15 Books

Several weeks ago a few friends posted a list of 15 books that impacted their life for better or worse on Facebook...since I never post anything on my Facebook account, I decided to do it here. Anyway, the instructions were a list of fifteen books you've read that will always stick with you for better or for worse. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes...

Maybe I thought about it too much but here's my list

As a child/preteen:

1. Ramona series by Judy Blume
2. Little Women
3. Anne of Green Gables
4. The Box Car Children
5. Little House on the Praire

As a teenager/college student:

6. Native Son
7. To Kill a Mockingbird
8. The Diary of Anne Frank
9. Don Quixote
10. Les Miserables

As an adult (recently):

11. The Poisonwood Bible
12. The Secret Life of Bees
13. These is My Words
14. The Kite Runner
15. Midwives

The Holy Ghost and the Haunted Mansion

So this week for FHE we were having a little lesson on how we can keep the Spirit in our home. I started out by asking my kids what the Spirit was and Ben replied "it's the Holy Ghost." Natalie then adds..."Yeah, he lives at the Haunted Mansion!" (We're big Disneyland fans and have listened to the haunted mansion ride music a lot lately...a ride Natalie did not enjoy at our most recent trip.) I try to correct her that no, the Holy Ghost does not live at the Haunted Mansion but does can be in our homes to comfort and help us...etc. "No, he lives at the Haunted Mansion, Mom" she insists. I continue to try to correct her that we want him to be in our home and help us. She concedes..."Okay, but he'll have to stay outside!"

The Happiest Place on Earth!

A few weeks ago, we enjoyed a trip to Disneyland with my family...seven siblings and their spouses, 12 grandkids and my parents...27 of in all. It was a great trip and we so enjoyed being with all the cousins and family. We're huge Disney fans and have loved the two recent trips we've taken with extended family (we went in Oct '07 with Bryan's family). Here's some highlights and tidbits:

1. The day before we left, I was packing and getting things ready when Ben came in to talk with me. He was so excited to be going. I think anticipating and planning for the trip is almost as much fun as actually going! Anyway, he says..."Mom, you know how you sometimes have tears running down your face but you're happy?" I respond with a yes.... "Well, that's me Mom. If you see tears on my cheeks they're tears of happiness Mom!" So I asked him if he was going to cry right now and he said "Not yet but almost!" So cute!

2. With such a large group to coordinate schedules with, there ended up being only one full day that everyone was at the park together all day. On that day, we arrived early to the park to be one of the first people in line. One of my sisters was first in line and asked one of the workers if they had a family to open the park yet. If you've never been, they have a little count down right as the park opens and they usually pick a family to come into the gates first and help count down for the "magic to begin". Anyway, they ended up letting our big family come in first to do the count down. We all got badges and were the first people in the park. I cried some tears of happiness I must admit!


3. We arrived early each day at the park to beat the crowds a bit and get on as many rides as possible before it got too busy and crowded. We had so much fun racing from ride to ride...we were definitely exhausted by the end of each day but we packed a lot fun in! Some favorite rides for Ben...Buzz Lightyear and Toy Story Mania, Star Tours, the Teacups, and Soaring over California. Natalie wasn't sure about any rides at first but ended up loving Small World, the carousel, and Dumbo.


4. As I said, we're huge Disney fans and have been many times at different seasons and with different groups, but being a parent and taking your kids to see it, really makes is so much more magical. We've been lucky enough to take our kids 3 times in the past 2 and 1/2 years. They're already talking about our next trip!


5. By the end of each hot and busy day of fun and battling the crowds, we were all exhausted and ready for bed. Tuesday night, Ben and Natalie fell asleep before I even finished reading them stories and Wednesday night, Natalie fell asleep during the fireworks and didn't wake up til the next morning...she slept through the noisy fireworks, the walk/drive back to the hotel and me wrestling her into her pajamas!


6. The beach...so nice to sit and relax on the beach after being in the hustle and bustle of crowded Disneyland! It was a bit cool and cloudy so we didn't really get in the water other than to walk in the waves washing up on the sand. Ben and Bryan built a fun sand castle together and Natalie snuggled with me on the beach towels. It was very relaxing and we wished we have more time to spend there.


7. The only thing we really had to complain about ...besided wishing we had the park to ourselves...was dealing with traffic on the drive to and back. We got stuck in traffic in Nevada with the crowds returning from Las Vegas to CA. It took us 2 extra hours to get there. And then on the way home, we got stuck in construction traffic in Las Vegas. Again...another 1 to 1 1/2 hours added to the trip. The kids were troopers though and we played many games of 20 questions and I Spy!

Rain, Hail...and Tears

We have had quite a stormy June so far. After a week or so of unsettled weather, clouds, wind and threats of rain, I commented to Bryan that I wished it would just pour. I was tired of the stormy skies and no rain. It had rained in other areas but missed Herriman for the most part. Well, I wish I could take that back now. Yesterday we had rain on and off most the morning and then about 6pm it started to hail...large pea size hail for about 15 minutes follow by a down pour. My rain gutters were filled with ice and so the water pour off my roof like a water fall, filling my window wells, drowning my flowers, and frightening my 2 little children. I tried to take a few pictures but every time I opened the door, the screaming and crying increased, so the pictures don't do it justice, but I had a good inch of hail on our back patio table. It looked like it had snowed. Later in the evening, after pumping water out of window wells, and getting two kids to bed, I went out to survey the damage. My yard literally looked like tossed salad...like a deranged Edward Scissorhands had attacked my flowers and vegetable garden.
After:

Before...taken 1 week ago.

Now it was my turn to cry. Overwhelmed, I went inside and called my sister and cried about my loss...I thought for sure I was going to have to replant my entire yard. Just when everything was starting to look good and grow...just shredded. Well, my sweet sister came out this morning and helped me clean up debree and fertilize. There is hope for my flowers and vegetables...hurray! I will no long beg for down pours! While we were cleaning it up, I just kept thinking well at least I'm not a farmer and these vegetables are not my livelyhood...just a hobby! I'm hoping for 80 degree weather and have new sympathy for those that have been through tornadoes and lost everything!

Natalie Turns 3!

Our little princess turned 3 years old last week. She has been anticipating this birthday ever since her brother celebrated his birthday in January. Whenever the subject of birthdays has come up since then, she has commented on that fact that she'll have a birthday soon. The past few weeks we have talked about it daily and she has sang Happy Birthday to herself many times!

We threw a Princess Tea Party and invited our family to join us for pink cupcakes cookies, brownies, pettifours and lots of candy (Natalie's favorties). It all turned out so cute if I do say so myself! We sent out invitations shaped like little dresses. As I was putting the finishing touches on the party setup, Ben asked me, "Isn't this a princess party? Where's all the princess stuff?" I replied, "Well, Natalie's the princess." He responded..."oh, okay." The two then disappeared and I hurried with some final preparations. The doorbell rang with the first guests arriving and they came down the hall. He had dressed her up in her Snow White costume, gown, crown, shoes, and purse. Ben announced: "Now she's the princess at the party, Mom! I dressed her up!" It was so cute!
My favorite part of the whole event was the priceless look on her face as we sang Happy Birthday (she sang along too of course) and then blew out the candles. It was adorable!



A little bit of remininscing about our little darling over the past 3 years...

She was born June 4, 2006 (she shares her birthday with a cousin...there are many June birthdays in our family so it bound to happen!) at 8:30ish pm at LDS Hospital. She weighed 6 lbs. and 4 oz. and was 19 in. long. She was 4 weeks early...can't imagine how big she would have been if she would have prolonged her arrival! She seemed pretty tiny though and came with lots of dark hair...you wouldn't know it now what with the blonde curls she sports today!

Before we knew about her, I always said I'd love to have a family of boys. But, boy oh boy, I wouldn't trade her for the world! Having a little girl is so much fun. I love the mother/daughter relationship and look forward to more that will come...well except for the drama which may escalate as we reach the teenage years...I can barely handle the 3 year old drama we have now!

Some favorites at age 3: She is all girl and loves everything pink and frilly. She loves playing with babies, playing house, carrying purses and diaper bags, shopping with Mom, cooking (pretend and real), painting her nails, playing with makeup, wearing dresses and pretty shoes, dressing up, and playing with friends. She's a bit of a fussy eater and will avoid nutritious meals at all costs and instead prefers to drink juice and snack...especially on candy! She loves her brother and would follow him just about anywhere and loves it when he plays with her.

Some quirks at 3 years old: She has a very sensitive nose and is constantly picking up scents and asking me "What's that smell...I smell sumpin'!" If she's not sniffing the air, she's sniffing her pink blankie. She fell in love with her favorite fuzzy, pink blanket when she was 7 or 8 months old and drags it around constantly. When she still had her binkie, she would put the blanket between her nose and binkie and smell it and rub it back and forth. She still hates it when I wash it and can tell if it's been washed with one whiff..."this not smell, Mom!" We have a duplicate blanket so I can wash them often, but she'll smell them both and always picks the dirty, stinky one over the clean, fresh one...crazy girl! She doesn't like cleaing up toys and such but loves to help clean the toilet and dust and vacuum. She is a pack rat and loves filling purses and bags with collections of random items...which drives me crazy! When she talks about size, she using only two words...it's either teeny or huge!

We love our little princess...quirks and all. Happy Birthday Natalie!

Inquiring Minds...and Noses

Have you ever read any of those Sam and Stella books from the library by Marie-Louise Gay? It's a cute little children's book series about a brother and sister who are always on some imaginary adventure together and all the while Sam quizzes his sister about the how and why of things. Stella always has some witty response.
"Stella, how do dogs learn how to swim?" asks Sam. "They take swimming lessons," answers Stella. You should check them out some time, they are so cute and fun.

Anyway, somtimes I feel like my life is a Sam and Stella book. My Benjamin is just like Sam, so inquisitive and curious and quizzing me a thousand times a day about all the hows and whys in the world. I think about 90 percent of his questions I either don't know the answer to or can't begin to think how to come up with a response a 6 year old can appreciate!

Here's a little list:

"Mom, what does the number infinity look like?"
"Do snakes know how to swim?"
"What would happen if you ate a watermelon seed?"
"Why do some animals lay eggs and why do cows give milk?"
"How many stars do you think there are?"
"What are you doing Mom?"
"When is it summer?"
"Why do we have Santa and Christmas trees on Jesus' birthday?"
"Why do some people speak different languages?"
"Is the Easter Bunny real or is it just a costume?"
"What is a butterfly doing when it's in his chrysalis?"
"Why does the Sun come up in the same place every morning and go down in the same place every night?"
"Why do dogs bark?"
"When is it summer?"
"What are you doing Mom?"
"What are we going to do today Mom?"
"Why do monkeys like to eat bananas?"
"Are ghosts real? What about the Holy Ghost?"


And if I'm not being quizzed to insanity by Ben, Natalie's nose is inquiring...

"I smell sumpin, Mom."
"What I smell?"
"Do you smell sumpin?"
"Sumpins in my nose."
"Sniff, sniff..what you smell, Mom?"

Good or bad, Natalie's nose doesn't let a scent go by without asking me about it or letting me know she "smells sumpin"!

I literally feel on the brink of insanity some days with all the questions! I need to be more like Stella and come up with something more witty than "I have no idea" and "Are you kidding me?" Let me know if you have a good response to what the number infinity looks like!

Canna Lilies

I have a bin full of extra canna lily bulbs if anyone is interested in some. The above pictures show a couple from my yard last year. They are a tropical looking lily that is really quite low maintenance and heat tolerant. They bloom in late July and through September. If you want some, they need to get planted right away. Leave me a comment and I'll bring you some or call me or stop by.