Crazy Hair

Markus thought his hair looked like his cousin Tanner's and wanted me to take his picture after helping with center time in his class.

It kind of does look like Tanner's I guess, probably because he was wearing a hat.

Random

Markus was taking some pictures today with my camera of some of his favorite things. Bacon....

and Molly. :)

I finished the laundry for today as well. Wo-who!

Popcorn Popping

I looked out the window and what did I see? No, it wasn't on the apricot tree...just the flowering cherry. After church it was a different story, who ever ordered winter to come back?

Snow, snow go away come again another winter day...

Good Days

We all have good days and some bad days. Life is not about hoping or wishing for all good days, but accepting every moment of everyday for what it is ...precious. Loving this moment right now.

So, I have been reading the blog of Nienie for a while now. She is a friend of a couple of my friends, and yet I have never met her. I just started reading about her on one of my friends blogs and was so inspired by her story that I felt compelled to keep reading. And I have come to feel as though I do know her, through her blog. She is a wife and the mother of four children who was in a plane crash last August. I just read one of her posts from the other day that brought tears to my eyes. You can read it here.

I know she has inspired so many people through her example. This quote is from my friend Anne-Marie's blog about Nienie:

"But, since that dreaded crash last August, not a day goes by where my
thoughts do not turn to her. Just a regular mother and wife like me, with an
unthinkable accident that has certainly marked a new path in her journey. Yet
she has handled it with an immeasurable amount of faith and grace.

I know our problems will always be there. And in each of our lives, the measure of our trials may all be subjective, but we all suffer in one way or another."

Yes, I do have problems here and there. But I have good times too. I just have to stay present so that they don't pass me by unnoticed.

"As we grow up, we learn that even the one person who wasn't supposed to ever let you down probably will. You will have your heart broken, probably more than once and it's harder every time. You'll break hearts too, so remember how it felt when yours was broken. You'll fight with your best friend. You'll blame a new love for things an old one did. You'll cry because time is passing too fast, and you'll eventually lose someone you love. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you have never been hurt. Because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back. Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid it will never begin."

Metamorphic Rock

Max has been learning about rocks in school recently. So he brought home a recipe to make some metamorphic rock treats. They were really rich, here is the recipe:

We're baking up some yummy rocks! This recipe demonstrates how the layers of sedimentary rock are heated and pressed to form metamorphic rock.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 c. butter
1 1/2 c. vanilla wafer crumbs
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1 6 oz. package chocolate chips
1 6 oz. package of white chocolate (or other) chips
1 c. chopped nuts

STEPS TO FOLLOW

1. Melt the butter in the baking pan (9 x 13). 2. Sprinkle crumbs over the butter. 3. Pour condensed milk evenly over the crumbs. 4. Layer the remaining ingredients evenly over the top. 5. Press down gently. Bake at 350 degrees - 30 min. or until lightly brown. 6. Let cool. Cut into bars.

Midnight Sun

I am reading Midnight Sun for book club next month. It is not even a published book really, but more like a manuscript of Twilight from Edward's point of view. I have posted the pdf file if you are interested in checking it out. It is kind of interesting I guess, but not as much as reading Twilight for the first time, because I already know what happens.

Midnight Sun

Which dessert are you?

My cousin Vicki sent this email to me with the instructions to choose your favorite dessert and then see your personality type. My favorite dessert wasn't on the list so the next closest one was strawberry shortcake.

1. ANGEL FOOD CAKE -- Sweet, loving, cuddly. You love all warm and fuzzy items. A little nutty at times. Sometimes you need an ice cream cone at the end of the day. Others perceive you as being childlike and immature at times.
2. BROWNIES -- You are adventurous, love new ideas, and are a champion of underdogs and a slayer of dragons. When tempers flare up you whip out your sabre. You are always the oddball with a unique sense of humor and direction. You tend to be very loyal.
3. LEMON MERINGUE -- Smooth, sexy, & articulate with your hands, you are an excellent caregiver and a good teacher. But don't try to walk and chew gum at the same time. A bit of a diva at times, you set your own style because you do your own thing. You shine when it comes to helping others and have many friends.
4. VANILLA CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE ICING-- Fun-loving, sassy, humorous, not very grounded in life; very indecisive and lacking motivation. Everyone enjoys being around you, but you are a practical joker. Others should be cautious in making you mad. However, you are a friend for life.
5. STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE -- Romantic, warm, loving. You care about other people, can be counted on in a pinch and expect the same in return. Intuitively keen. You can be very emotional at times but a true person in every way. You like to do things for yourself and help others learn about themselves.
6. CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE ICING -- Sexy; always ready to give and receive. Very creative, adventurous, ambitious, and passionate. You can appear to have a cold exterior but are warm on the inside. Not afraid to take chances. Will not settle for anything average in life. Love to laugh.
7. ICE CREAM -- You like sports, whether it be baseball, football, basketball, or soccer. If you could, you would like to participate, but you enjoy watching sports. You don't like to give up the remote control. You tend to be self-centered and high maintenance.
8. CARROT CAKE -- You are a very fun loving person, who likes to laugh. You are fun to be with. People like to hang out with you. You are a very warm hearted person and a little quirky at times. You have many loyal friends. You were meant to lead and teach others. A wonderful role model.

Rising Above

Today in one of my classes I taught a little boy named Dustin. He was born deaf and with a depth perception problem. His mother abandoned him and he lived in foster care for four years, where they feed him a bottle and left him in his car seat all the time. He did not learn how to walk until he was four, when an interpreter found him and adopted him. She was a single mother who had all ready raised her children and decided she needed one more. Dustin has learned to sign and is 10 years old now but the size of a 5 year old. He started ice skating two weeks ago, when I met him and he was so grumpy...but who wouldn't be considering all that he has been through. But today he was all smiles when I gave him a ride and helped him learn to slide across the ice like the big boys. He didn't want to leave. I think he is very resilient and inspirational. Since I had my camera still at the rink from last night, I asked his interpreter if I could take his picture and she said sure, he loves to have his picture taken. He reminds me of Simon Burch. So much to learn from this little guy.

Hockey Awards Night

Max and his friend Jake at the hockey awards night tonight.

Coaches: Jeff, Davis, Andrew and Jason with Jake and Max

Max receiving his trophy

Max and two of the Grizzlies players in attendance tonight to sign autographs

After the awards were presented all of the skaters in the league were invited to skate and it was pretty dang crowded...

Markus and Max had a great time and didn't want to leave they were having so much fun with all of their friends.

Since Markus had start smart right before the awards night, he was able to meet the Grizz players as well and they signed his shirt.

Motherhood

My s-i-l Tami sent me this email today. I thought it was pretty funny, especially the last one...

First day of Spring

Hooray!!!

Signs of Spring

Max helped me get the Easter decorations out today...which consist of a tree and a green sign. Still, it is fun to be getting ready for spring...

Gearing Up

For baseball season....

Max is on the Red Sox's team and had his first parent meeting tonight. Markus has his first practice tomorrow for his team - The Raptor's. He is psyched.

Top o' the mornin' to ya

When Max came down for breakfast this morning, the wee little leprechauns had turned the o.j. green and the milk as well...

Markus discovered that they had been in the bathroom as well.

Markus was excited to wear his green shirt today and go back to school. He missed two days due to his illness and he was excited to see his friends again and what kind of mischief the leprechauns had created at school.

Piper

Meet my newest niece...

Amy, my s.i.l. had her baby girl yesterday. She named her Piper Leslie and she weighed 6 lbs. 14 oz., and was 18 " long.

Stake Conference

Since Markus is sick with strep throat, I stayed home from Stake Conference today with him.

Weekend

What a busy weekend. Austin's dad asked if Austin could stay with us for the weekend while he went to a volleyball tournament in St. George. So Austin came over last night and then I went to teach Amanda and classes this morning. Max had his last hockey game of the season today, which the Bulldogs tied in one of the best matched games of the year, 4-4. Then as soon as his game was over he went right to baseball tryouts. His friend Jake from hockey was trying out as well.

Then I took Morgen, Austin and Markus to lunch while Max was at tryouts and we ended up at Sports Authority trying on ski stuff - see Markus in the photo below:

It turns out that right now is a great time to buy winter ski things, so Morgen found a new boarding jacket and pants and so did I. All at 40 % off - I love a great deal! Sheri has some boarding boots that she is giving to me so I just need a board and I am all set. I won't have to rent all the equipment anymore. Morgen is going boarding on Wednesday night with the YM so I might just have to go with them.

Leatherby's

After Max's last hockey practice tonight, the Bulldogs went out to celebrate a great season. We went to Leatherby's and had ice cream. In these photos are, l to r: Kaiden, Max, Alex, Carter and Landen. What a fun group of friends.

All the parents and coaches came too. And the boys gave the coaches their appreciation gifts as well. All of us pitched in and contributed to a gift card to Gastronomy restaurants for each of the coaches.

Here's to a great season Bulldogs!

SEP's

Max had his SEP conferences today with his teacher, Mrs. M. She just loves Max and can't say enough great things about him. His report card was all A's again so we had to stop by the book fair afterwards and pick out some new books for Max as well as Markus. Morgen's SEP's were last Tuesday. He is doing great in school as well, he just couldn't go to his conferences with me since he had guitar lessons on the same night.

Molly's New Crate

Molly went to the store with us yesterday to pick out her new crate. She has been so squished in her old one for such a long time that she must just think that her new one is like heaven or something. Max and Markus both think that it is fun to go in the crate with her!

Mom's night out

Pictured above: l to r - Lori, Jessika, B, Kristi, Julie and Nikki

My friend Jessika invited me to go to dinner at Tsunami tonight with some of the girl's from Bunko for a little "Mom's Night Out". Bunko isn't really working out too well anymore, it is hard to get 12 girls to commit to it every month. So we talked about it at dinner, and we are going to have a dinner group instead. Every month we will just meet at a different type of restaurant to experience all of the different types of cuisine there are to experience in Utah. Sounds like fun to me. For next month Julie picked a Lebanese place downtown. I am excited!

Mac girl

Today while I was cleaning house, I saw Kailey sitting with her Mac, and thought about how cute she looked. So I decided to take her photo, she looks like a Mac commercial, don't you think? :)

Max at Hockey

Max had a hockey game yesterday and I finally remembered to bring the video camera. He had a great game; in spite of having a tooth that was about to fall out. The Bulldogs won again, 5-2 against a really good team. So he was excited and his tooth came out right after we came home. The tooth fairy remembered to come this morning luckily, even though I forgot about daylight savings time. Hey showing up an hour late for church is better than never, right? I was just in time to teach my primary class though, so it is all good.

Shopping

Tonight I took my niece Kailey shopping with me at the new Nordstrom that just opened yesterday.

She tried on some darling dresses -

just in case she needs to go to any movie premiers with Rocco!


This one was my favorite on her. She talked me into trying some dresses on as well...but I am not going to post those photos however. I needed a tan first or something!

We tried on shoes in the humongous shoe department and went to get a sugar cookie afterwards at Mrs. Fields. What a great way to spend a Saturday night with such a fun loving girl. Thanks for shopping with me Kailey. ;)