Our Christmas Lights

Jason did such a good job on our Christmas lights this year. He even put music to them. If you haven't driven by, you really need to experience this. Bless his heart. He just gets so into the holidays.

This one is for my sister Teresa

Two little otters floating around holding hands. This should be you and me, Deek! Love!

Our Fun Trip

Is it just me or is this the craziest Christmas season ever? It seems like there is not a spare minute in the day! I have been meaning to post pictures from our trip since we got back on Sunday and I haven't had time to even sit down to the computer. I wish I had time to give you a play-by-play of the whole trip because it was so fun. Here's the Reader's Digest version:

Dallin at Sea World. This is where the "Shamu Cam" that we watched a million times before our trip broadcasts from. Dallin is still confused about whether Shamu's name is "Shamu" or "Shamu Cam". Probably because we kept asking him, "Dallin, do you want to watch the Shamu Cam again?"

The Wildlife Park in San Diego. The kids loved it!

Disneyland!

Luke turns 50 this year. We're really excited for him.

We ran into my cousin Alisha and her new husband at California Adventure on their honeymoon! How cute are they.

Luke was so excited to see Mickey he ran up and started hugging him from behind before we could stop him. Mickey was less excited about whatever was happening to his rear end. He kept trying to shake Luke off, and when he finally freed himself of the people taking pictures with him, he didn't even give Luke the time of day. See if we ever watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse again.


Sad news about my neighbor from Burley. I hate to have to be the one to break it to my family.


Abby was such a good little traveler! It could have been a very hard trip, but she was so good and made it all worthwhile.

Thank you for the trip Grandma and Grandpa Yates!
Merry Christmas!

My obese gingerbread man

Do you ever feel like nothing you ever do turns out how it is supposed to? How hard is it to make a gingerbread man? I mean, I guess I could have used a recipe for actual gingerbread instead of my gingersnap cookie recipe... but gingersnaps are so good. And I wanted some cookies. So I thought, why not just put some dough in the shape of a gingerbread man for the sake of Christmas spirit and then I won't feel so guilty for eating a whole batch of gingersnaps all by myself. And the dough was so perfect. He looked just like the little gingerbread guy on Shrek. BUT, it was a bad idea. When I took him out of the oven, Dallin said, "Mom, he's FAT!" I blurred the edges of the picture so he wouldn't feel so bad about having his picture taken. It's more like a portrait this way. We didn't even bother to decorate him, we just ate him. He tasted pretty darn good if I do say so. But I think it is a message to me that I will look like that soon if I keep eating gingersnaps like I do...

Here are my homeless kids. I don't think they even knew they were supposed to be disappointed.

A cry for help

Hello. Does anyone have any good Crock Pot recipes they would be willing to share with me? I'm in a major slump here. Thank you in advance.

There's no place like Kansas

Last weekend I had the amazing and wonderful opportunity to accompany my husband on a hunting trip where we stayed with my sister Kristen and her husband, Steve, in Derby, Kansas. It was the greatest weekend of my life. Abby came with us, but the boys stayed home with Jason's parents (thank you Doug and Rita). Little Abby was such a good traveler and totally supported me the whole time we were there by watching me sit around and eat snickerdoodles and chocolate covered cinnamon bears and have so many fun adventures. Where to begin... shopping, eating out every day, talking and laughing for hours... it was just fun. One night we all went to Chili's in Wichita and Jason found huge chunks of glass in his pasta. That was exciting. I don't think they have ever heard of Robert J. DeBry, but they are about to. Then the next night we ate at a Japanese steakhouse like Tepanyaki (I forgot the name) and the little chef guy on the other side of the restaurant made the flames go too high and it set off the sprinkler system and nobody knew how to turn it off. We were just sitting there eating our food when all of these people came over to our side just drenched. The police and fire department came and everyone left except our table because we weren't going anywhere until we got our sherbet. So we finally got it and then we just sat and watched the poor little workers trying to broom out all the water while the sprinklers were still in full force. Talk about entertainment. Plus, Kristen and Steven have a trampoline, so that was hours of fun, too. I can't even remember the last time I jumped on a trampoline. I just love Derby. It is such a nice place, but I think anywhere that Kristen is is bound to be fun. I'm already planning a trip back over Spring Break.

A little friendly correspondence with my mail carrier

I got this little paper in my mailbox a while back and I came across it again the other day. I share it with you today in appreciation of my mail carrier. Bless her heart, illiterate as it may be. It reads:

Mail carrier: "You box need move to right spot"

Me: "Where is right spot?" (I was trying to keep it simple)


Mail carrier: "On you house left side. so if new house they can with together"

I guess we need to do this soon because we actually are getting neighbors on the other side of us, so our lucky little mailbox can "with together" with the other mailbox. I'm really excited because I don't know what that means and I think it will be fun to watch. I'm just grateful for our mail carrier because she left this note last spring when the ground was still frozen (that was our excuse to not move it) and she is still delivering the mail even though we haven't done what she asked. So we'll have to get around to it one of these days before the ground freezes up again and we have to wait another six months. Another little benefit of our correspondence is that I don't ever have to worry that she is reading our mail, because, well, that's probably not even possible. I love the U.S. Postal Service.

Abby's Blessing Day

Jason blessed Abby last Sunday and it was such a good day. We had so much support from friends and family, which we appreciate so much. Everything went really well and I thought little Abby was just beautiful. I am so grateful for my little girl! She brings us so much happiness! The whole day I was just overwhelmed with gratitude for my wonderful life and all the special people in it. I didn't want the day to end.

A Few Recipes

Here is one of my favorite soups. This is my mother-in-law's recipe and it is so easy and yummy. I like it because it uses baked potatoes so you don't have to peel them, plus it always thickens up really well. It makes about 4 servings, so you may want to double it.

Baked Potato Soup

¼ cup butter
¼ cup chopped onion
¼ cup flour
14 oz. can chicken broth
1 can evaporated milk
2 large or 3 med. potatoes (baked)
Salt and pepper to taste
Bacon (I use pre-cooked bacon from Costco)
Grated cheese
Green onion

Melt butter in medium saucepan. Add onion and sauté until tender. Stir in flour, and then add broth and milk. Scoop pulp from one potato and mash; add to soup. Bring to boil and then add the rest of the potatoes (scoop the pulp and cut into cubes). Top with crumbled bacon, cheese and green onion.

The next recipe is my new favorite treat. It's not really a pancake, so I don't know why it's called that. I've been making it for dessert almost every night and it is so easy. It only takes a minute to prepare and I just stick it in the oven while we eat dinner.

Apple Oven Pancake

2 Tablespoons butter
3 Tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 medium tart apple, peeled and thinly sliced
2 large eggs
½ cup all purpose flour
½ cup milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
lemon juice and powdered sugar

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Melt butter in a 9 inch pie plate in the oven. Brush melted butter up onto sides of pie plate. Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon over the bottom of the pan. Arrange sliced apple on top. Beat eggs slightly in a medium bowl with wire whisk or hand beater. Beat in flour, milk and salt until just mixed (do not overbeat). Pour into pie plate. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until puffy and deep golden brown. Loosen sides and invert pan over plate. Sprinkle with lemon juice and powdered sugar. Serve immediately.

Tagged again!

Alish tagged me this time, and I hate to admit it, but I actually kind of like these tag things. Not to write them, but to read about others. So you people I'm tagging better do it! For this tag, you're supposed to write 7 things about yourself and then tag 6 people. So here goes:

1. I USED to be a big traveler. I say used to be because how do you go anywhere these days with 3 little attachments. Disneyland and Yellowstone and Grandma Price's house in Burley are about as adventurous as I get with kids. But I have backpacked all over Europe, did a summer term in London and a semester in South Africa. I love the adventure of new places and meeting new people. I even spent a day in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on my way to Africa, which was unexpectedly awesome and I would love to go back to Asia someday. I'm sure I'll be going back to Africa at some point so my husband can help lower the animal population a little bit. He's already been once and loved it. I guess I should have saved that for another thing about me, that we both had been to Africa before we met each other and that was one of the main conversation points when we met.

2. I LOVE to read. I've always been a reader. I would rather read than watch tv, as nerdy as that is. My goal when I was in grade school was to read every book in the library. I still love libraries and book stores and could spend hours in there just flipping through books and imagining how great it would be if I had time to just sit down and read them all, with a bag of treats, of course.

3. I've always kept a journal, ever since I could write. I love to record my experiences and feelings. It's my way to vent. If I can just write something down and get it on paper, I can move on with my life. I'm also keeping journals for my kids, which I actually like even more than writing in my own journal. It's so fun to have somewhere official to record all their little milestones and accomplishments and all the funny/horrible things they say and do. I try to write every Sunday.

4. I hate contention. I am not an arguer or a fighter. Why can't everyone just get along? I wish everyone could try to see things from the other person's point of view and give them the benefit of the doubt, because I am convinced that most of the hurt feelings and offenses in the world are just miscommunications. I'm a pretty simple person that way. Basically, I like you, and if you like me, I like you even more. Let's just be friends.

5. I'm not aggressive. My whole life people have been trying to force me to play basketball because I'm tall, but I just HATE it. If you want the ball that bad, I'll just give it to you. Don't get in my face and be all rar all the time. Just have the stupid thing. I love individual sports like swimming and running (even though I'm not a very good runner) where you can just do your personal best and you don't have to bug anyone else. I do love volleyball, though, and that is a team sport, but it's not all touchy touchy, try to maim everyone all day.

6. I'll admit, if I'm in the car between 1 and 4 pm I listen to Dr. Laura. She's a little out of control but I love her. She just tells it how it is. I wish I could be more like that.

7. I love to cook and try new recipes. Basically I just love food. Junk food, health food, whatever. I love baking and trying new things, and I also love fresh fruit and vegetables. I think I like every fruit in the world, except dates, and those don't even count as a fruit because they're weird. There better be food in heaven, or it won't be heaven and I won't be interested in going there. I draw the line at wild game though. Woof.

Well, now you know more about me than you ever wanted to. Here are the people I am tagging:

1. My family members (all of you who blog, including Julia!)
2. Andrea
3. Shauna

It actually equals more than 6, but you all still have to do it!

My Grandmother's Funeral/The Day Dallin took a Swing at one of the Twelve Apostles

My grandma's funeral was yesterday and it was so good. My whole family, except for my brother Steven, who is on a mission, was able to be there. I think all of the grandchildren except for two were there, so you can imagine how many great-grandkids there were. The service was really nice, but I'm surprised at how hard it is to say good-bye to someone who is 90 years old and has lived a full and happy life. It seems like it would be easy, but I don't know if it ever is. It was a good day though, and there was only one event that made me wish I had never been born. L. Tom Perry was at the funeral because he is related to my family by marriage (he is married to my uncle's sister) and it was really neat to have a general authority there. He gave some really nice closing remarks and after the meeting he happened to be standing in the chapel talking to some people as we walked through to go to the car. Okay, fine, van. We were on our way to the van. Anyway, he finished up talking just as we passed and he turned to greet us. Dallin, who had just left the nursery and was not happy about it, was the first in line. Elder Perry greeted him and held out his hand, "Hello, young man, how are you?" to which Dallin replied by giving a loud whine and acting like he was going to hit him. LT: "Well, it looks like someone could use a nap!" Dallin: "NOOOOOO!!!" Which just, you know, is one of those proud moments as a parent when you wish there was some way you could pass your child off as belonging to someone else. But there was no one else around and the floor didn't swallow me up like I was praying it would, so Jason and I just gave fake little laughs and tried to pretend our 4-year-old had not just tried to attack one of the Twelve Apostles. Luckily, L.Tom is a jolly old soul and laughed it off and turned his attention to Luke's big bushy head of hair, which comes in handy in a lot of situations. It's like the ultimate ice breaker to have a 2-year-old who looks like he's 40. 40 in a cute way.

Sorry, Elder Perry.

My Grandma Crane

Well, Jason is off hunting in Kansas, so the kids and I are up in Burley at my parents' house for the week. It's always fun to be home. I just love being here and spending time with my family. On Friday, Abby and I had the opportunity to go with my mom to visit my Grandma Crane (my mom's mom) in Bennington, Idaho. It is about a 3-hour drive from Burley. It was such a good day. My grandmother just turned 90 last month and I hadn't seen her since my sister's wedding in April. It was such an incredible experience to be able to see her again and to introduce her to one of her newest great-grandchildren. At 3 weeks old, Abby is not even the newest addition - one of my cousins had a baby a week ago! My grandmother has led an amazing life and is such a great example to her 10 children, 50+ grandchildren and 100+ great-grandchildren. This was such a bittersweet experience for me because I knew it was very likely the last time I would be able to see her and talk to her in this life. She actually passed away just this morning. I am so grateful I was able to make the trip with my mom and be there with her one last time.

Abby's Room

Well, I put Abby in this really cute outfit today because she is finally starting to fit in some of her 0-3 mo. clothes and I wanted to put some pictures on my blog, but either I am a bad photographer or she is just not photogenic or else not cute period... because all the pictures were hideous. Hence, the pictures of her room. I'll keep trying to get her with both eyes equally open and her face not too contorted. I swear she only pulls these faces when I have a camera in my hands. Come on girl, how are you supposed to be America's Next Top Model if you can't even survive a photo shoot. Tyra is going to eat you alive. It's not like I am making you balance on the edge of a tall building or something (for those who watched last night's episode). We'll keep practicing. In the meantime, here is her room. If you click on the pictures you can see that all the weird little red spots are really little ladybugs. Awwww....

A few items

Our first item of ward business today is you need to click on The Office clip to your right. It will be well worth your time. My favorite part is when Andy does the little bird thing with his hands. I used to hate him but he is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters. You already know I am partial to Abba so this just made him all the more appealing to me. Well, maybe appealing is not the right word... but just watch it and see.

Our second item is Pumpkin Cupcakes. Everyone has been posting their favorite fall treats so I thought I would share one of my very favorite fall recipes, Pumpkin Cupcakes. I am making these to take to my in-laws' house later today and a few of them may have already been consumed. I know they look tantalizing, especially the picture where I am lifting the cupcake up to your mouth, but alas, you cannot partake. Sorry about that. If you love me enough and ask nicely, maybe I will appear on your doorstep with a plateful one of these days...

Pumpkin Cupcakes

1 spice cake mix
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin puree
3 large eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup water
1 cup Nestle mini chocolate chips
1 container cream cheese frosting (I like Betty Crocker Whipped)

Preheat oven to 350. Paper-line or grease 24 muffin cups. Blend cake mix, pumpkin, eggs, oil and water in large mixer bowl until moistened. Stir in chocolate chips. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups. Bake 18-22 minutes. Let cool. Spread cupcakes with frosting and decorate!

I have also made these in mini-loaf pans and they are great. So easy. Feel free to share your favorite recipe with me, or just show up on my doorstep with a sample. I promise I won't turn you away.

Our last item of business is that my clever husband has hunted down a picture and added it to one of my previous posts. I'm only bring it to your attention because I love this picture. It is at the very bottom of this post: http://yatesrgreat.blogspot.com/2007/09/to-all-fictional-character-ive-loved.html

And that about wraps it up for today.

Tag, you're it

Well, I'm a little low on blogging topics lately, as you can tell from my lack of posts. Either that, or else the fact that lately I only have the energy to click through everyone else's blogs without ever updating my own. My friend Carrie sent me this little "tag" email and I was going to fill it out and send it back to her but then I thought, why not just stick it on my blog. Maybe you will learn some interesting facts about me, or else just appreciate the fact that I have actually updated my blog for once in my life. By the way, if you are reading this, you are now tagged and you need to fill out this information about yourself and put it on your blog or you will have bad luck for 10 days. haha.

Two Names You Go By
1. Mom
2. Anne Marie (My family sometimes refers to me as my initials, ampy, but they don't usually address me as that. Does that make sense?)

Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now:
1. Sweats
2. Ugly but comfortable Old Navy shirt that I have had for 2 years

Two Things You Would Want (or have) in a Relationship:
1. Laughter
2. Friendship/Trust

Two of Your Favorite Things to do:
1. Read a good book uninterrupted while eating treats
2. Shop

Two Things You Want Very Badly at the Moment:
1. Black knobs/pulls on all my cabinets
2. A new vehicle that is not a van. That is the only requirement.

Two pets you had/have:
1. Not a pet person
2. Now that I think about it, in college we used to recruit guys to be our pets, so I guess I actually have had a few. You'd be surprised how many guys are willing to be your pet if you just ask.

Two people who will fill this out:
1. Aaron
2. Lessley (now you have to!)

Two things you did last night:
1. Went to a 3-D Dino movie at Thanksgiving Point
2. Gave Abby a bath. Big event because she hates them! As a result, she is usually dirty.

Two Things you ate last night:
1. Leftovers from all the yummy meals people brought us this week
2. Rice Crispy Treats shaped like dinos

Two people you last talked to:
1. Jason
2. Kristen

Two things you're doing/did today:
1. Got groceries at Smith's
2. Going to Jason's 10-year class reunion tonight (somebody shoot me. and yes, I will be changing my clothes before I go.)

Two longest car rides:
1. Idaho to Mexico
2. Johannesburg, South Africa to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe/Zambia (24 hours on a bus each way!)

Two favorite holidays:
1. My Birthday
2. Christmas

Two favorite beverages:
1. Coke, but I've been off it for a few years now. I still think about it though.
2. Strawberry Limeade at Sonic

Well, okay, that wasn't too exciting. I think I will add my two favorite characters from The Office: #1 is Toby. He just makes me laugh lately. He is so defeated. He loves Pam but he will never have a chance with her so he is trying to sabatoge her relationship with Jim. And I love how Michael hates him and tells him to shut up, even if he is saying something in support of Michael. My other favorite is of course Creed. Especially when he is trying to be young. I'm still laughing about when Michael asked, "Why does everyone hate old people?" and Creed said, "Because they're LAME!" Now that was funny.

Just a few pictures of Abby

Abby is doing so well. She is a very good-natured baby so far and basically eats and sleeps and is fun to hold. She's just like having a little doll around to play with. Maybe next week will be different when my mom leaves and I have to deal with real life again, but for now life is just about perfect.

Abby is here!

My sweet little baby girl Abby Marie is finally here! She was born Friday, September 28 at 9:14pm. She was 6 lbs. 14 oz. and 17 1/2 inches long. She is a tiny little girl! It is so much different than having a great big boy! My two boys were 8 lbs. 11 & 12 oz. and 21 inches long, so it has been fun to have a little little baby. She is so sweet and good-tempered and is quickly making up for being a little pill when she was born! She was breech but the doctor was able to turn her around, so they started the pitocin and 4 hours later I was ready to deliver. My water even broke on its own for the first time! The doctor came in to check me and he was like, "Wait a minute, I feel a hand. Actually, I feel two hands!" So he tried to move them for a minute but it didn't work, so he said, "Well, we can't deliver a baby like that! Everyone prep for a c-section!" I was like, are you kidding me? After all that I still have to have a c-section??? It was actually kind of funny. I had already prepared myself for the possibility, so I thought, good, I don't need to push! I'm a really bad pusher. My other kids took hours. So I didn't mind when they gave me a big dose of medicine in my epidural, put a little hat thing on my head, wheeled me in the operating room and 10 minutes later I had a baby girl! I was surprised that it wasn't scary at all and I didn't feel a thing. Both doctors said that this is the first time in their careers of 15 and 20 years that they have seen a baby with both arms above its head. They said once in a while they will have one with one arm up and if it won't move they still have to do a c-section, but with both up there is no question. I had my two favorite doctors, Dr. Lamoreaux and Dr. Melendez, and they were so nice to me. It was actually kind of fun. Until the epidural wore off anyway, but we won't go into that. Let's just say that next time I will make sure they are prepared with another painkiller to put into my IV after the delivery because I am allergic to morphine and it was like hours before I got any more meds. Those were bad hours. BUT, I didn't care because I had my little Abby safe and sound and perfect!!! She is really healthy and I think she's just beautiful. I just couldn't imagine myself with a girl before she was born, and now I can't imagine life without her. She is just precious. I'm so grateful to everyone who was there and who has been there for me during this whole process. I'm especially grateful that my sister Kristen was able to be here from Kansas and be with me through it all. She is the best and I miss her so much! My mom is staying with me this week and helping out with the kids and meals and everything and it is so fun to have her here. I should have babies more often!

Best Friends in the World/The Truth about the Turkey Trot

I feel so lucky to have such great friends. Last night several of my friends took me out to dinner and gave me a fun little baby shower. I am so extremely blessed to have such kind and caring people in my life. I love being able to share life events, large and small, with friends. And they gave me just the cutest little girl things that you can imagine. It's so fun because they are things that I just wouldn't buy for myself, but of course I want and love. Plus, I just love The Pizza Factory. They have the best bread twists and lemon-poppyseed salad dressing and I have been craving it forever, and now that I think about it, I can't believe I forgot to order a raspberry lemonade. Dang it! I never get to go there because Jason's work orders Pizza Factory every Tuesday and he is sick of it. I beg, but we never go. At least just bring me home your leftovers, I plea, but usually I just get a few crusts in a box at best. Anyway, it was a fun evening and I really needed to get out and spend some time with friends talking about all the fun childbirth stuff that usually makes my husband leave the room. How could anyone not be interested in these things? It's beyond me. I just love girl-talk, wherever it leads. It's always interesting.

One topic that came up last night was in regards to a little event that happened on Thanksgiving in The Year 2000. First, I would just like to say that I don't think anyone is really responsible for things that happened in The Year 2000. Were we not all under the impression that the world was going to end on New Year's Eve (1999), and then when it didn't, did we not feel obligated to live life to the fullest that year because the end would surely come on the last day of Y2K? It was with this in mind that some people I know, who might have included someone you know and two female relatives, but of course I won't reveal any identities, decided to run nude around the local high school track. A Turkey Trot, if you will. Exercise, freedom, and good company. What more could you ask for on what could possibly be your last Thanksgiving on this earth? Is there a better form of giving thanks? I'm sure you don't think so, and neither do I. So I would like to offer a few tips to those who are considering such an adventure.

First of all, and this comes from a reliable source, don't be too prepared. If you think you are being wise and wearing only the essential items to the field (read: no encumbering underclothing to remove, only the barest of essentials, like a jacket and sweats that are easily slipped off over shoes), you may find yourself alone and bare at the starting line, while your compadres are taking their time tying their shoes and "changing" their clothes. It milder climates, this might not be a problem, but come on people, it's November, let's get the show on the road.

Number two is, if you happen to find yourself on the inside lane of the track, pace yourself accordingly. Yes, it is exhilarating to run free, but slightly embarrassing if you turn to your neighbor only to realize that she is several feet behind you and probably having a hard time keeping the eyes-above-the-shoulder rule you all agreed to in the car on the way there. Make an effort to stay hip-to-hip with your partners. There will be a lot less laughing and goofing off that way, and it will be easier to focus on the task at hand.

The last tip I, I mean these people, have for you, is just to be free. Be yourself. Although only in shoes and a sombrero, cowboy hat, or long flowing black wig, you are still who you are and that is nothing to be ashamed of.

The Final Countdown!

I am 38 weeks pregnant now, and today was one of my last doctor's appointments before I go in to either be induced or c-sectioned next week. Yikes. This little girl has turned herself around and is now breech, so next Friday I will be admitted to the hospital and they will try to turn her. Depending on the outcome, they will either induce labor or do a c-section. One doctor told me there is about an 80% chance of turning her around, which is good, but it still doesn't sound like a lot of fun to me! I think I am going to declare next week a party week and not do any work or worrying!!! I've had enough of that.

To all the fictional characters I've loved before...

Well, with all this hype about Edward lately, I am feeling a little bad about neglecting my other fictional loves. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Edward. But there are many others who deserve a shout-out as well so I've compiled a short list of characters who have influenced my life/appeared in my dreams. Here are my top 3:

Number 1 would have to be Rhett Butler in Gone With the Wind. I first read this book in the 5th grade and have since read it probably 10 times or more and every time it just gets better, all 2 million pages of it. No, Clark Gable just doesn't do him justice in the movie and I always liked the book better anyway. Rhett, you will always have my heart. Scarlett, you are a moron. Why can't I be you and make the right decision!!! Heck, Belle Watling doesn't have much to complain about, either. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you need to read the book.

Another hottie that wow, is just hot, is Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, the book and the 5 hour movie. Don't waste your time on the shorter movies. It is well well well worth 5 hours of anyone's time to be in love with him. I have the DVDs if you need to borrow them. My favorite thing about Darcy is that at first I thought, oh, what's so special about him, but by the end, every little twitch of his eyebrow leaves me fanning myself and thinking, oh man, I need water. Colin Firth is a perfect Mr. Darcy. Trust me. This is one of the few movies that I really enjoy more than the book.

While we're on the subject of movies, Captin Von Trapp from The Sound of Music, while not entirely fictional, is also just well, hot, for lack of a better word. When I was young and we would watch the movie over and over I really never even noticed him. I was actually a little grossed out by the dancing-in-the-gazebo scene, and I thought Rolff was cute, which is just embarrassing. But a few years ago I watched the movie again and I was like, oh my good heavens, no wonder Maria is constantly making a fool of herself. He is like the hottest old guy ever. And Maria is such a nerd. He would totally be better off with me. Note to self, though: don't get too excited. I saw him on a talk show recently and he's about 100 years old and he looks horrible (the actor who plays him, I mean, and I'm not even going to tell you his name because then you'll look him up and be like, blah! sick!). I was way disappointed, but I can still watch the movie and pretend he looks like he did in the second World War. And I can pretend I'm Maria, minus the hideous hair-do. I mean really. Besides that, she's such a wuss. I totally would have sent those kids off to boarding school. Except maybe Frederick. He had potential. And sorry about the long white arm in the picture. Ever hear of self-tanner, Maria?

Well, the list could go on and on. I guess I should try to pick some more contemporary loves, but Edward about sums it up in that category. And yes, he is only 17, but really he's like 100. I'm sensing a pattern here, though... do I have a thing for old guys? Hmmm... who did I name my first son after? I guess maybe I do.

Twilight Series Update

Well, in case you are wondering, I am STILL in love with a vampire. Only, I am way more in love with him than before. My husband thinks I'm really weird. I've tried to point out to him all the things he has in common with Edward, like they are both hunters, and, well, I guess that's the only similarity. So I'm trying not to talk to him about the books, but it's really hard. Yes, I just finished book 3, Eclipse, and I'm so happy right now. But I have to admit, I was partially in love with a werewolf through some of the series, too. I guess I can't say any more, because it would be a *spoiler* for all of you out there still working on it, but oh man. I kind of don't want there to be a book 4. Right now it is all just so RIGHT. I want to take a quick poll, though. If you are reading or have read the books, you HAVE to answer:

Do you or don't you love Jacob? And why. I'm just curious because I have heard so many different view points lately!! I think it's so interesting!

Well, THAT was pretty freaking weird...

Don't you just hate it when you are so in the mood for lemon bars and you go to all the trouble to make them and when they are finally done you take them out of the oven and set them on the counter top, and the whole pan just explodes all over your kitchen? I hate that!!! That is exactly what happened to me last night and it scared the living crap out of me. Jason has been out of town for the last several days, so I was a little on edge anyway, but then to just be in my kitchen, minding my own business, and suddenly it sounds like a shotgun is going off 3 feet away and glass is flying everywhere... kind of freaked me out. I am just glad my back was turned and the kids weren't in there, because there were shards of glass all over the whole kitchen. It was a heavy-duty Pyrex pan, too, and the counter top wasn't even cold. It was 74 degrees in the house, so it is all too weird for me to figure out right now. I guess it just wasn't meant to be that I ate a whole pan of lemon bars by myself for our FHE treat. "Sorry kids, I know you hate these, I'll just eat yours too." Such a thoughtful mother.

Where oh where will my little Luke sleep?

Well, I did kind of a dumb thing yesterday. I sold Luke's crib and changing table on KSL. I've been wanting a new crib for the baby, and I want a black one to go with the cute girl decor that I haven't put up yet, just because I think I deserve it even though I don't. I considered painting the old stuff, but there's only so much you can do Wal-Mart plastic. So I thought, I'll just list it and see if it sells, and then I'll put that money toward new stuff. Pretty sneaky. I listed it for $100 yesterday at about noon, and within an hour I had a lady call and say she was on her way with the money. She also wanted the changing table, which I said I would throw in for an extra $50. In the mean time, I had 3 more people call and say they were interested and to call them if it was still available. So the first lady came and got it, handed me the cash, and was on her way. No problem, I thought, I'll just run down to Babies'R Us and get a new cute black crib like I saw on their web site. All my dreams were coming true. Until I got there and realized that they don't actually stock the cribs, you have to order them and it takes 3 weeks, which is why I didn't order one online. And they only had one black crib and it was way more than I wanted to spend. I stopped at Target on my way home just to check, but all their cribs were lame and a half and just as much money. By this time it was about 9:30pm and little Lukie was really in need of a place to sleep and I wasn't about to volunteer my bed. So I decided to give the bunk beds a try, even though I wasn't planning on moving Luke to a bed until a few months after the baby arrives. And guess what? He fell asleep in the bottom bunk and stayed there all night!!! I'm here to tell you that miracles do still happen in this day and age. I'm just so proud of him! I tried to get him to reinact falling asleep in the bed this morning, but he wouldn't have it so this is the closest I could get. (Can you believe that bed-head? He got his hair cut 2 weeks ago and it's already like this huge bouffant again.) Now if I can just get him to take a nap... and I'll worry about the crib later.

I'm in love with a vampire.

Well, if you haven't heard, the latest thing that you need to do to be cool is to read the book Twilight. So if you haven't heard of it you have probably been living in a cave. I heard about it a while ago, but I was a little nervous because it is about vampires and I'm kind of scared of them and I just didn't really know how interesting it could possibly be. But after girls camp and hearing about it from everybody I decided to give it a try. I ordered it online last week, and I ordered the sequel, too, just trying to have a little bit of faith for once in my life. Then, on Barnes & Noble, you get free shipping if you order more than $25, so I had to go ahead and save some money by ordering another book that I have never heard of but sounded kind of interesting and how can you go wrong with young adult fiction. I mean, talk about a bargain shopper. Sometimes I'm so proud of myself. Anyway, my point is that I was NOT disappointed in Twilight. How could I be. Oh my gosh. I heart Edward. I'm halfway through and I am trying to hold myself back from reading every minute of the day and wishing that I could be a vampire. Yes, there is laundry to be folded and cabinets to be painted and stinky bums to change, but they will all just have to wait a few hours more...

As if I need another project...

Dallin and I got started today on refinishing this old cabinet that I rescued from my parents' shed in Burley. It was built by my great-uncle somebody a million years ago and it was in my dad's house when he was growing up, and then it was in our house when I was growing up. It finally made its way out to the shed after many relocations throughout the house, and I claimed it when I found out it was probably on its way to the dump. I feel so cool, like I have a real family heirloom or something. I remember it being in the family room with my dad's stereo on it and dancing around to Abba tapes when I was so little. My dad would always pick us up and sing to us and put our names in the songs. I really thought that Abba knew who I was in those days. I also thought that they lived inside the stereo and sang whenever we wanted them to, but that's a blog for another day. Anyway, my idea is to paint the cabinet black and get new knobs and hinges and put it in my family room and give my kids crazy ideas. I'll let you know how it turns out... And yes, Dallin is in charge of the left door, bless his heart.

And the new Young Women's President is....

Okay, so maybe camp went a little TOO well. I was looking forward to just getting through it and taking a small break from life and all things stressful until the baby gets here in a few months... and then I got a phone call to go meet with the bishop last Wednesday. So I thought, well, our ward just split, they probably want me to do some small thing and that's okay, I guess I can handle it. So I wasn't really worried, even though they said to bring Jason along. I just figured they liked him or something. Then there was a little confusion about the time so I ended up bringing the boys instead of getting a sitter, which was a huge mistake. It was also a mistake to give them suckers to keep them quiet because it had the exact opposite effect on them. So I'm sitting there trying to ignore the two wild monkeys tearing apart the bishop's office and maintain a calm composure using the falsetto I-really-am-a-good-mother-and-don't-beat-my-kids tone with them that is about 3 octaves higher than my normal voice while still focusing on what the bishop is saying to me, when he asks me to be the Young Women's President. I was like, "The holiday who-be whattie? What did you say?" It was one of those moments where time just stands still and you know your whole life is about to change and it feels like it really isn't even happening. Meanwhile, my children are putting on a huge display of why I am a totally incompetent mother, and I don't know why the bishop didn't just change his mind right then and there. But he didn't, and I accepted, and here I am. I'm trying not to be completely overwhelmed, but to tell the truth, at this point, I am. Am I doing things the right way? I don't know. Will I ever get it all figured out? I don't know. Do I need a nap? Yes. Well, at least I know one thing. So I better go squeeze in a few minutes of rest before Jason gets home from work so I don't completely scare the daylights out of him when he walks through the door. I mean, if I hadn't just been at camp and seen firsthand how great the girls are in our ward, I really couldn't do this. But I know that even though I will make a ton of mistakes, and I feel like I already have, it will all be worth it in the end. Right? Here's to hoping....

Camp Schmamp

Well, it's been a little while since I updated my blog, mostly because I was so busy trying to get ready for Girls Camp and trying not to freak out that I actually had to go. I somehow got out of it when I was in Young Women's a few years ago (as a leader, I never got out of it as a YW, even though I'm sure I would have liked to). I was the assistant camp director this year and I was in charge of all the food for our ward, among other things. But it was the food that had me stressed, especially because a week and a half before camp I got an email saying we were not allowed to have fires this year!! After planning a whole menu involving cooking over the fire, it was a little distressing. And what is a camp without fire, I ask you? But it all worked out for the best and I am repenting for my bad attitude. I guess my biggest concern was that the girls would turn up their noses at the food and be ungrateful and hard to get to help when it was their turn... I could not have been more wrong. The girls in our ward are AMAZING and I am not even kidding. The entire time I did not hear one single complaint or have one meal preparation or clean-up when I didn't have girls flocking to the cooking area asking, "What can I do to help?" even when it wasn't their turn. And not only that, every single thing that I served was met with, "This is my favorite salad in the whole world! It's even better than my mom's!" and "Did you go to cooking school? You should be a gourmet chef!" and "This is the best food we've ever had at Girls Camp!" So, they might be a little delusional, considering the fact that we were eating food like sloppy joes and taco salad, but I personally don't care if people are crazy as long as they are nice. They made me feel so appreciated and so welcome. I feel like inviting them all over for dinner at my house every night, except that would mean I would have to cook, and I am a little burned out on that right now. But the whole experience of going to Girls Camp just could not have been better. And I was prepared for the worst, believe me. I thought of every possible thing that could go wrong: I won't sleep at night (I was the only leader that slept well), everyone will hate the food (they at least pretended to like it), it will be hotter than 4 foxes fighting in a forest fire and all the food will go bad (it rained almost every day and never got too hot), I'll be too tired because I'm 7 months pregnant (I felt great), I'll feel like an idiot because I don't know anybody and they all know each other (everyone was so nice), etc. etc. etc. It just was really good. Plus, it was a very spiritual camp where there were several faith-promoting things that happened that I know made a big impression on the girls, because they made a big impression on me. I'll just tell you one since this is getting a little lengthy: The last night we had Ardeth Kapp speak (hello, the Pella ward would be lucky to get Henry Baker) and as we sat through the opening part of the meeting, dark clouds were gathering and there was thunder coming from every direction. This exact thing happened the day before and we had a downpour that lasted at least 40 minutes, complete with lightening and hail (I was in the leader's tent at the time and enjoyed it thoroughly - I told you I was blessed). So I was prepared to head back to camp when the meeting got rained out. However, right before Sister Kapp's turn to speak, the Stake Young Women's President got up and said, over the thunder, "We'd like to ask the Stake President to come up and give a blessing on the elements, so the meeting can go on." She said it like she was asking him to do something as simple as move his car. I was like, oh dear. He's not magic. This is going to be really great for the girls when we are all drenched in about 4 minutes. But the SP, bless his little cowboy heart, got up and prayed that "the clouds would be moved and the meeting would go on without incident and without delay". Then I was really nervous because I had expected him to say something like, "Please bless that the meeting can go on if it is thy will, and that we won't get hit by lightening on our way back to our tents." But, oh ye of little faith, within about 10 minutes, the clouds literally cleared and by the time Sister Kapp was about half way done with her talk, there was a blue sky with high white wispy clouds overhead. There were still clouds around the horizon and faint thunder in the distance for effect but otherwise it was beautiful, complete with chirping birds and chattering squirrels. I was hardly paying attention to what she was saying because I was so busy watching the sky the whole time. It was amazing. The weather stayed perfect until exactly midnight when we were just finishing up our ward testimony meeting around the campfire (another miracle at Zuckerman's, we could have fire after all because of the rain the day before), and then it rained most of the night. I could not believe it. Anyway, I only took a few pictures at camp, which I am regretting now, but here they are. This is the sign that I made for our ward, which is kind of gay, but it survived the rain somehow. And then a few of the girls and other leaders. Nicest people in the world!

I was actually a little sad to go home....