Making Soap and Cards

I know I'm a little late (again), but here's some Stay-cation activities that we enjoyed during our Spring Break.


Card making, by Allyson. I was a little late for this because of work so I just made the kits for each card.


Soap making: fun but very precise process. I can't wait to use our soaps!


Ally looking so beautiful as she stirs the mixture.


The different scents of soap we made.

Picnic at the Duck Park

Saturday Ally, Sydney, Grandma D, Nathaniel, Susan, Tyler, Aubrey, and I decided to make good use of all the old bread I bring home from the bakery and go feed the ducks at the fishing ponds. Unfortunately, the ducks were not very hungry and we still have a ton of bread but we did have a fun picnic and a good time!


At the "Blue." The park has a blue shade cover and Syd wanted to go play there.


Tyler entertained himself by taking pictures with my camera. Not bad!


Apparently he needed to take a shot of Aubrey's cute hair too.


They did this on their own while we were walking to the park. We tried to get all four of them lined up but there was little cooperation.


Syd walked a little ways away from us and lay down in the grass. I asked her what she was doing and she replied, "Sleeping."


Aubrey wanted to sleep too but she just couldn't bring herself to put her head on the ground. She does look like a little model though!


Tyler enjoyed catching ladybugs and made me hold them for him while he played. *shudder*

Fun Friday

This last Friday we spent so much time trying to find something fun to do that we hardly realized we were already having fun.


Syd bundled up for the "cold" spring night.


Julie looking so beautiful and grown-up (or bored).


Maddie and Ally were playing with Ally's sarong and something went awry...


Playing with the sun and the sarong.


Earlier Sydney came running up to Maddie with this lovely shade of putrid yellow nail polish and said, "Maddie! Look! Maddie, look! Nayer polish!" (For those who don't know, Syd can't quite pronounce words that end in the L sound).

Here a video of Syd singing and playing the piano. Unfortunately, we couldn't get the words such as, "Nana...and Amy...and Mommy...and Daddy says....'Monsters Inc'....and I'm a princess..."

At the Park

Here are some more park pictures from a different day. We headed up to the rec center park for some family fun.


Aubrey hiding out on the slide steps.


Ally looking rather uncomfortable in the tire swing.


Even Dad and Brian got in on the fun.


This kid is such a ham.


Tyler riding the ancient turtle.

Family Night

A few weeks ago for Family Home Evening we had a picnic in the park with Brian, Susan and their kids. I'm finally getting around to putting some pictures up.


I tried to get everyone to look at the camera but they were too busy salivating over the brownie-cake.


We were talking and all of a sudden Tyler came riding up on his bike...


Closely followed by his cute little follower. It was pretty funny though when she turned the other way and tried to pedal towards the park.

Poll Results

Thanks for all those that voted in the Pirates of the Caribbean movie poll. The results were Curse of the Black Pearl with 87% of the votes. Thanks for your participation. (You done Capt. Jack proud!)

Pirates Poll

Maddie and I recently watched all three Pirates of the Caribbean movies in one week (we would have had a marathon, but let's be realistic here). I thought thought maybe if I watched all three in a row, I would appreciate the second and third ones a little more. It's not that I don't appreciate them for what they are. I like the story line (when it's coherent) and I still love the characters. Not to mention the INCREDIBLE soundtracks by Hans Zimmer. I just wish that the second and third movies had a little less of eye-popping special effects and recycled jokes and a little more magic and mystery like the first one. I wish that Capt. Jack Sparrow, instead of being a bumbling idiot and an accidental hero, could be more like the Jack Sparrow in the first movie. Even though he made each situation hilarious with his wit and general Jack-ness, he always had some sense of control whether it was another secret up his sleeve or another twist in his already complicated plot.

Anyway, I always have more to say but I think it is often wise to let it go unsaid. Enjoy the poll on the sidebar there.

Storytime!

The girls and I were bored one evening so we decided to make a video. First we were going to make a music video then it was going to be a stop motion video. Finally, we got really ambitious and decided that we would just make a silent movie...with pictures. Truth be told, we were so sick of the planning and preparations that we didn't want to film anymore. So, here are a few shots from The Case of the Million Dollar Hedgehog:


Julie played the rich old woman that loved her million dollar hedgehog more than anything.


Maddie was the demure and oh-so-mysterious Miss Cecily, granddaughter of the rich old woman and jealous of her grandmother's affections toward the hedgehog.


And last but not least, Detective Luna Howl was played by Ally. Luna used her detective sleuthing skills to solve this complicated case. An unsuspecting hedgehog missing, a poor old woman grieving for what she has lost, and a jealous but beautiful granddaughter looking for revenge. See it all in The Case of the Million Dollar Hedgehog!

Pay it Forward

My sister Allyson had this on her blog so I thought I would give it a try since I don't have a lot to do these days:)

The Rules

1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me - something crafty or yummy, who knows?!

2. Winners must post this challenge on their blog, meaning that they will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on their post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate pictures and comments!

If you are not one of the Top Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along.Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same! SO, REMEMBER...Pay it forward!

A Very Moo-ey Roadtrip

We took a trip to Utah this weekend for cousin Abby's wedding. She looked so beautiful in her dress, the food at the luncheon was quite delectable (especially those death-by-chocolate chocolate covered brownies!), and the reception was absolutely gorgeous. Of course I got a little (okay, a lot) choked up when Anthony and Abby were leaving, but we won't dwell on that.

Unfortunately, I'm such an idiot that I didn't take any pictures until the trip home. So, someone else will have to cover those on their blog. However, I did manage to get some funny videos of Sydney in the car. There were no cows around and all of a sudden she started doing this:



(For those of you that may not know, at the end she says "cheese monkeys" - the phrase we tell her to say when we take pictures)

Then we got her to sing some adorable princess songs - Ariel, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty. I must apologize for the shaky video. It's hard to keep it steady in the car.

Presidents' Day Adventure

For Presidents Day Mom, Dad, Maddie and I decided to have a little adventure on our bikes. We went down to the railroad tunnel trail down by the lake. It was a beautiful overcast day, although it did sprinkle rain on us for a bit. We discovered that the trail now goes all the way down to the Hoover Dam parking lot. However, us wimpy girls were very tired and sore on the way back up the canyon. Luckily we had Dad there to cheer us on and perform wheelies and honk his chucker call at us (may you never have to hear one!). We had a good time and the scenery was spectacular as usual. However, I decided that I desperately need some photography lessons because I only got one or two good shots out of the 50 or so that I took. It was a great opportunity for photos but I blew it with my ignorance. Oh well-next time I s'pose.



Dad getting ready for some serious mountain biking!













Mom and Dad enjoy a little break from our very strenuous outing.





The bikes that Dad got Maddie and me for Christmas.





I had some really cute ones of Madison but alas, they did not turn out well. Sorry Maddie!

Books

Okay, Ally, here's my post. Thanks for keeping me on track!

Well, I haven't taken any pictures lately, although I'm anxiously awaiting Allyson's post on our playground adventures the other day :) So, I decided that I could post a little about the books that I have been reading lately.

Conquistador is a non-fiction account of the Spanish conquest over the Aztec empire. I know that non-fiction historical accounts can be a little dry but I would recommend this one to anyone interested in Mexican history or Mesoamerican cultures/civilizations (chances are, there aren't too many of you out there but we all have to have hobbies, right?) This is a very exciting retelling of history and very insightful into the handful of men that were responsible for the fall of one of the largest civilizations on earth.

Maddie has been trying to get me to read Middleworld for ages now and I just finished it. It is a fictional story that revolves around Maya culture and folklore, both ancient and modern. Young teenager Max Murphy is the son of two renown archaelogists. But when his parents go missing while on a dig in the jungles of San Xavier, it is up to Max to battle it out with the ancient Lords of Xibalba to get them back. Mom was making fun of me for reading a children's book but I quite enjoyed this one. The couple that wrote the book come from a line of archaeologists and the husband grew up in Central America. The story is peppered with facts about rainforest plants and animals, Maya folklore, Maya glyphs and calendars, and modern life in the rainforests. (Plus, the book is printed on 100% recycled paper to save the rainforests - I know, I know, not very typical of me to make a big deal of this but when you read this book you appreciate the effort of this very down-to-earth couple).

The Invention of Hugo Cabret is a book that cousin Manda recommended to me. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the Maya, the Aztec, or the Americas in any way (and that's probably a good thing since I've started to have strange dreams about corn spilling out of rocks and Maya warriors with crocodile heads). This book is a children's book that is about 600 pages long. Before you freak out let me explain that it is mostly illustrations. It is made so that you feel like you are watching a silent movie so there will be several pages of illustrations and then a few pages of text. The plot contains a mystery about the French movie-maker Georges Melies. I have seen his movie A Trip to the Moon and I was highly disturbed...but only because of that freaky picture of the rocket ship that crashes into the eye of the man in the moon. However, the story is fascinating and the design of the book is captivating.

The are several other books that I am reading (I currently have 7 or 8 items checked out from the library) but this post is already too long and boring. Until next time...

Aubrey's Mini Photo Shoot

Sometimes you just have to pose for the camera :)

Well, I guess it's been a while...

Okay, so my new goal is to post at least once a week. Hopefully more. I guess you could call it a late New Year's resolution. Although my favorite New Year's resolution was one of my friend's: "I am going to floss EVERY day, and love everyone." I thought it was very encompassing.

I am back home now, taking a break from college life for a while. Provo weather is just too freakin' freezing. But mostly I am posting because I got a camera for Christmas so now I have some pictures to post again.


Syd was just having fun rocking away and singing a song.


Papa threatened to hang Tyler upside down inside a sleeping bag in the closet. Fortunately, he didn't make good on his words but the kids did have fun nonetheless.


We celebrated Brian's golden birthday on Sunday. He turned 25 on the date of his birthday (the 25th!).


I thought it was pretty cute that Syd had to get in among the horses in order to have a good time.

Words...

Here's a little something that I got from my friend Amanda's blog. This was taken from an earlier post of mine ("Tag: The Five"). Enjoy :)

Some Halloween History

Who doesn't love a little recycled post every now and then?

Here's the history of the Jack O' Lantern in case anyone was wondering(Taken from History.com).The new colors on the blog are in honor of this post. They will revert back to their old colors with the next post :)

People have been making jack o'lanterns at Halloween for centuries. The practice originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed "Stingy Jack." According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn't want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to keep the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack eventually freed the Devil, under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul. The next year, Jack again tricked the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree's bark so that the Devil could not come down until the Devil promised Jack not to bother him for ten more years.
Soon after, Jack died. As the legend goes, God would not allow such an unsavory figure into heaven. The Devil, upset by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul, would not allow Jack into hell. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved-out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as "Jack of the Lantern," and then, simply "Jack O'Lantern."

Isabel!

Isabel and I were bored so we decided to take pictures. I used my phone camera so I apologize for the poor quality. I also must apologize for the scary/nerdy personage in the photos. Isabel makes up for it though and as Manda put it - "You should put these on your blog so everyone can see how freakin' cute my kid is." Well said, man. I agree :)


What a cute little face :)


This was supposed to be a sad face...


...and this was supposed to be angry....


Isabel was waving and saying, "Hellooooooo....."


My personal favorite :)

Crazy face...the Mummy perhaps?

Amusing Campus Moments...

Fall is in the air. When I walk out to my car the windshield is covered in leaves. We're well enough into the semester that students are locked into a routine. We have even enjoyed some midterms already. But with the new semester comes a new series of moments - big, small, awkward, sweet, funny - and all of them campus moments...

I recently paid a visit to the Bean Wildlife Museum because I had a few extra minutes before I needed to be at work and the museum is on the way. Fortunately, I happened to arrive just as 2-3 school buses pulled up, full of elementary children of all ages. The usually quiet and rather small Bean Museum was teeming with kids running around trying to find Russian black bears, "the real king of the jungle," and a deer with tusks. I sat down to do my homework and I happened to be sitting right across from the infamous deer with tusks (the Musk deer - very strange). A couple of 5th graders walked by. The girl was in that somewhat annoying I-really-like-this-boy-so-I'm-going-to-hog-all-his-attention phrase.

Girl (looking at a very small deer and saying in a high-pitched voice): Devin, Devin! Aww, look how CUTE it is!!
Devin (looking bored and disinterested): Yeah. But this one has tusks.

Another group of three girls (a little younger, maybe 3rd grade) walked by the bears:
Girl #1: Oh, how CUTE! This bear is so cute!
Girl #2: Cute? Lady, that's flippin' huge.

Ah, little kids. I miss the funny things they say.

Baba Yaga

Just a little interesting tid-bit of information. I am currently reading the book Enchantment by Orson Scott Card - the story is that of a modern day fairytale scholar that gets sent to medieval Russia and becomes the hero of the root story for several fairytales including Sleeping Beauty and Baba Yaga.

Naturally I had to start listening to Mussorgsky's song Hut on Fowl's Legs again because Baba Yaga is the antagonist in the book. For those of you who don't know, Baba Yaga is a witch from Russian and Slavic folklore that kidnapped and ate children. She lived in a hut without a door that walked around on chicken legs in the woods. I was reading up a bit on her character on wikipedia and I found this picture of a grain storehouse in Sweden. It is obvious where the tale comes from, isn't it? I thought this picture was really cool. What an odd sight.

(Warning: The book Enchantment is not for everyone. Unless you've read other Orson Scott Card books (Ender's Game not included) and like them a lot, please speak to me before you read this book)

TAG: The Five

10 years ago I:
1. was a ballerina
2. had really long hair
3. had 3 CDs - Enya, Star Wars Soundtrack, The Chieftans
4. was probably playing the role of Bumble Gum Bart
5. wanted to play the penny whistle

5 things on today's "to do" list:
1. wash car
2. Karate class
3. shop for Tuesday's dinner
4. eat something
5. get ink cartridge for printer

5 snacks I enjoy:
1. cucumbers
2. peanut butter
3. airpopped popcorn
4. wheat thins
5. dark chocolate chips

5 things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. travel
2. buy a house and decorate it!
3. go to lots of concerts
4. travel some more
5. give the rest to my family

5 places I have lived:
1. Midway, Utah
2. Boulder City, Nevada
3 Provo, Utah
4. Heber City, Utah
5. a tour bus for one month while traveling around the USA

5 jobs I have had:
1. Jetco Construction personal assistant (haha)
2. babysitter
3. receptionist Southern Nevada Water Systems
4. BYU laundry
5. full time student....which doesn't really count I guess

Taal Yatra

Saturday was a good day. Karate was awesome because there were about 20 people there today (about 12 more than usual) and after karate I hung out with Abby and we watched movies while eating junk food (and crazy salad concoctions on my part) and studying for my map test in Geography. We watched such classics as Win a Date With Tad Hamilton, Freaky Friday, and Jaws 2. Good times...

In the evening Sam and I went to a concert on campus of a group called Taal Yatra. It's an Indian ensemble that plays north-Indian classical music and it was amazing! There were two drummers playing the tabla drums, one vocalist, and one man playing the harmonium (an instrument that I have never seen before - look it up, it's cool). From the very beginning of the performance I was entranced. The vocalist had such a beautiful voice and the leader of the ensemble, Pandit Suresh Talwalkar, was absolutely incredible. He was very charismatic and had one of the most expressive faces I have ever seen in my life. I wish I could have gotten a recording of it because it was amazing. Afterward, Sam and I were really craving curry but since it was 10pm by the time the performance was over we couldn't do anything about it.

After the performance I played a heated game of Canasta Caliente with Grandma S. and Aunt Joy. Grandma won of course and I lost by about 1,000 points but whatever - it's a fabulous game. All in all it was a fabulous weekend. :)

The 13 Clocks

I'm pretty sure that everyone will label me as a nerdy loser after this post but I figured that I should share it anyway.

So, this last Friday I was really bored and decided to go somewhere like a park or the library to read (call me a loser, whatev). I was going to head over to a park but I remembered that I lost my sunglasses and since it's been unusually bright here in Happy Valley I decided to go to the Provo library with the intention of finding a corner to sit and read.

First, because I was bored, I explored the old section of the building then went down to the children's section in the hopes that the chairs would be softer and more comfortable (again, call me a loser - I can handle it). I wondered around listening to little kids run around and parents chasing after them. One little family was especially fun to watch and listen to as they were really loud and speaking Korean or something. I looked around the shelves to see if any books caught my eye.

And one did.

The 13 Clocks by James Thurber (author of Many Moons for those of you in my family) is such a good book. I picked it up, read the back, then read the first few words of the introduction and was hooked. I think I read the whole first chapter while standing there in the stacks before I finally went to find my corner and sat down. Yes, it's a children's book and is very short but quite enjoyable. The illustrations and wonderful and look like those Disneyland ads from the 50s if you have ever seen those.

There were passages that I had to read aloud to myself because of their poetic quality and several sections where I laughed outloud (much to the frustration of the guy studying a few chairs over, I'm sure). I didn't leave the library until two and a half hours after I entered. I didn't even check out the book, but sat and read until the story was over. Neil Gaiman, who wrote the introduction, said that once a friend was complaining to him about her problems with her boyfriend and her family, how she hated her job, and to top it off her dog was in the hospital. Everything Gaiman said to try and help her just made it worse so finally he picked up a copy of The 13 Clocks and started reading it. He said that soon the girl was laughing and smiling and they read the entire book together. I liked Neil Gaiman's point that this is a feel-good book - one in which to escape reality for a bit and enter the world which such characters as the Todal, a minstral Prince, the Golux, and an evil Duke that believes he has slain time.

Anyway, call me a nerdy loser for spending my Friday night alone in a library but this book was excellent. :D

Here's a little fun project from Allyson. This is what you do:

First you go to www.flickr.com/search. In the search box you put your answers to the questions below. Once you have chosen your fave pic, copy and paste the URL to the mosaic maker found at www.bighugelabs.com

1. First Name
2. Favorite Food
3. Your School
4. Favorite Color
5. Who is your Celebrity Crush
6. Favorite Drink
7. Dream Vacation
8. Favorite Dessert
9. What you want to be when you grow up
10. What you love most in life
11. One word to describe you12. Your Nickname

Trust me to fudge it up though. For some reason I omitted what I love most in life (family of course) and have two number nines. Oh well - you get the idea anyway...hopefully.