Hold your Applause, but nothing else...

So we were at Costco today, buying the usual unnecessary items, as is the case every time we go to Costco. We go for one thing and walk out with 10!?!
Thus far, Tanner has refused to be potty trained. On occasion, he will tell us he needs to go and when those rare occasion happen, we make a big deal out of praising him. Today he tells Mike that he needs to go while we are in Costco, so Mike runs into the men's room with him. As they are in there, Tanner does his business and Mike starts saying "Wow Tanner, what a good boy. Hooray! That's awesome!" and clapping and screaming "ALRIGHT! GOOD JOB". Then Mike says he hears the guy in the john next to them applauding and clapping too!!!
Too funny!

All By Myself

Mike has been called to be the Executive Secretary in the ward. So, he now spends his Sundays in meetings at the church. And I spend Sunday alone...at home...with all the kids...on Sunday...alone...feeding them...washing them...playing with them...on Sunday...all by myself...alone. Ok,Ok, Im not complaining. Its great experience for Mike and I get to reap the blessings! He will be great at it! I just hope I can make it to church on time without any help. Its a struggle when there are two of us doing it, let alone winging it solo. And no matter how hard I try, someone will have something on their church pants by the time we get in the car. (Last week Zach had a Swedish fish stuck to his bum, Tanner picked it off in sacrament meeting and ate it!)
Its Murphys Law I guess.
I made these for his meeting this morning. Just in case anyone forgets that they need to CHOOSE THE RIGHT (C.T.R). My personal cupcakes should say "B.O.T."---BE ON TIME. I guess I'll have to make those next week.

The hand that Rocks the Cradle, Rules the World.

This months Ensign article for R.S. is by Elder Ballard, Daughters of God. Reading it I am reminded of my current job as mother, and other jobs I have had in life. Here are a few of the interesting ones.

Famous Greek Salads-I was the evening manager and I loved it. It was my first job at 16. I even got my brother, boyfriend and best friend to come and work there as well. It was a fun job, especially when my brother and I lured a duck into the kitchen with bread crumbs. Only to have it freak out and fly into the dinning room, while there were customers eating. Or having Taylor hide in a large barrel that the Greek peppers were shipped in and waiting for a victim to come and get some. "SURPRISE"! Oh yes, and I cannot forget crazy Brian the Jehovah's Witness that would sing made up Greek songs and would apologize to the shrimp for cutting their spines out. Great first job!
3. House Singer @ Macaroni Grill- I did this at two different locations, Florida and Provo. It was a great job and easy. I would walk around the restaurant and sing Italian arias to people. The tips were good. On weekends, I would spotlight AVA MARIA in the middle of the dinner run. It made for fun memories.
2.Tan girl...Nothing like wiping up the sweat from people's bums after they tan!Need I say more?
3. Lectric Lights- I worked at this lovely job in Texas. I worked as a shoring rental supervisor. Basically, the company I worked for rented out shoring equipment for construction projects for TDOT. Hydraulic Shores are used to hold up the walls of dirt in a hole dug below 4 feet. That way if there is a collapse, you wont get buried in dirt. I was OSHA certified for this, believe it or not. Pretty random...and the customers loved me. I got a marriage proposal nearly everyday. Most of the time in Spanish.
3. Dental Assistant- I did this for a cumulative period of 3 years. I worked for two different dentists.One in Utah and one in Alpharetta Ga. Dr. Parsa was an amazing man. He escaped Iran's political tyranny in the 80's and came to America. He speaks Farsi and taught me some interesting phrases! None that I can share with you...or spell for that matter.
4. Nanny- I loved this job. But being the eldest of 10 kids, I was use to it.
5. Gas Attendant- (stop laughing now) I worked at a gas station (VIP) my senior year of high school, and in college I worked at WILL'S PIT STOP in Provo. I even got to see some celebrities on occasion (the Osmond's lived up the hill)working there.
6. Retail Dept @ Provo Craft- ok job, the discount was nice
7. Mr. Rags, Retail sales- Met some of the greatest people working there (Sara, Jodi, Jenny, Leigh, Jill) but also some of my dorkiest boyfriends!Another story for another day.

8.Mom- Ok this is the job that I dont get paid for but is the hardest of them all. Its also the most rewarding and fun. I love my kids and husband. I just hate cleaning up all their toys, food and pee....yes,I said pee! Toilets were not part of my job description..were they? Anyway...I've been MOMMY for 3 1/2 years now and I still like waking up to my responsibilities, most days. Mom's Rock! Thanks Elder Ballard, I loved this talk!

Tagged again..

OK, I am suppose to tell you or show you my favorite movies as a kid in these categories. Surprisingly I found clips of all of them on youtube.
SCARY-
I loved Mr. Booggedy. It was a Disney movie, staring Kristy Swanson. I loved it as a kid.


Adventure-

I also loved The Explorers. Ethan Hawk,& River Phoenix when they were just starting out in movies. Its a close tie with Flight of the Navigator and this movie. Goonies is a close third

Musical

Newsies.Still a favorite. And Christian Bale..is still a favorite too!

You're Tagged: Jen, Jodi, Michelle & Hannah

Universal Language

This is the strangest thing Ive ever seen. Somethings translate in every culture but this is weird! I had to share

Batman on the Brain

So Mike and I have really been looking forward to the Batman Sequel that opens TONIGHT! Unfortunately, I wont be going as Asher has decided to make his crying time exactly at 7:30 pm every night. He would never make it through the movie. I am not about to leave a 12 week old baby with a sitter. I will just have to wait until its on DVD. However, to celebrate the movie I decided to make a "Dark Knight Torte" with Dark chocolate cake and Ganache. I also frosted it with chocolate mousse. If you don't know what a torte is, its just cake made with very little flour and usually has a soft middle or layers of mousse in between. DELICIOUS!
I also attempted my first chocolate transfer on top. It turned out ok. I wish I had made it a little more oval and had sharper edges on the bat, but not bad for a first try. I love that its completely made of chocolate, yes that is yellow chocolate! YUMMY! My friend Mandy does the coolest things with chocolate transfers, so I was inspired by her to give it a try.
Hope the movie doesn't disappoint! I know this torte wont!


In case your wondering about the Weight Watchers point count on this its
10,000.

My walks

I have been trying to get the last of my baby weight off. Its not an easy task. Especially when people keep emailing me delightful recipes (like Applebees' Blondies). I cant stop myself! Anyway, I started walking this hill by our house. Its beautiful. A little scary too, since you can be walking and suddenly hear guns shooting all around you. I found out later that the Hummelstown Field and Stream has a gun range up there. I nearly had an accident in my pants when I heard shots on the road the other day. It almost literally "scared the crap out of me". I started praying silently to myself. "Dear Heavenly Father, please dont let a stray bullet ricochet off a tree and kill me. I will lay here and no one will ever find me, except the large groundhogs that occasionally run across the street". And those groundhogs would seriously be able to pull me down one of their holes in the ground, cuz they are R.O.U.S's (Rodents of Unusual Size). I hate groundhogs! Anyway...a couple weeks ago, upon exploring this new found track, I missed the only road that would take you down off the hill. By the time I realized it, there were no more roads leading down, I was too far to turn back. I just keep walking. When I finally got home, I traced my path and mapped it. I had walked 4.9 miles. What the heck! I only wanted a small hike.
Anyway, I took some pics becuase Pennsylvania is seriously gorgeous. I love it here. When I walk this road the words to a primary song always come into my head.
Whenever I hear the song of a bird Or look at the blue, blue sky, Whenever I feel the rain on my face Or the wind as it rushes by, Whenever I touch a velvet rose Or walk by our lilac tree, I’m glad that I live in this beautiful world Heav’nly Father created for me

Have you ever been told you look like someone and thought "Gross, how insulting!". This just happened to me. A delivery man was here and told me I reminded him of the singer PINK. YUCK!


Here are some people I have been told I look like at various times in my life.
When I was the kid people said I looked like Heather O'Rourke from Poltergiest. "THEIR HERE!"


My cousins used to say I looked like this little creature.I am not sure I even liked the movie when I was a kid. I dont remember even seeing it. But Thanks alot guys!


A few as I got older...flattering, but no cigar!

Brittany Snow from Hairspray

Candice Cameron from Full House

Reese Witherspoon

I dont think I look like any of these people. But,if you think I look like someone, and its unflattering...keep it to yourself please!

North Carolina...Again, Again!

We love North Carolina's Outterbanks.We spent our Independence Day Weekend driving and playing in NC. We spent our 5 day trip in the Kitty Hawk/Nags Head region. We lucked out with the weather,with Hurricane Bertha just off the coast we only had 1 day of rain. We enjoyed the beach & the pool with my (Eden) parents and 4 of my brothers. The beach house was great and we had lots of fun! Cant' wait to go again!


I ate a soft shell crab sandwich which grosses everyone out for some reason? Maybe its the legs hanging off that do it?


Cute Tanner





All in a row





Asher sleeping in the shade

Hot Hubby



Lincoln ,a typical teen
Noah...last hurrah before going to Japan for two years to knock on doors.

Mikes pastime, catching crabs.




You can see the storm coming towards us in this picture

We also toured the Wright Brothers National Monument. That is a pretty cool place. From the first flight (which was only 12 seconds in the air) to man landing on the moon, was only the span of 66 years. Isn't that cool?

Can I hold the baby?

This querry is posed everyday. "Can I hold the baby?". Something interesting always happens when I say yes. Everything was fine today. I decided to take some pictures of them all together. Then Tanner decided to do weird things to Asher's head. So holding is over for a while. Asher isnt amused!

A Date to Remember

I didnt know until moving to Pennsylvania how much I would enjoy the rich history out here. Or how connected I was to to it through my heritage. I had heard about the Battle of Gettysburg in American History class. It was the deadliest battle on American Soil. What I didnt know is how Gettysburg would find a place in my heart. I really love going there. Its beautiful, especially in early spring. It is a quaint little town with a soul that you feel. The battlefields are vast and the cemetery is overwhelming. I feel such a sense of gratitude for the people who died fighting for what they believed was right. Of course I find myself morally aligned with the Union army. I too believe in FREEDOM for all men, black and white. The civil war has many sides and interesting arguments. I believe that Heavenly Father opened the door for freedom in the United States for all men. I believe Abraham Lincoln was inspired to abolish slavery, and I know many people died with a prayer in their hearts that all men would live in peace..together..united.
I live around 35 miles north east of it. I have been their many times now. July 1st marks the day that the first shot of the Battle was fired. It lasted 3 days. In the end between 46,000 and 51,000 Americans were casualties. That November President Lincoln used the dedication ceremony for the Gettysburg National Cemetery to honor the Union dead and redefine the purpose of the war in his historic Gettysburg Address.

One of my relatives Joshua Chamberlain became the "hero of Gettysburg" when he and his regiment, the 20th Maine, bravely held Little Round Top against determined Rebel assault. He eventually went back to Maine after the war and was Governor for 4, 1 year terms. From everything I have read about this man, I feel privilege to be his descendant. July 1st is a date I remember. Its a battle in history, we should never forget. Here's to FREEDOM!

Here is a pic of little round top.