Ladies night out . . . TWILIGHT!!!

I win! I blogged our ladies night out first!!! Okay I don't have kids to contend with . . . that's a given . . . and my hubby is making Elders Quorum calls . . . so I have a little time to burn! I went to Twilight last night with ALL of my sisters and Mutti plus my SIL Brandi and a few of her and Jules' friends! We had so much fun! We went out to dinner and then over to the movie where we waited in line for around an hour or so . . . Austy was our little male chaperon for the evening and entertained us all night long! He loved it too and started blowing raspberries during the movie! Erin was stylin with "Twilight" across her lil' tush (my mom sewed it on . . . jealous . . . yes!!!) The movie was pretty good. My mom kept saying "that's not how it was in the book" and "I can't believe that they left that part out." Overall I'd say it was a pretty good effort with a little che-che-cheesy-ness added in. Oh . . . sorry to the ladies around us if they thought we were too loud . . but that is how we roll at movies . . . I especially get a little into them . . . sorry if anyone was upset with us for laughing our heads off at parts that I am made some people melt . . . ("Your my brand of heroine" . . . yeah really romantic . . . ) Oh and sorry if anyone thought that Jasper should have won an academy award . . . I am sure he will really burst out in the next movie with some tremendous acting and drop his apparent adoration for Edward Scissor Hands!!! Oh if you haven't seen it yet . . . there was a seriously scary preview that was freakin' me out before the movie started! You will never catch me watching that movie! Just close your eyes and plug yours ears! . . . okay the big test will be to see if Toph will go to it . . . to be continued!

Exciting sighting in SG!!!

We went down to SG for family pictures this weekend and on the way to my parents house I looked up on the red rocks and saw about a dozen deer walking towards the golf course! I freaked out and had Toph turn around to go and check them out! It was twilight so my pictures didn't turn out great but it was fun watching them come down the cliffs and book it all over the golf course! I was excited because they were right their and in all the time growing up in SG I had never seen anything like it! I know that we see deer 24/7 while traveling but hey this was in town! I thought it was exciting anyway!
Hey ladies! Nire and I want to make tees for Friday! We were thinking black with Twilight in white across the front in a kickin font . . . classy looking not NKOTB obnoxious, but nice. Anyone who wants to be cool like us let me know! ;) I don't know if we are going to have Mutti sew them of iron them on . . . only a few days now! Wa-hoo!

Tagged!

My sister in law Brandi tagged me (thanks Bran, oh and I think Parker is an adorable name! Go for it!) . . .

7 Weird things about me:

1- I hate touching flour! (Sad because I love to cook!) The feel of flour just gives me the he-bee ge-bee's!
2- I second Brandi in that I cannot go to bed with a dirty house!!!
3- I love hard marshmallows! I let them sit out forever and when they are really crunchy it is time to munch! (but I don't like peeps . . . sorry Patty!)
4- One of my pinky's is longer than the other!!! (Yeah you should see my toes!)
5- I am the biggest scardy cat! Watching movies is always an adventure with me! (Chris survived watching "The Village" with me and still married me! Thanks babe!)
6- I am not a "chalky candy fan" . . . smarties, sweet-tarts etc.
7- I don't like licorice! (am I really my mothers daughter?)

10 Years ago:

1- I got my drivers license!
2- My first car was a little white stick shift Ford Escort that was the funnest car to drive!!!
3- I worked at Larsen's Frostop! (I love the Larsens! It was so much fun!)
4- I was a Junior in HS!
5- Jules' tag reminded me of us running through the neighborhood when she got engaged! Oh and I do remember the Thanksgiving that she brought Dan!!! O-la-la!

5 Things on my to do list today:

1- Sleep! (I caught an evil bug going around!)
2- Chill with my husband
3- Cook the Asparagus that I bought
4- Study for Educational Psychology
5- Put laundry away

5 Snacks that I enjoy:

1- String Cheese
2- Herbal tea! (The Christmas selections are out!)
3- Toast
4- Pickles (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
5- Fruit

5 Things that I would do if I were a millionaire:

1- Go to Europe for a month with Toph
2- Get a kickin' kitchen!
3- Pay off Student loans!!!
4- Alaskan Cruise
5- Have 20 kids!

5 Places that I have lived:

1- Panguitch
2- St. George
3- Cedar City
4- Linz, Austria
5- Germany (Berlin, Leipzig, Dresden, Weimar)

5 Jobs that I have had:

1- Babysitter
2- Carhop at Frostop
3- Waitress at Shoney's
4- Secretary @ Rosenberg Associates
5- Front Desk at Hotel

I tag Katie, Sheena, and Erin!

Okay touch my heart! I had to hurry and blog before taking off for work because life is just a little crazy and scary in our big world . . . but we are always very blessed to have amazing people and experiences happen that just give you a boost and lift your heart and hope . . . Okay so Toph and I were watching the news this morning and on our lunch break . . . they were talking about all of the protesting going on around the LA Temple and the protest planned for tonight in SLC . . . they showed the protestors with their signs and they had stuck signs all over the fence of the temple . . . anywho a group of Latter Day Saint Polynesians appeared (I think of them now as stripling warriors!) and took the negative signs down from the fence!!! It was super awesome and just touched my heart! I am so glad that their are people who know how sacred temples are and would stand up for what they knew was right! Way to go! This world is heading into such uncertainty that sometimes it just seems to be in total upheaval! I am so grateful to know that the Lord is aware of all of his children and that if we stand up for what we know is right our families will be blessed and protected!

Mmmm Bread Baking . . .

Making bread is kinda a big deal for me . . . because touching flour gives me the willies like nothing else on earth! I don't know why exactly . . . I guess because it gets under your finger nails and . . . augh I am getting goose bumps and the he-be ge-be's just talking about it! Oooo! For some reason I felt like making bread . . I think because it is so cold outside!!! Our house smells amazing now! Chris did a double take and lifted me in a big bear hug when I told him what I was doing! (My honey loves homemade bread!) I was out of wheat flour so I think that is why he was really excited! (White bread is a rarity in our home!) Mensch the world is just spinning so fast! It is almost Thanksgiving already!!! I have a couple of new recipes that I look forward to making for Turkey day! I think Chris is a very willing helper too! I don't think that we will be able to make it to SG the day before but it looks like we will have a few days to chill . . . which we are looking forward to! I am just ready to move onto the next semester! I have discovered how much a of a "groove" I have with some teaching styles and am not doing as well I thought I would in one class and it is ticking me off. I am a little disappointed with class structure and material in another class that I think is really important for me as a teacher, especially that I will be tested on what we learned in this class to recieve a license. The other day my teacher basically said that he didn't like the way the class was and was going to make big changes for next semester . . kind of sounded like he knew it was a bomb and "well live and learn." That always makes you feel all warm and fuzzy about the time, money and effort that you put into school! Anywho off of my vent . . . the bread is almost done and my Toph is snoozing so adorably cute on the couch! (He looks soooo good today in a new shirt! GRRR!) We watched Sleeping Beauty while I made bread (Oh hush . . . I like it!) Turns out I have it memorized . . . shocker since I haven't seen it in years! Malificent is creepy, creepy! Her eyes . . . gulp! Yesterday was nuts huh? All that I am going to say about politics is that I am glad to see that Proposition 8 passed in Cali!

Halloween Night! (Lets Party!)

We had a lot of fun heading down to SG for Halloween and doing a little trick or treating with my siblings kids (Durham's, Anhder's, and Mclellan's we missed your little haunts too!!!) who looked darling and loved trick or treating (nope non- of these kids are ours . . . maybe next year . . .)
Mary had a little lamb who's fleece was white as snow . . . and she had the cutest cheeks ever! Lala looked too cute! She was content to watch the action and just chill!
Here kittty, kitty! Kam loved getting her picture taken! She was the cutest little cat and really got into trick or treating!
I loved when she got down and showed her stuffed tush! She did the cutest kitty dances and rocked back and forth on her feet! So cute!
Holy moly! Look at all those muscles! Batman, Bumblebee, and Jungle Power Ranger protected us while trick or treating! What strong men!
Austy's cute "lil'stinker" tush! His outfit was stuffed! He was the cutest skunk ever!
Austy and Mama! He was so good trick or treating but the weather was so warm! He was happy to go furless when he got home!
Oh a skunk and a cute kitty! What a stroller full!
Konked out from all of the excitement! She woke up in time to party some more later!
A sleeping stinker! He also woke up again and partied some more!
Julie's yummy cake pops!
Ami's beautiful caramel apple! (Hers was the one that turned out the best!)
Get it Trey! Eat that apple! Chew that caramel!

Oop,I guess the party's over! Austy finished off the drinks!

Primary Class Halloween Party

We had a blast tonight with our primary class! We had 4 kids turn out in the end and it was the best party ever! We decorated some pretty amazing cupcakes (click here to see them). Enjoyed a tasty Blood Clot Brew, my new favorite drink!!! Had a hand less donut eating contest, made paper plate skeletons, ate pizza and watched Disney's "Sleepy Hollow."
The girls started us out and tore into those babies like Paula Deen and a stick of butter!
Get it! Get it!
The boys kept knocking the donuts away with their heads! They were coated in frosting and loved it! It was great!
What killed me is that they went after them even when they fell on the ground! Augh! Dedication or craziness . . . I don't know quite which!

Its the second most wonderful time of year . . . Halloween!

Doesn't this picture remind you of trick or treating! I remember looking down into my orange pumpkin and this is what I saw! Last night it felt like the night before Christmas! I feel all giddy because we are having our Primary class Halloween party! Hopefully our kids will remember! I just baked a million cupcakes and have killer candy and treats to decorate them! Our plans for the party are as follows: decorate cupcakes, make paper plate skeletons, eat pizza, watch Disney's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (if it finally arrives in the mail today, if not we are grabbing whatever we can find at Wally's!) do the donut on a string eating contest (the kids REALLY want to do this, I am not a huge donut fan) and well thats about it! It will be fun I know! I love Halloween!!! We hope everyone has a wonderful Halloween!!!

Finally Friday!

Today is one of those days that you really could use a little chocolate, but have none (where's handsome hubby when you need him?) but found a can of coke in the pantry and were thrilled to down that baby even if it wasn't cold! Otherwards folks it is mid-terms. I am honestly not pulling my hair out (got a hair cut today in fact) but am still wondering what to write my Political Geography paper on . . . and am realizing that I love dirt and rocks as much as my mom (is that possible?). In my Physical Geography class we are discussing soils, plants, water etc. and it is kinda exciting! I guess sniffing trees and hunting rocks all across Utah as a youth has finally got to me (congrats parents!). Geography is the all encompassing fascinating subject I think! I would be thrilled to teach it one day! (Not too far off hopefully!) Chris has senioridious bad! He really wants to venture from our little valley ASAP but says he'll wait for me (thanks honey!) Anywho we are looking forward to our Primary Class Halloween party next week and to Halloween period! (I am craving caramel apples liek crazy!!! Mmmmmm!)

Fun at Smith's Cabin!

We had a blast this weekend heading up to my sister and brother inlaws cabin in East Zion! My family had been up their for a few days already because of UEA and were having a blast! We went four wheeling; Chris is amazing! We went on some CRAZY trails and he kept us alive!!! (I love you honey!!!) ate some great food, did some crafts, watched movies, and played Rock band (I have decided to forgo my music career, I can't play a video game . . . it isn't going to happen in the real world anytime soon!). Thanks Jules and Dan for being such great hosts and for letting us get together! The cabin was AWESOME and we had a blast!

BOOK CLUB!!!

Okay I vote that we start a book club! I was wandering around the library the other day overwhelemed with the decision of what book to get (It is a stress reliever for me, sometimes the only thing that keeps me sane and hubby happy!) It will give our minds a good work out, expand our knowledge, turn the tube off for a bit, give us yet another great reason to get together and will be all around fun! (Mom you know that you have wanted to for a while now!) Let me know if you are game! We can vote on a name for it (yes this is a must! Every book club needs a good name!) and please invite friends to join in! All in favor say I (otherwise leave a comment, or e-mail me, or give me a call!) Please let me know of some books that you are interested in starting with, I will post a poll on my blog and then we will begin! I figure that we will meet every other month (is that good?).

Okay here are a few books to toss out their to consider . . . Night, Twilight (come on! This would be a good icebreaker since practically everyone has read it and you know that you feel like you are 13 again just reading it!), Jane Eyre, A Tale of Two Cities, Robinson Crusoe, The Chamber etc. . . . this is not a limited list, nor is this going to be a droll club! I want this to be a good experience for all and it will be happies! So put a smile on your face and lets read! (It will be fun to read thoughts on blogs about the books we read too!)

Halloween Party!!!

It is time yet again to gather and feast, awaiting the hour where all is unleashed. When vampires hunt and lurk in the dark, where mummies arise and they stroll thru the park. A night filled with the howl of werewolves at the moon while witches ride swiftly through the air on a broom. So gather your kiddies and haul out the candy for hosting this year is our own sister Brandi. At Parry's we'll gather and dine on Mom's chili so be sure to come and don't dally-dilly. We'll brew a big pot of caramel to coat, apples that are sure to make us all bloat. So RSVP as soon as your able, so a place will be held for you at the table!

Okay guys, let me know what you can bring! Mom is making chili, and we are going to make caramel apples so be sure to bring your fondue pots and apples for each member of your family (Granny Smith are best)we will melt caramel, and chocolate in them for the apples. Everyone bring a topping to share for the apples too (nuts, mini M&M's, toffee bits, halloween candy cut up etc.) I am supplying the caramel, who wants to bring white chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, and drinks? Do we need salads too? Chili is darn filling and I think mom is bringing cornbread too! We will set everything in stone this weekend! It will be major fun guys!

Text Messages from this week . . .

So a little entertainment here . . . I have been deleting my old text messages and it is quite entertaining! I came across a few of my text messages from the week and this adorable picture of my littlest sis and Lala, my darling niece! (Day maker for sure!) I love getting pictures sent to me! They are for the most part of my nieces and nephews or my parents out four-wheeling, all of the above totally make my day! (Thanks guys!)

Okay a little background here, my little sister is reading a book I loaned her that is very "teenage-ish", she called me the other night freaking out, and sent me these texts 1."Heck yes I am almost done with the second one if I read all of tonight I will be done. I love it!" 2. "What the heck is up with this book." 3. "This book is freaking me out!"

Texts from the blond one "Ya you rock my squash friend!" "You are my favorite! I love you!" (ditto)

Then there are those that I have saved that make me smile "ROOM FOUR SEVEN THREE". . . this is the text that my mom sent when my sister was having a baby to tell us all what room that they were in. Two things to know that make this hilarious 1. My adorable mom typed out the numbers. 2. She retyped them every time that she sent them, as in she sent it to each one of us individually instead of all at once. (She didn't know that she could sent it to multiple people at one time) So my brother in law sent out a text informing everyone of the happy event and mom was typing away, one at a time. She learned something new . . . (love you mom!)

Final text that I treasure, from one of my Young Women she said that she missed me and that we needed to come and visit! Man we loved our ward in SG! Maybe we will be able to return . . .

What to do when school stresses you out . . .

So . . . I have tons of homework and I am never able to get caught up each night . . . so last night I was a little stressed so . . . I highlighted my hair . . yes a little change was needed. I know summer is over, but now I look like fall, literally. It is a bit of a shock at first but a girl needs a change sometimes. What an exciting blog post I know, but unless you want to hear about quadratic equations and political geography this is it.

I can't wait for next weekend, because it will mean that it is too late to dwell on my impending math test, my edu. presentation will be over and that I will have a Saturday off to play in the mountains with my fam and sweet hubby! We need to get out and enjoy fall before it snows and we are trapped for the winter!!! (Gotta love Utah hair!!!){

The Primary Choir

Okay the Saturday afternoon session of General Conference just concluded . . . the Primary choir sang and I was dying watching them! They did such a good job but the poor kids that they got on film were either soooooo out of it, or about bursting because they were on TV! It was darling! The last little boy that they had the camera soooo reminded me of my brother . . . ya know when your a kid and your school or class puts on all those lovely music recitals or programs . . . well this kid was Jare to a T! He was soooooo trying not to smile while at the same time managing to look like a deer in headlights! The contrast between the boys and girls was sooo cute too! So many of the boys were stiff as boards, afraid to move, others had their hands in their pockets or else the girls next to them would yank on their shirt sleeves because they fidgeted . . . . all of the things that a mother would see and gasp at!(Love it!) Oh primary programs! Ours is coming up! I wonder if we have to sit up their with our class? Brother Liechty is probably the loudest male singer in our primary, so they will probably recruit him no matter what! How exciting! Oh I love conference!

A great message . . .

Okay I finally was able to find Elder Uchtdorf's talk from the General Relief Society broadcast . . . (thanks mom for giving me a heads up!) I had to laugh when I saw what the recipe was that he was talking about . . . everyone has kept saying "it starts with a K" and that was it. Well it is Knusperchen . . . I have never heard of it . . . no one ever fed it to me as a missionary when I was in Germany, and I never remember eating it in Austria (I do remember eating whole baby octopus' though . . . um yeah). "Knusper" means crispy, and the "chen" part means small or you can add it to a word to "soften it up" or make it more endearing or sweet. So ruffly translated it means "little crispies." Which is exactly what it is. Okay their is a German lesson for you! Actually I guess I did see it for sell in the stores, at least I think we did . . . but these little toasts that were rock hard and we'd eat them with jam . . . I don't know why . . . I guess it was a novelty. Nothing like gnawing on little rock hard toasts!
Okay onto his message! What a amazing man he is! On my mission we had a mission conference for our entire mission when President Monson, Elder Uchtdorf, and Elder Busche came. It was an amazing experience! Elder Uchtdorf was a very serving man, you could also tell by his actions that he has a very special relationship with his wife and loves her very much! That came through very much in his talk. One of the things that stood out to me that he said was "To me it appears that our splendid sisters sometimes undervalue their abilities—they focus on what is lacking or imperfect rather than what has been accomplished and who they really are." I second that. Of course the Lord does not want us to think that we are better than everyone else, but I know that he wants us to have confidence and realize and utilize our talents. This was something that I learned everyday on my mission. As a missionary I knew that everyday would not be easy, but I also knew that the Lord wanted me to be happy, and that is what I needed to be . . . (for my sanity and the sanity and happiness of my companion as well) therefore I decided that no matter what I would remember that he loved me an never wanted me to beat myself down over daily experiences. There was a million and one times when I could have just tossed my hands in the air or screamed out of frustration, rather I was grateful to remember my worth as a daughter of God and be thankful that the Lord knew my heart and our experiences and trials and that in the end it was in his hands. I also specifically remember having the feeling that many of our encounters were what people needed at that moment, and that one day they would really stop and listen. The alternative is something that Elder Uchtdorf said when we stress ourselves out and drag ourselves down piling on too much . . . "The good news is that this also points to an admirable quality: the innate desire to please the Lord to the best of your ability. Unfortunately, it can also lead to frustration, exhaustion, and unhappiness." . . . read his talk . . . if you went to the broadcast read it again, "Happiness, Your Heritage." I can't wait for Conference!

Happy Birthday Ami!

Happy Birthday Ami-lou! 20! Holy guac Am!
I had quite the adventure making her birthday cake! When I make birthday cakes it tends to be an all day event . . . and today did not disappoint . . . it was a bit of a breather from school . . . but I will be up late and up early again doing homework . . . so goes my life. Anywho we are off to Sunny-G to watch Erin in the homecoming parade and celebrate with the Blonde one . . . check out my baking day @ The Open Pantry . Tchussie!