In the Mail . . .

We got the coolest thank you note ever!

We went outside and noticed a ball on our front porch. We were surprised when we realized it had been mailed to us! Our niece Jennifer and her family came for a visit earlier this month and the ball was their very creative way of saying thank you. They wrote us notes like "We had a ball!" and then mailed it. I wonder what the mail carrier thought of such an unusual package.

My long-awaited birthday present also finally arrived!

The red, lighted leather case (a gift from Marianne & Jenny) came first and sat waiting for a couple of days.


Finally, on Friday afternoon my Kindle arrived! It is one of the best gifts my husband has ever bought for me. I love the way it fits in my purse.


It is a dream come true to be able to carry an entire library around with me!


Now I just have to restrain myself from buying an entire library all at once. Fortunately there are many free books (most of them classics) available. I already have some Shakespeare, Webster's 1828 dictionary, the Scriptures, As A Man Thinketh and my newest non-fiction favorite The Talent Code . I'm trying to decide whether an old favorite or the Hunger Games trilogy will be my next purchase.

Awesome August

August started off with one of my least favorite events--
my birthday.
Thank goodness I have a sweet husband who took me on a quick overnight getaway,
a Mom who took me out for the world's most delicious soup
(Cheesecake Factory's Wild Mushroom)
and a sister who knows how to keep birthdays exciting!
(and yes, that is a real knife)
Plus, we got Red Velvet Nothing Bundt cake. YUM!

Later in the month, I headed to St. George for a reunion with 6 of my friends from Lancaster. I haven't seen some of them since we moved over 14 years ago. This is an amazing group of women and we had a blast catching up.

We even went to see Tarzan at Tuacahn.
Here we are with Kerchak, King of the Apes.
I don't usually stand this close to bare-chested, sweaty men, but we had to get a picture after this great show!

We finished up the month with a trip to Utah to take Aaron back to BYU.
On the way, we visited the Grand Canyon.
It was peaceful and beautiful and deserves a post of it's own.
For now, I'll show you just one picture--the view from our cabin.
Can you believe it?
I thought they were exagerating when the reservation said "Rim Side"

After the Grand Canyon, we caravanned with my mom and grandma the rest of the way to Provo.
Here is a 4 generation picture of "the girls".

Whew! It was a fun, busy month.

Rite of Passage

When Aaron was about 11 years old, he went through a phase where he LOVED to dig holes. He was at an age where he needed a physical challenge and he was literally digging up our yard. Finally, we decided we needed to help him find a purpose in all that work, so we made a deal with him. He wanted a trampoline and we told him that if he dug the hole so we could put it in the ground, we'd buy him one for his birthday. He was excited and got to work. Most people hire someone with a backhoe; we put our 11 year old to work.

Fast forward to 2010. Our trampoline needed to be replaced. We figured we could leave the old frame in the ground and replace the springs, mat etc. It didn't turn out to be that simple. John realized that we needed to remove the old frame, but saw what a huge project it would be. He wanted to just fill in the hole. That's when Evan stepped forward. "I can do it Dad!" He and John worked together, but Evan kept going even when Dad came inside for a break. At 12 years old he was ready for a physical challenge just like his big brother was 7 years ago. First he dug out the old frame and then spent hours widening and deepening the hole.

Swinging a pick axe isn't easy work. John needed a trip to the chiropractor, but Evan was excited to get the new trampoline set up. He broke it in with some inaugural jumps just in time.

His cousins arrived that evening and thanks to Evan's persistence, they were able to jump on the brand new trampoline. We loved having our nephew Kevin and niece Jenny and her family here. She even brought us some prints of her awesome art. Evan got a break from his hard work when they invited him to join them at Sea World and the beach.

A couple of days later, Aaron arrived home for a short break before BYU fall semester. He was impressed with Evan's hard work. It was easy to see that little brother was growing up and following in big brother's footsteps.

Lifelong Learning

I love to learn! In an effort to help my kids have that same love, I am always on the the lookout for products that help us find the joy in learning.

I have a certain child who isn't too fond of math. So I bought something that helps make math a bit sweeter. Have you heard of Smencils? They are pencils made of recycled newspaper infused with wonderful aromas. They even come in individual tubes to ensure that they don't lose their flavorful scents. I bought them HERE, but they are available at various places and they even have a fund-raising option. So now while you're doing your math, or any other writing, you have something yummy to smell.

I have slowly been collecting Mike Venezia's Getting to Know The World's Greatest Artists series through PaperBackSwap. A couple of weeks ago a few more books arrived in the mail. I got out the rest of the books to see how many we have now. The kids and I spent an hour or so reading them and trading them with each other. The writing is engaging and the cartoons make you laugh. These books are a really fun way to learn about art. They are available in most libraries or on Amazon at 4-for-3 prices.


For the past 10 years, we have started our day with family scripture study. We've done it many different ways, but one that was a favorite when our kids were younger was Penny Gardner's "Storied Scriptures." Penny has gone through the scriptures and found all the stories that will capture your kids' attention. She gave them all titles and complied the references so that you can use them for your daily scripture study without getting bogged down in parts that are too tough for kids. This is a FREE online resource that I highly recommend. It is easy to get started too. Just print it out and put it with your scriptures. It even has a place for you to record the date you read the story with your children. HERE is the link. It's a great way to help your children have the scriptures written on their hearts.

Here's hoping for a great school year and an eternity of learning!

25/26 in't bad

Oh no! I jut dicovered that a certain key on my laptop keyboard in't working! Can you tell which one it i?

Overall, I had a wonderful day:
Time with our niece & nephew and family
Laundry done & even put away :)
Thought about the temple and the time I pent there yeterday
Got caught up on my email
Got ome planning done for our homechool clae
Lunch with my huband
Played and ang with my beautiful granddaughter
Watched the un et at the beach
Roated hot dog and 'more over the firepit

I gue I can't complain about one miing letter! I think I'll look at thee picture of Brianne and her grandpa intead. They make me mile.


BTW, doe anyone know how to fix a keyboard with one broken letter?

Maybe I'm Crazy

Last week I got on my Amazon account to order some books for the Classical Acting project I'm teaching this fall. Actually, I didn't get on my Amazon account. Every time I signed in, I got that bright red "incorrect password" message. (On a side note, I hate that Amazon message because it tries to be helpful by saying, "Perhaps you originally set up your account at work, and now you're shopping using your personal account". For some reason it really annoys me.)

Anyway, I kept trying to sign in. It wouldn't work and I was getting really frustrated because I KNEW I was using the correct password. I even tried shouting at the computer, "This has been my Amazon password for YEARS! I know it works!" It was then that I started doubting my sanity or wondering if I had early onset Alzheimers. How could I have forgotten my password? What is wrong with me?!

Finally, out of desperation I started trying alternate passwords that I've used in the past. Eventually one of them worked. By that point, I didn't even care that I was crazy. I was just grateful to get onto my account. After I ordered my books I tried to put the whole thing out of my mind!

A few days later, John told me that he had ordered me a special birthday present through Amazon. I was surprised because he never uses Amazon.

"Did you finally set up an account?" I asked.

"No" he answered. "I just used yours. I did have to change the password though. Did you notice?"

Did I notice?!! I was about to tell him EXACTLY how much I noticed, but Evan interrupted with a perfect imitation of me whining, "But this has been my password for YEARS! I know it works!"

And just so you know, my kids are currently singing Gnarls Barkley's Crazy, and have changed the lyrics to "My mom is craaaaazy!"

Here's the video in case you want to try singing along with their lyrics.

Here's what's up

with our kids . . .

Evan lost three teeth yesterday! Fortunately, it was not due to an accident. He just has lots of new teeth coming in. Our slacker tooth fairy (who usually forgets to check under the pillow) decided to be proactive and stopped by before bedtime to leave a $5 bill on the table under his teeth.

Marianne got a dance card and went to her first church dance last night. I can't believe my baby girl is old enough for that! I knew I should have cancelled her 14th birthday.

Aaron texted me this picture, prompting me to ask whether he was longboarding or going to the temple. The answer was "both." He boarded to the Provo temple and loved getting to do baptisms for the dead.

Ryan blessed his baby girl today. It was a beautiful day. I enjoyed going to their ward and being in Relief Society with Molly. Marianne joined us in RS since they have no young women in their young ward.

This daddy daughter picture cracked me up. They both look like they're peeking out at us.