Monday, June 29, 2009

Life is uncertain, eat dessert first.



Jeff's family has a tradition that after school is out they go out for ice cream. Since I married into the family right after school was out we got to go to the formerly Leatherby's We all ordered child size sundaes (one scoop with one topping). They were so huge that almost all of us had to take half home for later. We didn't have a camera then, but got another chance when the Mcdonald cousins came. It was still huge, but not as big as the first time. I guess it depends on the scooper.






This is their sad face as they are waiting for the sundaes.
 Mint Chip with Caramel sauce and a Sherbet Cone

 Kristen got the famous caramel topping that is divine and drips off of the plate.

Kyle always gets playdough with Marshmallow sauce.

Jones plus three, Austin, Amber and Alex.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Bangs


Last week my sister Heidi Jo came to visit. She recently got her bangs cut. Now sad to say, I thought I had bangs. They were pretty grown out, but from the bad picture that we have together, it is obvious that I don't. So, Heidi Joe inspired me to cut my bangs.





Do I have any experience in cutting bangs like a beautician, no. In fact when they need to be cut, I'm not patient enough to wait one day. So I chopped them. Don't look too closely. What I would like to know is how do you cut bangs in between hair cuts. I tried to taper down on each side from the middle. Then I tried to do that jagged thing to texture the edge. Who knows if that is even how to do it. I'd really like to know now that I have bangs.












Monday, June 22, 2009

Martin's Cove

In preparing for Martin's Cove, we were supposed to wear pioneer garb. Here is what we came up with. After sewing the pink and white skirt I realized that I needed a slip and sewed that too. The bonnets were the hardest. We also wore pantaloons or capris under the skirts. Then we made an apron. Talk about layers. Then when the weather looked like we might have rain, I got some more fabric for two more skirts, Kate and mine and I'm so glad we did. DI was very helpful for tops. I just wanted to show the clothes before the actual trip.



We woke before the crack of dawn and met at the church at 4:15am, got on the bus for a 7 hour trip  Martin's Cove.











We made a quick stop along the way and the kids played a little 'Three Flies Up,"  while we waited for everyone to use the few bathrooms.



When we arrived, we ate, put on our rain ponchos had a short intro meeting where the rain pounded on the building. As soon as it was just raining, we got going. I was a Ma in a family with Katelyn and Jeff was the Bishop for all of the families.
 
We sang songs and played games and luckily weren't freezing.  Walking does help with the cold.  The puddles were deep and muddy.  our boots were sloshing on the inside and our layers were soaked through. 





They reenacted the men leaving for the Mormon Battalion and had the women's pull. the song we sang the most was " Come Thou Fount ", which is one of my favorites and is always inspiring and filled with hope.



As we dragged into camp it was so nice to already have a tent set up, hot food cooked and a roaring fire. That part was not like the pioneers, and I appreciated the support group. We never really dried out completely, but were counseled to get all dry clothes on or we'd never get to sleep, unlike a lot of pioneers who didn't have a choice. The buckets we carried had all of our belongings and could only weigh 17 lbs. We carried a bag made by our ward with Scriptures and a water bottle. The square dance was cancelled and to most people's relief because they wanted to get warm.
That night after we dried our feet off, most of the leaders stayed up drying girl's skirts because most girls only brought one.  It really took a while to get them semi-dry. 







The next day the weather was about 60 degrees with a little sprinkling which didn't even count compared to the day before. That morning the ma's and pa's finished drying skirts by the fire, so we could at least start off warm.

Because the Sweetwater River was too high only a few girls were able to be carried over, which was a relief to Kate and I since we were sure to be a challenge to carry depending on the size of the carrier.  

Martin's Cove was an incredible experience. We heard many stories of the Saints, rescuers and miracles. The cove was a sacred place that we could imagine the Saints trying to protect themselves from the storm. It was a place where many lost their lives because they wanted to go to Zion and to obey. We were asked to bring with us a name of an ancestor or member of the Martin or Willey handcart companies.  I brought Anna Cannon a pioneer on my mother's side.  It was a blessing to be a part of this incredible experience and to carry an ancestor with me on the journey.
We did end up dancing after the hail storm and lightning on the second day and our testimony meeting ran short because of the next big storm. I slept surprisingly both nights which is probably also unlike the pioneers.
We ended with a special message from our Bishop about the incredible legacy of the Martin and Willey Handcart companies. This is our whole ward.


Now that's what real pioneer looks like, no makeup, bags under their eyes and let's cover the hair with a crumpled bonnet.
It was incredible!


















































































































Monday, June 1, 2009

Girl's Night In

Friday night The boys including Grandad went on the Father and son campout. Now that my kids are mostly older the time has come to start our own tradition of a Girl's night in. The girls meaning 5 kids, me and Jeff''s Mom. I know this sounds weird, but I was kind of nervous because I wanted it to be a hit and I'm not really into fingernail polish or hair as you all know. I do plenty of hair without any excuses.

Each kid chose their favorite party food and I added dips, salsa and frappe. Jeff''s mom contributed the rest and we had quite the spread.
The big girls rearranged my bedroom with the bed in the corner 3 more comfy chairs and a mini couch in front of the bed. My room is the favorite for movies and has the TV gaurdian. We also had the food in my room. It wasn't a bedroom anymore. We gathered all the chick flicks we could find in the house, filled our plates and stuffed our faces while watching a movie.

 
 


Then came the games. We played a roll the dice game to decide which color ended up on which finger. The colors were numbered 1-6. I was the only one who ended up with the navy blue on one finger. We had to wear the polish for one day. I was allowed to take it off a little early since I was singing in the choir for conference. Toes were next. Then Olivia just kept piling more and more polish on her fingers, not just the nails.


Before
After

Then we each drew a name out of a bag and gave that girl a makeover, while we watched another movie in the Girl's Night Room. We let Mom off the hook, and had her wear a random wig, but the rest were done with care.



Kate did Natalie and Olivia. Natalie did me. Anna and Kris did each other and I did Kate. Our party ended at 12:17am. It went fast and was really fun. I couldn't quite get to sleep until 1:00am. It could be because some kids opted to sleep in my bed or room. Grammy did go home to sleep in her own bed. What I want to know is if anyone has any ideas for next time. I'm really not that creative. I'm all about the food.