A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and other good reads.

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you out there who suggested this book(Cristin, Lara, I can't remember who else). I loved it. It's been on my blog as a current read for a month but I finished it in a week, I just haven't updated. I returned it to the library so unfortunately I can't quote any great lines. I always love getting a view of the world from a child, it changes everything. Alcoholic unstable fathers become music making heroes. Aunts who are "easy" or "tramps" become champions with tender hearts. It gives a whole new spin on the world. I can see why we are suppose to become like little children. Now I am reading To Kill A Mocking Bird because Kristi, and Jessica (Stull) loved it so much. So far I do too.

We are currently getting ready to paint our house THE WHOLE house, so I have lots of audio book time. We have to wash all the walls, sand them, tack cloth them before we do the texturizing, priming, and finally painting (Darin has been fixing nail pops, and spackling). My parents are coming up this weekend to help...thank heavens for parents! Anyway back to my audio books, I have listened to The Second Summer of the Sisterhood, Princess Diaries -Princess Party and am currently listening to Bridge to Terrabithia (back to my Newberry Award goal). I LOVE the Sisterhood books. I think I like them more than the Princess Diaries. I do have to warn mothers out there that they should read them before getting them for daughters. Intimacy comes up in both series, so it might not be a good book until there is a certain maturity and understanding there.

Miriam as Dorothy

Here is a sampling of the pictures Darin took a few weeks ago. My husband is amazing. He sees something he is interested in learning, he does some research, and TA DA he can do it. He just loves to learn, and he wants to learn so much he usually does something a few times and moves on to another hobby. This creates a lot of "hobby stuff" at our house, but when it gets frustrating (and expensive) I try to remember that this love of learning, and curiosity of life is something I love the most about him. It's something I hope he passes on to our children. They won't get it from me, although I am trying in be progressive (blogging). I am more of a content settled person. Learning new things can intimidate me.
One of Darin's old/new hobbies is photography. He took a photography class in high school, but when things went digital he became interested again (he loves technology). My mom asked me to have some new pictures of Miriam for Mark's farewell so we rushed to the woods to take some pictures. It was perfect timing because Miriam's devotion is splitting between Dorothy and, Angelina Ballerina. Sometimes Angelina comes grocery shopping with us instead of Dorothy, and (gasp) Miriam called one of her dolls Angelina the other day. I hope Dorothy is not completely replaced but I am glad we documented this part of her childhood in pictures just in case.

This is my favorite picture, Darin softened it using Gimp (an open source program, similar to Adobe Photoshop). I think now that this dress looks more like Alice in Wonderland than Dorothy, especially since Miriam has blond hair but it will have to do. The shoes are the most important part anyway:) Did I mention I love and admire my husband???

Dancing Queen!

My sister Julia (the picture above is of her as a little ballerina) is opening a dance studio! She has been working toward this goal ever since she moved back to Price. If you have little girls and live anywhere near Price, Utah you need to sign up! Julia is so enthusiastic about dance she motivates others just by being near her. She is also a very talented choreographer, she as written award winning dances. She has been teaching little girls for the last 3 years and has all these cute sayings and songs to help them learn. Those who don't have little ones and live far away can help her with your creativity. See my other sisters, Sarah's blog to see how you can help.
We are so proud of you Julia!!

Attraction

Darin and I saw bits and pieces of this TV program about attraction between men and women. These social scientists did a study on people being attracted to others who look similar to themselves. It was really interesting. They did this big speed dating test where, using a computer, they matched the attendees with the member of the opposite sex whose features resembled theirs. Of course the daters didn't know this, and then they were asked to rank each male or female they met using this dial under the table. It was amazing how accurate the scientist turned out to be! Oh! I forgot to mention that the daters were not allowed to speak to each other so it was all on appearances. They did the test again, allowing the daters to speak and the results did change some depending on what careers were, who knew how to flirt etc. However, the results still indicated that people are attracted to.... well I guess themselves, in many cases. Ever since, Darin and I have been looking at couples to decide if they look similar or not. It's become a game, we also do it with pet owners because the same seems to hold true. The most interesting thing to me is that I don't think Darin and I look anything alike, besides being very pale and not tanning easily. Darin is average height and very slender, very long legs, I am short and have, what I refer to as a bedonkadonk behind or a J-Lo build (heavier than J with shorter legs). I have a very large mouth with large teeth, Darin has a small mouth, I have a smallish nose, Darin has a large one. It goes on and on, but I am wondering if we just can't see how alike we look. Maybe we do look alike and are just in denial? Just some random thoughts I have been having lately.

My Secret Chef

At the beginning of the month I commented on Jessie's blog (a fellow blogger and scrapbooker extrordinare)about going to one of those make a month worth of dinners places. She wanted to know what I thought about it so I am going to post my experience so far.

Pros
1. It was fun to go put together the dinners! You go from station to station following directions, leaving the mess in someone else's kitchen, all the prep work had been done. They guy in charge kept calling us "LADIES" and brought out fresh baked cookies.

2. It is SO nice to have so many meals to choose from any given night of the week and not have to worry about dinner.

3. The meals are good! Not as many veggies as I would normally have, and much more meat but they are varied and taste good. There are a few we haven't liked as well, but you can choose not to make the ones you don't like.

4. The meals come in 3 or 6 serving sizes. This helps me regulate when I have eaten a serving. They have all the calories, points, fat grams etc posted on their website so I could keep track of how many calories I am eating.

5. It doesn't hurt my feelings if Darin doesn't like the meal. I just say "we won't get this one next time". I don't know about the rest of you, but when one of the meals I spent so much time and energy on is tossed aside my blood boils at the ingratitude. It's really not fair either since it's just an opinion, and I really do want to know what my husband thinks. I guess this gets us both off the hook.

Cons
1. It cost $218 for 24 meals, that's just dinners. I still have to buy lunch and breakfast items for our family. That puts us way over our monthly budget. I got 24 meals because I cut the 6 servings in half. If you had a family of more than 3 adults you would have to get the 6 serving size which is just 12 meals for $218.

2. Fresh always tastes better than frozen.

3. You do have to block out about 2 1/2 hours to go make the dinners, pack them home in boxes or a laundry basket (they are HEAVY), and have room in your freezer.

The main con for me is the cost. I am going to try to make a month worth of meals and do all the prep work myself sometime soon (maybe not in August because we are painting and still selling soap) to see how the cost compares. It may be worth the extra money to not have the hassle and extra work...or it may not. I guess it will depend on the cost difference. One thing my mother-in-law pointed out was that if doing this keeps you from running for fast food then it will save money in the long run. So that is something to consider. It defiantly helps me be more happy and content at dinner time. I guess that is actually the best benefit of all...a happy mom:)

Mark

My little brother Mark should be in Brazil by now. I am sure he is completely overwhelmed, I remember when I was in the Provo MTC someone had made the anaolgy of learning at the MTC to trying to drink from a firehose. Yep, thats what it was like for me...and I was speaking English. I am happy that he is there, I just ache knowing that he will go through so many rough times, and yet, I know it will all be for his good.
Mark's farewell was really nice. We sang a song as a family which, those of you who sing with your families know, can get stressful (coordinating schedules, lots of opinions). It's also brings a closeness I haven't felt from any other activity. It's pretty powerful. I was watching my two brothers sing and I was amazed by them. My big brother looks just like my Grandpa Young and has a rich bass voice, Mark looks just like Grandpa Rasmussen and has a clear tenor voice, like my dad. My mom has a beautiful soprano voice. Julia can sing alto or soproano, I can only sing alto, Sarah has a nice voice too but because she is the only one who plays the piano, she is always the accompianist. I don't think our preformace was all that great, but it's the practice time that I liked the best.
Mark's talk was one of the best I have ever heard given by a soon to be missionary. I was prepared to weep and wale through the whole thing. Half way through, I realized I wasn't crying and didn't feel like crying because I was so interested in what he was saying. He spoke about becoming a disciple of Christ, and his words caused me to do some introspection. I completely forgot that he was even going to Brazil!

The luncheon afterwards was nice. Here is a picture of my Grandpa Young giving Mark some advice. He also gave him an Emery County rock to throw into the ocean or lake out there. It's a tradition he does with all the missionaries in our family.

Here is my dad, Heather, and her son Chris. Heather is so great to come to all our family events. She is a riot to talk to and her kids are wonderful. Her oldest dauther Elise, took Miriam under her wing and entertained her the whole time they were there. Also, a picture of Josh and Johnny paying with squirt guns in their Sunday clothes. It was so bloomin' hot that whole week. We put up canopies with misters and had a dozen squirt guns.
We will miss Mark, but we are so proud of him. It's so fun to have a missionary out.

Happy Birthday Wishes

It's my mother-in-law and my sister-in law's birthdays, so even though we've had a busy day sending Mark off to Brazil I had to get a post in.

I think everyone who knows my mother-in-law would agree with me that she deserves high praise. The best word I can think of to describe her would be gracious. She is always thinking of others and by "others" I mean every person she sees walking down the street. She spends countless hours sending cards, or making phone calls, and praying for others. She is the kind of person who makes lifelong friends and connections with people. She is very considerate of others feelings and is careful about what she says or talks about. That being said, she will reach way out of her comfort zone to express kindness or praise. I feel very blessed to have a wonderful husband that came with a wonderful family. When we were engaged, all I could see were the similarities between our families. After getting married it seemed our families were worlds apart. I have since come to the conclusion, that our families are the same in all the important ways, and different enough to give my new little family variety. Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Birthday Nonnie!!

Along with a great mother-in-law came wonderful siblings-in-law! I have known Nonnie the longest of all Darin's siblings because she was still at home when we started dating (in HIGH SCHOOL..if you can believe that). Nonnie was always so kind to me. She has a good sense of humor, and is someone you could have lots of inside jokes with. She is very artistic, she loves to dance and sing and enjoys the theatre. Nonnie has been such an inspiration to us all as she is just completing her second Masters Degree in Education while working as a full time teacher. Aunt Nonnie knows tons of cute songs and silly sayings for the little ones.

I hope this has been a happy day for the birthday girls. I can't help but think of my little brother as well. His plane from New York should be leaving soon, after a FOUR HOUR layover. I hope he met up with a bunch of other missionaries and they are becoming great friends. Okay...I need to stop because the tears are starting all over again. More about Mark and his goodbye party to come.....

Clarification

Okay, just to clarify things. . . the "farewell" isn't in the building where Grandma and Grandpa R's funerals were. Here is a map to the correct meeting house. (The church is actually just to the right (east) of the arrow as indicated on Google Maps.) Hope to see you there.

Mark's "Farewell"

For any of you Friends and Family who were thinking of coming to "the meeting formally known as a farewell" meeting (the last church service before my little brother flies to Brazil to do missionary work), you will need to know the following information.

The meeting is this Sunday July 16th. My parent's ward has been relocated while their building gets repaired. They currently meet at 2:00 in the afternoon. They meet at the building just east (down the big hill) from the Price Cemetery, the address is: 995 E. 700 N. Of course everyone is welcome to come to my parent's house before (it will be chaos but you are welcome) and after (for food). Everyone is Welcome!!

Random Stuff

Miriam woke up this morning singing "You've got to move it move it" (from the movie Madagascar) bobbing her head and shaking her hips. Such cuteness just starts your day off right. Darin went into get her and she was so into her own imagination he startled her. When he brought her into our room I pretended to be asleep and then said "Surprise" (like Alex the lion). We all giggled giggled and giggled. I love giggle mornings.

The Farmer's Market last night went well. We didn't make a ton of money, but did make a profit. We were placed next to the Volker Bread people which is a blessing and a curse...such yummy breads. The lady working the stand was so great, she gave us some stroodle, and what was left of the loaf she had been cutting for samples (we also bought a loaf of orange cranberry bread). It was fun to see all our old Market friends. The pretty overall wearing, Bangeter Farms girls were eating fresh sweet corn on the cob raw. When I asked them about it they said "we're just hick farm girls who will eat anything". They are so cute. Malvern was there selling his rock hound jewlery, the crochet lady, the kettle corn people. There were a few new booths. A guy selling jellies and syrups. He had a jalapeno raspberry jam that I think my dad would like. He said it was great with cream cheese on a cracker. One booth that had carved wood decorations also had a bowl full of carved wooden wands. Miriam and I walked by and she said "Hadie Potter!",(she hasn't actually seen a Harry Potter movie but aparently likes him) the man at the booth said "that is the magic word go ahead and take a wand." He was giving them away free to any child who saw them and made a connection with the character. It's a fun way to spend a Thursday night.

Happy Birthday Dad!

I have always loved hearing about how the night my Dad was born, my Aunt Ruth thought the fireworks were in celebration of her new baby brother. He is someone who deserves a celebration. My Dad makes everyone feel accepted, welcome, and comfortable in his presence. He is no respecter of persons...he is as kind if not kinder to the downtrodden than the "bold and the beautiful". He likes to read the encyclopedia FOR FUN so he always has interesting things to talk about. One thing I absolutely love about my Dad is that he encourages adventure. When we are on vacation and we would see some crazy arcade game, or roller coaster ride, or wanted to try boogie boarding, he would say "yeah lets do it" even if it cost an extra $20 per person. He gave us the opportunity to water and snow ski, snowmobile, and ride four wheelers. I am a fearful, hesitant person by nature and these experiences helped open me up to possibilities later in life. My Dad made me brave.

My Dad is always giving service. He has shown through example how to treat others. His heart is huge which may be why he seems to have a strong connection with the Heavens. All I know is that when he prays for snow, it always comes and when I am feeling a little less than my best, he usually calls.

Happy Birthday Dad...we all love you so much!!

Pleasant Valley Days

This was our weekend in a picture nutshell. Not pictured is the parade (which throws more candy than any other parade I have ever been too, and is 1/2 as long), the train and pony rides, the great amount of food consumed, movies/video games, a t-ball game, bonfire, birthday party, and riding the Bad Boy (golf cart sort of thing) as well as 4-wheelers. Darin took pictures of the fireworks and caught a bit of Mother Nature's display as well (pictured above). Fun was had by all.

Tomorrow we will celebrate the 4th at home. The city parade goes down our street, actually blocks us in so we will be going. People set up chairs at 5:00 pm tonight (the earliest the city would allow) but we are just going to walk over and stand...walk home if we get tired. I think Miriam might be disappointed in the candy this time, she has high expectations after the Pleasant Valley Days parade. Afterwards, we will head up to the park for some food, I hope gyros but probably hot dogs, definitely snow cones.

Miriam update time!

I have been really bad at recording Miriam milestones. I can't remember when she first started to talk, I think her first word was eat, but that seems unusual so I am questioning it. In an attempt to be better at documenting her life this post will be dedicated to what Miriam is doing now.

1. As the picture above shows, she is coloring the entire page or picture all one color. This was a Father's Day card I had made, Miriam wouldn't rest until there was no white showing.

2. She says "Do you know I love you?". She picked that up from Darin. He says that to her as well as "Do you know I love your mom?" which tugs at my heart strings every time I hear it.

3. She says "you know that?" after some sentences. For instance, she will say "you're silly...you know that?" or "I love you....you know that?".

4. She says "Oh...thank you" after people compliment her. We have been trying to teach her this one for a long time. Miriam has this look which I can only describe as being a "mean girl" stare. When she looks at me with it, I really do feel kind of uncomfortable. When she was younger, she really didn't like attention from people, especially strangers. She would get lots of compliments on her eyes and in return would dish out the "mean girl" stare. I have been prompting her to be polite after compliments and now finally, she will murmur coyly "oh...thank you".

5. She is starting to sing primary songs and I tear up every time I hear her singing softly to herself. She especially likes "We are a Happy Family" which makes my heart sing even on my most exhausted days.

I love my little girl.

Room With a View and other things

I have had this goal to read all of the Newbury Award winning books...well, actually listen to them on CD while I clean the house. When at the library, I keep getting distracted by the sparkly Meg Cabot Princess Diary books. I can't resist and I check those out instead. It's ridiculous but I really love them. I am almost 30 and I listen to books for young adults...pre-teens actually. I might as well admit here that I love "High School Musical" as well.

In my defense, I am reading other books. I just finished A Room With a View' by E. M. Forester. It was wonderful. Exactly my kind of book. Full of British pretentious manners. A love story surrounded by those crazy British characters that remind you of people you know personally. I related completely with Miss Honeychurch, being young and afraid of her own feelings. Wanting to be mature and correct, trying to please everyone around her. She is not extraordinary in any way, I wish I still had the book to write her description, but it was something like she was pretty in her own way, had great hair, was a talented pianist but missed her fair share of notes, not a huge abundance of courage but a lot of fun to be around. That could describe any one of my friends or sisters (well, replace hair with legs or skin or whatever). George, her male counterpart, was harder for me to relate to. I guess it's because he is a deep thinker and I like to stay happily on the surface. He seemed depressed to me...but manly enough to make a fine male lead.

I just checked out A Tree Grows in Brooklyn to read over our holiday weekend. So many people have suggested it, and it is on some list of the best reads of all time. I read the prolog which compared Francie (the story is told through her) with Jo from Little Women and Anne from Anne of Green Gables. That got me very excited because those are two of my most loved books (and movies). The difference between these characters is that Anne and Jo are characters mainly for young people...happy things happen to them, they are always saved from real danger. I guess this book is more for adults because it is more true to life, this is all acording to the prolog. I hope it's not too sad. I have been known to cry for days over sad books.

Sarah and I took the kids to the "watering hole" this weekend. That's not what it's called but its what Miriam and I call it. It's a series of concrete lined streams that meander down to a little pond in a local park. The park fills the pond with plastic balls that can float down the stream, under little bridges into the pond. It's genius! The kids could have played there all afternoon. The only problem is that since its free it can get really crowded. When we went two different women were having these very loud obnoxious cell phone conversations. I swear they wanted to draw attention to themselves...dropping the "F" and other bombs every other sentence. Normally, I wouldn't hesitate to say something, but they were so enjoying their phone fighting I believe they would have loved to get in it with a perfect stranger. I just led Miriam as far away from them as possible. I tried to be obvious about it. I just can't stand it when people swear and smoke around kids. Actually I can't stand it when people swear and smoke around me. Gone are the days when you could send your kids to the park. Maybe those days have been gone in big cities for some time now, but I grew up in a small town where we would ride our bikes all overr town. It's sad, and very depressing that I will need to accompany my kids to the park until they are like 14 and even then give them a cell phone to call every hour.

It was a fun day even with the little annoyances. Miriam adores her cousins. She cried herself to sleep when they left. We tried to console her by telling her we will see them at the cabin this weekend. Every morning this week she has said to me "we are going to the cabin with our cousins to eat marshmallows".

I need to remember to use a flash in bright lights to combat shadows. These pictures are not as cute as they should be. I love our camera when someone else is taking pictures, but all the buttons and dial intimidate me.

More Crazy Missy Smiles

See what I am dealing with??

Go To the Depths With Me Sista

I Don't Have to Make Everything All Better
by Gary & Joy Lundberg
(I tried to post a picture but can't get it to work ARGH)


I don't think I could ever love a self-help book. They are too painful for me to really enjoy because I think of the many things I want to improve on. I spend the book in uncomfortable reflection, which is good, but not fun. So, I don't love this book but I do love how it helps my relationships with those around me. I really do believe everyone would benefit from this book.

The title sounds a bit harsh I think, when you don't understand what it's referring to. It brings an image to my mind of someone who doesn't want to help or care and is taking a stand against it. It is not at all like that. The example the book gives is of a child who skins their knee and runs to her mother. The mom will hug and listen and say she is so sorry, maybe get a band-aid. She listens and gives sympathy but the physical pain remains with the child. We can all figure out our own solutions to problems, we just need someone to sympathize, to care, to notice. The book says that when someone is telling you a problem, refrain from giving any advice at all. Just listen, and listen, and listen, and understand what is being said. People don't need PMA's (positive mental adjustments), they will bring themselves back up if they feel understood. If you have some REALLY good advice you wait until the next day to call the person and tell them you have thought of an idea that might help. I swear it works.

This isn't my first exposure to the Lundbergs. They gave a conference in Boston while I was serving my mission there. At the time I was "training" a new missionary. I had only been out 2 months (the training period) so even though Sister Stull (my "greenie") was amazing I felt completely overburdened. I felt like I needed to be perfect and I needed to have all the answers. We went to hear the Lundbergs speak, I enjoyed it immensely but only half listened because I was thinking of all the other things we needed to do that day. Sister Stull had just received her bachelors degree in Marriage and Family Counseling (I believe...Stull correct me if I am wrong) so this stuff was right up her ally. I do remember Sister Lundberg saying "go to the depths with someone", let them get it all off their chest, but then let them pull themselves back up. I was interested, but filed it away.

Later that week Sister Stull must have mentioned a struggle she was having, I don't remember what it could have been, but I immediately started pouring on the PMA's "You're doing great" "Don't worry about it" "It's not that bad". She just looked at me and said "Go to the depths with me here sister". It finally clicked, Sister Stull is an intelligent, happy, motivated person. She didn't need me to answer her questions, or help her forget her problems, like all of us she just needed to vent them. I hope I became a much better trainer, and missionary in general after that. Thanks for the lesson Stully!

It's been 8 years since I learned that lesson. It was forgotten until a month ago when I took a parenting class where the instructor suggested reading this book. I realize more than ever that I am deficient in the listening, and too quick to give advice. I'm working on it, I just wish I had overcome this shortcoming before having kids. It seems all my faults have been amplified since becoming a mother.

Benefactresses

Miriam is so lucky and she doesn't even realize it!! Miriam has cousins, aunts & grandparents that are always thinking of her and buying and making things she would like. All her books are from grandparents, and 90% of her toys are from my sister Sarah. This blog however, will be dedicated to her fashion benefactresses. The Janes girls and my sister Julia.

I buy all of Miriam's clothes a year before the next season to get the clearance deals. So, for instance, I will buy all her summer clothes for next summer in August and September of this year. So I stick to solid colors, timeless classics, no frills, no edgy styles. I also deal heavily in hand-me-downs from sisters, and neighbors. Lucky Miriam has a very fashion conscience aunt and hip cousins. One of her cousins also happens to work for Old Navy. Because of their kindness Miriam has madras shorts, embroidered jeans, peasant blouses, flouncy skirts, T-shirts with cute sayings, and very cute impractical shoes. The pictures are of Miriam in her brand new outfit from the Janes' and one of her cousins. So cute! So nice of them! Miriam loves the shoes!! So does everyone else, a little boy tried to steal them at the park the other day. Thank you Janes girls and Julia!
Miriam is also going through this crazy smile phase. She wouldn't smile for the camera her whole first year and now at two, she smiles so unnatural. Silly girl.

Bluestone #4

It's Lindsey's birthday! Lindsey (pink & white hat) is my dear friend Mirissa's little girl. We missed her birthday party because Miriam has a bad cough. It was very disappointing for me since I love any excuse to get out and socialize, especially with my ole' college buddies.

Me, Ris, Louise, and Cori have remained friends since our Bluestone #4 days. There were other girls that came and went because it was a 6 girl apartment, but the four of us have kept in touch. I have been so blessed to have good friends in every stage of my life; high school, college, mission, and U of U. We are fortunate to live in the age of email, the convenience of staying in touch has probably been the key for all of these relationships. Ris and I have followed the same path. Served missions at the same time, got married around the same time, had our little girls 4 months apart. Its so nice to have her only 20 min. away. I hope our girls will become friends, even if its just through email. Louise has 3 darling kids, and is the most put together mother I know. Nothing seems to rattle her. I wonder if she is bringing her children up on diet coke and frosted flakes ("joke, friends dude friends"). Cori is getting married in August and will be the step mom to 2 year-old twins!! She is confidently stepping into happy chaos, but that's how Cori has always been. Isn't it amazing how people don't seem to change all that much?

My top 10 memories of living at Bluestone #4
#10 Cleaning inspections every semester...especially having to clean the red, blond, and brown hair out of the drain...I get queasy just thinking about it.

#9 Breaking into hotel swimming pools with the boys from #1. Especially the night that my swim trunks got caught on the iron fence around the pool. I hung there, left cheek exposed until the guys could unhook me.

#8 Trips to Vegas. Roller coasters, shows, buffets, nickel slots...being completely wiped out, we are talking dead bone tired as we walked the strip back to where ever the car was parked.

#7 The first and only time a boy ever saw me across the dance floor, and asked me out on the spot...just because he liked how I looked. All other dates to that point had been worked up to...lots of flirting on either or both ends. Also the first time I had been totally and completely humiliated by another female (Ris do you remember this??). While on a date with this guy, a member of the Dixie Drilletes or whatever they are called, pulled him aside and said "What are you doing with that girl? You could do WAY better." I decided to pull away from the guy on the spot because I believed her.

#6 Repelling, hiking, rollerblading, trips to Quail Lake. I can't believe we did this, but Ris and I knee boarded behind a boat of total and complete strangers. Miriam will never never do this! I will put sufficient fear into her.

#5 Trying to set Louise up with any tall guy we came across. Especially "Woody", the RM who "penciled her in" for their dates. Actually, all the different guys everyone dated. Ris's spectrum of partyers to the EQ Pres., my drooler, Cori's very nice but might be gay guy, Amber's best friend who did turn out to be gay, my free tanning and gym pass guy, the list could go on and on. I also remember having to asking Becky not to do her glut workout in the living room while we had male company. Please try to imagine having a conversation with someone you like while a roomie is doing glut squeezes in front of you both.

#4 Cori and I driving down to California for a $200 Fun Cruise to Catalina Island and Mexico. This trip deserves it's own top 10 list.

#3 "The Caf" - where I worked my first year. Yes, I worked in the cafeteria. It got me harassed by football players, asked out by my 30 year old boss, and gross dishpan hands. BUT...free drinks!

#2 DECA nationals in California...again it deserves its own top 10 list.

#1 The anticipation of waiting for Darin to come down and visit me or right before I was going to drive to Price for the weekend. My first year I would leave right after my 3:00 math class. It became kind of a joke in the class that whenever I did my hair really nice and wore a shorter skirt (Darin wants me to replace that with "nice outfit", but lets be honest here) everyone knew I was going home for the weekend. The professor would even let us out a few minutes early so I could get on the road. You gotta love small class sizes.

Annalise is 2!

Happy 2nd Birthday cute girl! I know there will be a great party because lucky Anna has 3 older brothers and a sister to celebrate with. This is not what either of these girls look like since this was a picture taken at last years Ray Reunion (happy memories...good times). I am sure she is still just as darling with a bit of that 2 year old spunk. I hope Miriam and Anna will have many opportunities to wear matching dresses and get to know each other. We love you little Anna!!

My Antonia by Willa Cather

I read this book in memory of my Grandma Alice Rasmussen. Two things I always knew about Grandma; she loved Lovell Wyoming where she was raised, and she loved Willa Cather books. I thought reading Willa Cather's most famous work would give me some insights on how my Grandma thought and felt. Well, half way into the book, my father informed me that Grandma had told him she didn't like 'My Antonia'. "Oh Bother" (Winnie the Pooh), I was really enjoying it and feeling so close in spirit to her. My mom mentioned that Grandma may not have liked it because the ending isn't the happiest way it could end (it's not Oprah sad, just not "they lived happily ever after"). Possibly the ending disappointed her, and ruined the feeling of the whole book. I was a bit disappointed to find out it wouldn't end how I had hoped. However, with that foreknowledge, I was able to pay attention to the writing, and the get a feel for the time. Instead of just anticipating the happy love scene at the end, I became engrossed in the character descriptions and their stories. I paid attention to the imagery Cather created about the places she loved. I believe that if someone had told Grandma not to plan on the happiest ending she probably would have enjoyed the story more. I now need to read 'Song of the Lark' since that is the book she gave me for my 18th birthday. I tried to read it then but became bored by the descriptions of the country...I think I will try again.

This is one part I really like:

"Sometimes" I ventured , "it doesn't occur to boys that their mother was ever young and pretty."
"Oh, we know!" they said again, warmly. "She's not very old now," Ambrosch added. "not much older than you."
"Well," I said, "if you weren't nice to her, I think I'd take a club and go for the whole lot of you. I couldn't stand it if you boys were inconsiderate, or thought of her as if she were just somebody who looked after you. You see I was very much in love with your mother once, and I know there's nobody like her."

This is not a book I will read over and over but I did enjoy it. So far the books I can read over and over and over are as follows: The Outsiders, Little Women, Anne of Green Gables, Circle of Friends, and anything by Jane Austin. I am admittedly not a literary genius..I just like a good story where the heroine triumphs (with the exception of Outsiders). What are some other great repeat reads?

Wizard of Oz

Miriam is a Wizard of Oz fanatic. Pictured above is a common scene in our home. Miriam wearing ruby red slippers fixated on the Wizard of Oz. In this picture she also has on a very cute eye crown they made in nursery. You can't see her imaginary friend Dorothy, but she likes to watch the movie as well. This is old news to friends and family that live close to us, but I wanted to get this documented because I get such a kick out of it.

It all started last Christmas when Wizard of Oz was shown on TV. I watched a little of it with Miriam and noticed she was mesmorized, so I watched more than I normally would have. She immediately began to ask question after question about it. At this time she was also very into the Nativity so she began to mesh the two together. Baby Jesus got more visitors than just shepherds and wisemen, the "pink witch" "green witch" tin man, scarecrow and Dorothy all came to see the baby. It was very cute, but we figured the fascination would die down after Christmas. It never did. She began asking me to tell "Dorothy stories". She also began calling all pretty women dressed up "witches". We once saw a group of high schoolers out to eat before the prom and Miriam started shouting "Mom Mom! A blue witch, a yellow witch, a green witch!" It was a high compliment from Miriam but doesn't sound very good. At times she would call me "Pink Witch" instead of Mom, which is the highest compliment you can get so I was touched, but I wonder what the other moms at the playground thought.

We found some ruby red slippers at Kid to Kid that Miriam would wear constantly if I let her. Luckily she has realized that she can't climb up the slide at the playground with them on so she will wear other shoes to play in. My mom, feeling like we were depriving Miriam of the one thing she really wanted, finally bought her the movie. She can't get enough of it. She walks on her toes like the Lullaby League, she balances on curbs and then pretends to fall into the pig stall, she leans against pretend haystacks to sing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". She is not a performer (although very dramatic), but if you are lucky you may catch her acting out the Cowardly Lion "put em up Put em up!" or saying the famous "I'm melting, I'm melting" lines. It is highly entertaining.

I do get bored with Oz, but here are the reasons I love that she loves it.

1. I think Dorothy is a great roll model. She is brave, and very loyal. She is non-judgmental, and kind.

2. It is creative and full of wonderful songs.

3. Dorothy isn't a Disney princess. I love Disney princess movies, but the characters are everywhere! If possible I would like to hold off on the princess phase for awhile (it's already starting but I am stalling). Does it bug anyone else but me that there is no African American Princess??

4. She looks darling dressed up as Dorothy. This is going to be the cutest Halloween EVER!

There's no place like a child's imagination!

A Challenge

Darin and I have been wracking our brains trying to think of some logo for our soap. It's a tough task because it can't be anything too Fru-Fru for Darin, but I would like something cuter than like "Ray Soaps Co.". The other dilemma is that Darin likes to create other things as well, like pumice fountains, and jewelry and it would be nice if those things could be included within our name just in case we ever wanted to sell those. So we are looking for an all inclusive, crafty, non fru-fru name we could personalize our crafts with. Any suggestions?? We will send personalized soap (we have stamps to put initials and pictures on the soap) to anyone who comes up with a name we start to use.

Soap for Sale

I haven't been blogging much these last few days because it's Soap Season for us. Darin, his Dad, and I make and sell all natural, and gycerin soaps at a local farmers market throughout the summer. This year we were asked to participate in a city sidewalk sale/car show so we have been busy getting ready for it. We did pretty well on Thursday, but today it rained almost the whole time. For about an hour this evening we hunkered down with the sides zipped up on our canopy to wait out the downpour. Miriam was asleep in Darin's arms while we just marveled at how darling she is. So, even though we didn't sell much soap we did get some much needed "count our many blessings" family time. I think that's what I like best about selling the soap, we get to be a family without TV, computers, phones (we don't own a cell phone), or other distractions. We just sit there together, talking to strangers and making a little bit of money. I also like the creative ideas Darin and his Dad come up with...I mainly just give my opinion on scents and colors (and keep Miriam out of the way).

I need to especially thank my mom for driving up here to watch Miriam while Darin was at work and I sold soap in the rain. I have mentioned how encouraging she is. Anything we want to try and do, she is right there helping when she can. Mom and I also experienced ruben and monte cristo sandwiches today at a local deli. Wow... I don't know if I can go back to turkey.

Here Comes Cristin!!

This is my darling sister-in-law Cristin (have I mentioned how lucky I am to have such great in-laws??). She won't like this picture because her hair isn't done, but she is always beautiful! She is facing her fear of technology and attempting to blog. This is the blogging world's lucky day because she is chock-full of GREAT craft, child raising, and just plain fun ideas. Cristin has a lot in common with some of you bloggers that view my page (or at least, I view your pages). She and her husband graduated from BYU. I don't know the exact year, but judging by the hair and clothing at the time, I would say early 90's. Her husband went to Medical School through the Air Force at the U of U. They have lived at Travis Air Force Base, Arizona, currently live in TX and are moving to Mississippi. Check out her very cute blog.

Happy Birthday Lisa

Happy Birthday week (since the birthday was actually yesterday) to my wonderful sister-in-law Lisa!

Lisa is an amazing knitter. She made Miriam's blessing blanket (pictured above). She not only knits, but she at times, cleans and spins her own wool. She has a quirky sense of humor, loves to read, and do really hard crossword puzzles as well as other mind puzzle/games. She is one of the best people to vacation with because she finds humor in everything, and is brave enough for adventures. She volunteers in her community, is a wonderful sister, and an inspirational mother to three darling girls. Lisa has great skin and such cute features, she always looks like she is 23. I lucked out when it comes to in-laws. I liked Lisa from the first moment I met her because, to me she seems to be the female version of Darin. Happy year ahead!

Some Advice

I have something embarrassing to share. I had to have a wart frozen off earlier this week. I have never had a wart before, I am not sure if this is something else to blame on having Miriam (along with a kink in my hair, wider hips, bladder control etc) or if this just happens at 30. Miriam was such a trooper through the experience, she put her hand on my leg and said "We will be brave mamma" and "I will take good care of you". So I cried in the Dr's office, partly because of Miriam's compassion, partly because it really did hurt, and mostly because I have a wart, I have wrinkles, I have eczema, I weigh more than I did after having Miriam. Sad sad sad. - I have to insert here that I realize how pathetic that is, I should be overjoyed with my health, but that's how pity parties go-

It gets worse. Friday night my elbow (where the wart was) really started to hurt. I cleaned it out and noticed it was red a puffy. By Saturday afternoon the redness/soreness and spread 3 inches around the wound and it hurts like crazy. I called the Dr. and he said I needed to have it seen before Monday because infection could enter the bloodstream and that would get serious. I started crying again, partly because my elbow hurt, partly because my afternoon was ruined, and mostly because I would have to pay $50 and instacare and buy whatever they prescribed.

I was sitting in the waiting room at instacare and my mind started going crazy. I started to wonder what life would be like without my arm! How sad to have to say I lost my arm in a wart accident! Then I started thinking I might die. That got me really worked up. I started thinking of all the letters I would write to Miriam, I needed to tell her to please take piano lessons, and if possible the harp. To listen to her Dad always, and then that got me thinking about Darin, and how I DID not want him to get remarried. In so many LDS stories (Charley for one) the first wife lovingly tells her husband to remarry so he will be happy and the kids will have a mother. No no no no! I am not at that maturity level. While these thoughts were rushing through my head, I was reading Real Simple magazine and noticed an article all about advice from the older generation. My eyes caught a section that went something like..."Unless its terminal, there is no use worrying about it, and if it is, you can't do anything about it anyway" I snapped back to reality and then read another tidbit of advice that was something like this "don't let people rent space in your mind if they are not worth your time" Wow. I always need to be reminded to chill out, relax, don't spend precious energy on worrying.

I think I will be fine, I have antibiotics and instructions for care of the wound. If not, I can't do anything about it anyway. Whew, I feel better. I also liked this advice "when abroad don't ever go to a familiar chain restaurant, you might as well have stayed at home" or something to that effect. I think the same holds true for living broad (is that how you say in the states?). Enough with Olive Gardens, Applebees, and especially the McDonalds. Geeze...live a little.

Happy Birthday Mummy!!

It's my mummy's birthday today! HOORAY! This is the most recent picture I have of her. It was taken two weekends ago after my dashing little brother Mark went through the Bountiful Temple in preparation of his forthcoming mission to Brazil. Also pictured is Tom Selleck look- a-like Dad.

My mom loves German Chocolate Cake, but probably won't have any to celebrate with because she is currently one of the healthiest people I know. She is also one of the hardest working people I know. She especially loves working in her garden although life doesn't allow her to spend a great deal of time at it. Mummy is the best primary children's song leader I have ever known. She ran a tight ship, but we performed like stars! She is amazing with little children, they love her! She is one of the most encouraging people I know. If you tell her you would like to do or try something, she will be right there helping every step of the way. I owe all my student elections to her. She can paint walls, create darling quilts, and makes delicious Danish dinner. She also loves old western movies with John Wayne in them, and it's a good thing Dad looks like Tom Selleck because she thinks both of them are hot.
Happy Birthday Mom!! We all love you!

Thanks to Kristi for the birthday tribute idea;)