Turning 7!

Owen has been counting down his birthday for the last two months.  The day of the party finally arrived.  He had a few of his school pals over for pizza, a delicious (yet unattractive) ice-cream cake, soda pop, and then we headed out to a trampoline park. What fun. He is lucky to have such great friends, and I am lucky (also known as totally blessed!) to have him for a son. My fourth son. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the fact that I have 5 sons.

Prom Pics!

My oldest son went to Prom on Saturday night, and he finally got the pics to me.  He had an amazing time, and with a totally biased opinion, I think they must have been the most handsome couple at the ball.  It's crazy to think that I remember my own prom super well, and my oldest son is now making similar memories. Things that make ya go hmmm.

Love the eyebrow.

SO much fun.

Her dress is stunning.

Black and white makes this look like the cover of a murder mystery... but in a good way.

Corsages are weird to me,

Peek a boo - for the teenagers

Very attractive,

Group shot!

I taught a church class on chocolate - it was super fun. The girls were 12 and 13, about 15 people all together. 

Eyes

I think their eyes are the same.

Hostess with the Mostess

 Where was Lindsey Joy Smith this Friday and Saturday? I was playing the hostess with the mostess*/the MC of the Food Storage Cook-off at the PrepperCon, a preparedness convention in SLC.  Good times were had.  There were two qualifying rounds and then then the winners competed against each other for the grand prize of $2000 in food storage, with the second place getting $800 in food storage.  It was loads of fun, and my voice was almost lost by the end.

Three rounds meant three sets of judges.  The gal on the left is from the tv show "The Walking Dead" - which I've never seen.  I'm not the one wearing the crown, thats Mizz Utah USA 2014.  Sandwiched in the middle are the Becky's; Becky Goodrich and Becky Brown, both prep specialists in their own right.

Interviewing round one contestants, with my dear friend on the far right.

What happens when a judge doesn't show?  Your husband gets to judge the contest!

Lucky duck.

The finals had two lovely friends competing against each other: Amy and Mercedes.

The silver lining is that regardless of the winner, both would walk away with a great prize.

Amy, "Radninjas.com" got first, Mercedes finished with a close second.

I was also given a booth for being the MC.  Amy made that fab banner behind me, and Ryan Edward set up my booth.  Cooking classes anyone? Head on over to thechipperchef.com to sign up, and to make your wildest dreams come true.

Now that is a piece of baby fudge.  Norman Harold Thomas Smith, I'm glad I'm your mum. 

* I'm probably not thee hostess with the mostess, but I like the way it sounds;~)

Track!

Today I went to my very first track meet as a parent/cheerleader. Calvin competed in the 100m and the 800m and he did a very good job.  Oh the memories! I ran track in high school with my twin.  I ran the 2 mile, and 1 mile. During our senior year, Les and I even did a little pole vaulting, which was just plain fun. Well done Calvin!

Oh, the memories! Oh, to be able to run that fast again!

Calvin is third from the right, practicing his start.

Just after his race. Super tired. Really did well.

Lemon Bundt Trifle and Deviled Eggs

My kitchen explode yesterday while I was making this lemon bundt trifle.

It was out of this world.

I did a t.v. demonstration today on deviled eggs that will air tomorrow on channel 5, Studio 5. Starts at 11:00am.

Caught Norman smiling.

XOXOX!

My Kitchen Tonight

This pretty much sums up my ability to manage everything that Monday brought in my direction:

Pretty much this entire mess was of my own make. Ryan's says I am "prolific" in the kitchen... and I don't think he means that in a good way.

Was given this cool cake stand, and "Holman" is my maiden name.  I wonder if  "Holman" is the brand or the kind of stand...

Ever In your Favor

Yesterday, I was shopping at our local thrift store and came upon this shirt. 

It was the t-shirt of a church girls camp, and I thought it was simply amazing.

On this lovely Sabbath day, I thought I would share the image, and more importantly the sentiments.

This is Lindsey Joy Smith, and I approve of this message.

Calvin and Preston were fulfilling their church duty of taking out the trash.

On their way back from the big bin, they took turns riding in the can. 

Church service with a smile.

She Said Yes!!!

Preston asked a girl to the prom last week and she had yet to say whether or not she would go with him. (Apparently, in Bountiful, Ut, replying to the prom is not like a marriage proposal: it's best to make the asker wait so that you can give your "yes" with a little bit of creative flare and drama.)  His date defiantly replied with creativity.  She had a friend of ours, a police officer*, pick him up at the house to head down to the station for some "questioning." Preston got in the back of the car, behind the metal cage, and was then driven to a park where his date had a huge smile on her face, and a totally cute sign.  May this be the only time my son rides in the back of a cop car:~)

*In general, I am not a fan of officers participating in such shenanigans, but we were called in advance with the go-ahead, we knew it would tickle Preston, and we figured he would recognize the cop (which he did) and wouldn't be scared to death.  He said even though he figured it was a joke, his heart did race a bit when he was put in the back of the car...

Love the cop motif. 

Prom is going to be fun!

Owen at the Goal.  He had fun.

Norman is starting to smile a bit. His hair is receding, making him look lie the old man that his name sounds like. 

80's Party?

My oldest son went to an 80's themed Sweet 16 birthday party. This is what he wore.  I love his bravery.  I am not sure where he got the outfit from, or more importantly, why he decided on this ensemble.  I was nursing Norman when I heard Annie exclaim to Preston "What are you wearing?" That's when I knew Preston was up to something exciting.

Leaves me speechless. 

Outnumbered

With two parents vs. six kids, the adults are outnumbered... and I think the kids are starting to notice. I'm trying to avoid direct eye contact, just to see if the wilderness survival technique of avoiding a bear attack will also work on kids.

The chemo treatment seems to be making Ryan's hair a little bit curlier than it was before.  

Norman looks so wee in Ryan's arms.

Norman and I had a fun time playing together today.  

He's just such a cutie and Annie can't get enough of him.

Merry Christmas and Romance

Yesterday was lovely enough that Norman and I were able to walk SI, AJ and O to school. Today, it snowed, basically the entire day.  Thumbs down to snow. If it were up to me, it would only snow on Christmas.  On a happier, warmer note, Preston asked a friend to prom.  He made this amazing poster, and spelled prom with tea lights. Word on the street is that the girl was super excited.  Well done, son.

Calvin after track.  I love the t-shirt and shorts with the snow as the backdrop.

Black poster, white sharpie. Pretty cool looking sign. Excellent penmanship.

Apparently, it's rather difficult to keep all of the t-lights lit up at once.  Still totally cool.

Potato Chips gone Awesome

My neighborhood cooking group, Iron Chef Bountiful, met tonight. The them ingredient was "potatoes." What a tasty night, which featured: potato salad, potatoes o gratin, donughts, soup rolls, and sweet potato casserole. It was a mighty delicious evening, made all the more fabulous by chocolate chips.

White chocolate, dark chocolate, toasted almonds, Ruffles chips. Mmmm,

Dark Chocolate, toasted coconut and chips.

White chocolate, ground up Oreo cookies.

He's officially one month old today. Well done son!

Wax

Not all family nights are created equal. Sometimes, they even get repeated.  Our lesson last Monday night was about being "peacemakers." We practiced memorizing the scripture, found in the Book of Mormon, "Blessed are all the Peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God." Although every family member (except Norman) was able to recite the scripture for the week, I don't really feel like the Smith family has internalized this one... so... our lesson and scripture are on round two. (Just to be clear, my children did quarrel quite a bit this week, but I was also a real grumpy pants this week and am glad for the chance of a do-over.) On to the fun bits: I made strawberry shortcake for dessert and Annie planned our activity (she does that a lot) which happened to be "wax hands." It's a beauty treatment where you dip your hands into super warm, melted wax. The wax coats your hands. Then you place your hands into bags and let it cool. Then you peel the wax off, and your hands are super soft... I found the wax melting unit at a Goodwill in AZ on a sisters trip. Good find.

Annie has just dipped her foot, bagged it and is wearing the blue cozy. On to the next foot.

Simon just dipped his hand.

Peeling off the wax on her foot.

Owen's wax hand.

Angel Lullaby

I have sung the following lullaby to each of my children.  It's a lovely song from the musical/play "My Turn on Earth." My mom used to sing it me. I do believe that angels watch over us. I also know some angels on earth. 

Angel Lullaby- by Carol Lynn Pearson 

You came from a land, where all is light
To a world half day and a world half night.
To guide you by day, you have my love.
To guard you by night, your friends above. 

Chorus: So sleep, sleep, till the darkness ends, 
Guarded by your angel friends. 
So sleep, sleep, till the darkness ends, 
Guarded by your angel friends. 

There’s one stands softly by your bed
and another to stands close with a hand on your head.
There’s one at the window, watching for the dawn.
And one waits to wake you when the night is gone. 

Chorus: So sleep, sleep, till the darkness ends, 
Guarded by your angel friends. 
So sleep, sleep, till the darkness ends, 
Guarded by your angel friends.
---

H'es just one month old, but still looks like a brand new baby. He's small but darling,