What team......WILDCATS!!

Yes, we are lovers of High School Musical at our house. The original High School Musical...seen it, love it, know all the songs. High School Musical 2.....seen it, love it, know all the songs. High School Musical 3....seen it, love it, and already know all of the songs. Just say the word 'Troy' and Lauren will giggle and blush. Last night we saw the much anticipated 'HSM 3:Senior Year', along with a bunch of our friends and 300 other screaming girls and excited moms. It was so much fun!!! Lauren and I had been looking forward to our girl's night out for weeks. Of course, we got all dressed up in our High School Musical apparel. I bought my jacket just for the occasion (it was only 5 bucks). Lauren even had on HSM underwear. Having only brothers, Lauren really looks forward to anything 'girly' that we do. The movie was so cute and I'm sure we will be seeing it again. We listened to the soundtrack all night (thank you Grandma Juju) and had a hard time getting to bed because of our excitement. Lauren's favorite part of the movie was when Troy and Gabriella finally kiss(oops. hope I didn't give that away). I loved the 'boys are back' scene in the junk yard. I wish I could dance like that :). So if you want to know what team we love.......Wildcats!!

It's Inconceivable!

And you wonder how he gets into all that he does.

Messy Fun

Over UEA I thought it would be fun to make Halloween sugar cookies with the kids. We set a time and a date and invited my mom and my sister Jenny and her kids to come over. As soon as the dough was out the kids just went crazy. They had flour everywhere and were rolling dough and cutting out shapes like mad. They had a blast!! It definitely did not look like it does on tv when they cook with kids, all nice and neat and clean and all. There was dough and flour everywhere. On hands and arms and feet and faces. In hair and eyes. Not to mention the counter, stools and floor. But, believe it or not, I just ignored the mess and got into it with the kids. This was their day for some cooking fun. They were so happy and proud and excited over their cookies. After the mess was done we got on to the really fun part, decorating! The kids had all the frosting and sprinkles their hearts could desire. They were so thoughtful with each cookie they would decorate. They each made special ones for their moms and dads. So cute. I put my mom in charge of the frosting and the red food coloring did not get along so well with her :).

At the end of the day, with the mess cleaned up and gone, we reaped our reward of wonderful and delicious Halloween cookies. Tony especially loved his 'special cookies' that the kids made for him. So yes, the fun was worth the mess!!

It's Christmas-time!?!

As we woke up this morning and looked out the window to find over 6 inches of snow, Cody says,"It's Christmas-time!" Followed by,"Let's get out the snowmobiles!" We sure were surprised to see so much snow. While we were getting ready for church Cody kept insisting,"It's not church day. It's Christmas day." It took us a while to convince him that, no, it was not Christmas day yet. And that it truly was just 'church day'. He was sure disappointed.

After 3 hours in church, the kids could hardly wait to play in the snow. Even all the kids in primary today had 'play in the snow' wiggles. But boy, I definitely don't miss the days of hats, gloves, coats, boots & scarves for 3 kids strung all over the place. But I guess those days of winter are coming. The kids love playing in the snow and love the hot chocolate that follows even more!

We love Conference!

Every year we look forward to General Conference. My kids especially love conference. Lauren was counting down the days till conference all last week. We make a big deal about it at our house and have some fun traditions which I think is why we all love it so much. Sunday morning we sleep in and stay in our pajamas. Then we all go to work fixing a huge breakfast which we refer to as our "Conference breakfast". The kids love to help and love to eat it even more. After breakfast the kids play conference bingo while we watch it together. They get pretty into it, mostly because of the fun prizes. We also have cards with pictures and facts about each apostle. When someone is speaking they pick out their card and set it up on the t.v.. It's been a great way for all of us to get to know them better.

On a more serious note, I love conference. Each talk had something in it that I could relate to, that I needed to hear, and that brought me closer to my Savior. I needed the spiritual recharge that can only come through conference. Not only were the talks wonderful, but the music was inspirational. Seeing the children's choir on Saturday was so emotional for me. It reminded me of my primary kids and how much I love them. I love our prophet. What wisdom and love he powerfully conveys as he speaks. Throughout conference I just kept thinking of how blessed I am to be a part of this church. I am now looking forward to finding more "joy in the journey" and hoping that my conference 'high' will last as long as it can.

Strength in numbers

This past weekend I was able to attend the General Relief Society meeting at the Conference Center. A big group of ladies and friends from my ward all went down together. We had a blast!! As we entered the Conference Center and saw all the women gathered, my friend says to me,"Being here with all these women feels powerful". Her comment brought a tear to my eye. What power a group of righteous women and daughters of God can have. I loved each of the talks and came home wanting to do better. Wanting to try harder and focus on the things that really matter.

After the Conference we went to dinner at Biaggi's in the Gateway. The food was great! The company was great! And I can't remember the last time I stayed out till midnight. Thanks for a fun night girls!!

Feeling Domestic

I love harvest-time! When the mornings and evenings become cool. The sun rises later and sets sooner. The trees and plants in the garden finally bear their fruit. And thanks to my great neighbor Tracey, she shares in the harvest of her peach tree every year. It is the saddest looking tree around, but it grows the best peaches and this year was a winner crop. I picked a 5 gallon bucket full for our family and went to work. I made fresh peach shakes, several batches of peach jam, peach cobbler, pies and had fresh peaches in my cereal. After all of that, my bucket was still almost full. What more could I do with these peaches? Wanting to learn a new skill, I called Tracey over to help teach me how to can them. I have never canned before and thought this would be a great opportunity. After some tutoring(thank you Tracey) and messy work(can you say 'brown fingernails'), I had a dozen beautiful bottles filled with peaches. What a nice addition to the food storage. I now feel like a true mormon wife, and, Oh, grandma would be so proud!