids to see

17 Miracles

Our Uncle Clark is in it and is even on the poster! Isaac leaned over to me during the movie and said, "We need to buy this and it can be a Sunday movie". Indeed we will. It is the story of the Willie and Martin handcart companies and the trials they faced in their journey west. But more than that, it's a story of Miracles. 17 of them actually. It's got humor. It's got romance (which made Ruthie giggle many times). It's got intensity. And really it's just an account of real people who experienced real and life saving miracles as they journeyed west to be free to practice their religion the way they were commanded and taught. It's a family movie and can be a great catapult to talking about pioneers and the early Saints. And of course, there are the Miracles!

You gotta see it!

My Brain Could Be A Super Computer.

Many many years ago while I was living in So Cal with my grandparents, I remember sitting and watching the telly with Meme (grandma) and she snapped it off to talk. Now, there was the other time too, but I was just joking when I said it but she took me oh so seriously and snapped it off and I got the talk of a lifetime. Oh the therapy needed... But back to this other time. A commercial had just come on about feminine hygiene products. Large surf board type maxi pads. Which makes me recall that my aunt was pregnant at the time and thinking of names and the boy name she was thinking of was Max, Maximus, Maximillian, Maxi Pad. That's what it would turn into. Maxi Pad. So she had a girl. But my grandma was so incensed about feminine hygiene commercials, especially because men watch TV too. And so I didn't think about that at all until last night.

Daniel and I were watching a little telly. Do you just LOVE Landau Eugene Murphy Jr. ????? AND the Silhouettes!!!!! AND Team iLuminate?!?! And PopLyfe, which is a very awesome group but I told my kids that if the Silhouettes or Team iLuminate win AGT, we would take them to Vegas to see them. And then I told Daniel that if Landau wins, we would make it a just him and me trip to see him! And there's this commercial for TP. There is mama bear, a daddy bear and the baby bear, who can't keep his bum clean for anything!!! And they show the little pieces of TP stuck to the baby bear's bum and then talk about the TP that will cure that problem forever. At least they are using cartoon bears. Right?! I mean, c'mon! Do we really need to talk about clean bums? And now they have the same TP product commercial with women, who I assume are supposed to be moms, talking about dirty bums and that this TP will help you have a clean bum. Seriously?! Is nothing sacred?

And I don't care how thick, absorbent and white clothes wearing inducing feminine hygiene products claim to be. I still won't be caught dead wearing white, wearing a swim suit and jumping off a diving board or walking through a lovely field of daisies at certain moments of my life! Got it? And when it comes to clean bums. Well. I just don't know what to say. Sounds like a personal problem to me. Take a shower. Use soap. Wipe with TP. I just don't know what more this TP company thinks we need. Do we have to be bombarded each day with the bear family and now the mom brigade telling us to keep our bums clean?! The bums at our abode are clean thank you very much. And I use a completely different TP which I get at a certain large bulk store in bulk and it lasts such a long time because we can go through TP like crazy cakes here which means we all have clean bums. So you see, I have such need of therapy. Still.

As we were settling into bed last night, I ran my hand down my arm where my mole was removed. I rubbed the scab off. I wanted to puke. Really. Daniel was willing to help by turning on a light so I could look at it and make sure it was okay. NO! I can't look at it. My tummy hurt a little just thinking about it. And I looked at it this morning and it's okay. I didn't throw up. Thank goodness! But I get a slight headache when I look at it. At least our bums are clean.

And then the other night, while a couple of little people were talking in the hall, Sam yells out “SHUT UP! I'm saying my prayers!” I snort laughed and couldn't stop. At least he didn't say “Kneel down and pray dammit!” Which I have heard (and said) many times in my life. Sometimes I have just so much information going through my little head that I think “Hey! My brain could be a super computer”. That would be cool. Maybe it's an excellent thing I don't drink coffee. Or lattes. Or take stimulants. Could you imagine???!!! I don't think the world is ready for my brain abilities.

Whew!

So. How clean is your bum?

On With Phase 2.

Sounds like a housing development. But this is Isaac's mouth. No housing. Today we began phase 2 at the orthodontist. More braces. Today the tops went on and in 7 weeks the bottoms will go on. Isn't he a cute metal mouth?!
They sent him home with all this fun stuff in a bag attached to balloons. When he got phase 1 braces off, they gave him a bag with root beer, popcorn and suckers. He'll have to wait about 18 months for that stuff.

Guess who wants braces now?

Hint: Sam and Ruthie

Called To Serve.

After church I walked to the door to leave and there was Sam on the outside of the door waiting for me. He said, "Mom. I got called on a mission and I have to go to Germany."

He then told me that Isaac and Ruthie were called, too. They are going to Nebraska and New York. Then I got home and Ruthie said it was Oklahoma, not Nebraska. Whew!! I was worried.

Sam is nervous about Germany. The other two are excited about their assignments. I asked when they had to leave and what we needed to buy. They said they didn't know yet.

So far no one has come forward to say it isn't a real mission call. So I'm not saying anything either. Maybe they'll actually go serve now.

Frump Girl.

I don't know how it happened. But it did. But I kinda know how it happened. It was gradual. But then again it just happened and there was nothing I could do about it. But really I chose not to do anything about it. Maybe I wanted it to happen. What am I talking about?? The Frumpage. Serious frumpage. Frump girl galore. After I turned 40 I wanted easy. No idea why or in what form. But I went to my natural curl on my head. And the frump happened. Although the frump really occurs more during the last 3 weeks or so before my next hair appointment. When the cut is fresh and the color is fresh it's just not so frumpy. But then the color fades and the curl grows out and the weather is hot and nasty and my hair goes frump. You can almost hear it. "Frump"

So last night Ruthie and I went in for our regular cut. The lady right before us was really into the hair. She then was really into my hair. She wanted to come back when I was done to see it. Or have Shelba take a picture so she could see it. Neither of which happened. But I panicked. What if she came back to see...just...frump girl...with new color...and fresher curls. So I told Shelba I was ready to un-frump. We still did the same color. But it's shorter and I think I might just go straight again. And then do curly when frump isn't a concern. Oh, and I had her give me thicker bangs. yay! Here's a peek...

PS. Don't look at the messy kitchen. Or the fact that I don't have lipstick on. Which is the other frump challenge. I began the daily sunscreen regime and decided to go without foundation. I liked the fact that no foundation didn't change the way my face looks just naturally. Which is why one uses foundation...to mess with the the natural on the face. But I think I'm agonna go back to foundation on special occasions. With sunscreen all the time I am getting a bit pale. Or something. And I'm 40. You know? I need a little coverage. Or a lot. Just depends on the day. Or the time of day. You know?

And then there's the fact that I cannot, for the life of me, park in a parking place, that has no cars on either side, in a normal and straight fashion. I ALWAYS park on a line. It began earlier this year at cub scouts, when I would be the first one to park. When I'd come out to go home, I would see how poorly I parked. Which made the other leaders park funny. But that's not all. I do it at the hospital, at Maverick, at the grocery store, on Sunday for church. All the time. Unless, of course, I park in between 2 cars. Which I really do try to avoid.

And I think I am officially cranky. Like old lady cranky. Little old lady who can't park straight cranky. It's been coming on so gradually that I hardly sensed it. Until I sensed I was cranky about something. And I LIKED it! Maybe I was trying hard to park straight. But cranky can be fun. And now? Well now I'm gonna look good cranky.

No more frump here.

At least until 3 weeks before my next hair appointment.

A Beautiful Butterfly.

Yesterday we had a great opportunity to celebrate Lyndsay's life with her family. Her brother and mom passed out Monarch Butterflies for us to release. Just like we did a year before. Here is one of our butterflies before flying away.

On Tuesday I took Ruthie up to the cemetery to leave some flowers and be by ourselves. Ruthie asked if she could say a prayer. I never say no to such a request. She knelt down by Lyndsay's headstone with our flower and said a little prayer. I just stood back and cried. Then cursed myself for not bringing the camera. Dang! I brought the camera on Wednesday, but she didn't want to re-enact.

When more family and friends came, they brought glorious flower arrangements. Ruthie took a couple of pictures of them. Our little flower got drowned out fast! But we feel sure that Lyndsay liked our flower too.

More beautiful flowers. It was a beautiful day and a wonderful tribute to an incredible little girl. In looking back over the last year, I realized that one thing has been left behind at our house. Dress up. Lyndsay always played dress up with Ruthie at our house and at hers. When Lyndsay passed away, Ruthie just never played dress up again.

These two little girls have a lot of dress up to play later when they're together again. Oh yeah. AND! Lot's of tea parties to plan!