Cleaning Crew for a Morning

As active (and attractive) members of our church's congregation, our family gets the semi-annual opportunity to help in the Saturday morning cleaning of the meetinghouse.  We don't pick the day of the duty; it's assigned via the printed out Sunday program. Lucky for all concerned, we both read the bulletin and were available.  7 Smiths woke up 15 minutes before we were supposed to arrive and were only 10 minutes late. Not bad for a Saturday morning 8:00am assignment (and pretty darn good for a house that has a toddler and two sleepy teens.) It's actually a tradition that I look forward to; both because its pretty infrequent, and because we always get donuts afterwards.

I hope that one day the supplies closet will also hold pads and tampons: because every public restroom should supply what's necessary to do your necessary business.

Norman getting the mop ready... for someone else.

It's just the Smiths in the cleaning closet, but this operation is a well oiled machine.

About 5 or 6 families are assigned to clean the large building so that it doesn't take more than an hour.

I am never disappointed by the maple bars at Dicks.

Cottage Meeting

A few weeks ago, a lovely woman in my stake* (*large-ish geographical area consisting of several neighboring Mormon congregations) invited me to a cottage meeting at her home.  She told me a few senators and our local Utah House of Rep, Becky Edwards, would be in attendance, along with two Utah Organizations: Mormons Building Bridges and Equality Utah. My friend's hope long-range hope for the meetings like this one was that our elected officials would see that people in our community care about/ are related to/ are/ and are in support of our LGBTQ neighbors... for the purpose of eventually passing legislation where "hate crimes" carry a heftier penalty than crimes deemed as not hate crimes. (For example, spray painting "I love Roses!" on a wall doesn't create fear or intimidation, whereas "Die____ _____ ____!" does.) The above scenarios demonstrate similar crimes (both illegally spray painted) but result in way different outcomes. So there's that. Anyways, my friend who was playing hostess with the mostess was unable to attend her own cottage meeting (due to the passing of an elderly grandparent) so I got to play the part of Cottage Metting Barbi. Lucky me! It was a wonderful meeting. Lots of good mingling with many people that I didn't know and the food was good too. Baby steps in the right direction.

Mingling. I got to chance with Becky about my free feminine hygiene products.

More mingling.  Those giant red flowers on the right were even more stunning in person.

All the big wigs got a chance to share some thoughts.

I ended up eating 2X as much as I should have... bc I don't just like food, I'm also apparently a nervous eater. They also had pickled beets. I love pickled beets.

*January 16th, 2018*

Staycation Destination Park City

We had a long weekend due to the MLK holiday, followed by a teacher prep day. 4 days to party hard. Luckily Ryan also got the holiday off, so we decided to live it up in Park City, which is only about 45 minutes from our house, for a night. My handsome husband isn't just eye candy, he's also great at planning trips (both short and long.) Lef in his capable party planning hands, we had a great time. Great hotel booked for cheap, hot tub, heated pool, cozy beds, fireplace, changing a car battery (Preston joined us in Park City for the evening, and his car died upon arrival. luckily a new battery fixed the whole thing... for now:~) We checked out a local cheese shop, hit a delicioso Mexican restaurant, grabbed some tasty treats from a local bakery, and hit the tubing slopes in Heber Valley. Lots of fun packed into just a few hours.

What a blast!

Ryan caught the ride on Marco Polo.

I will always be good friends with Chimichangas.

And unlimited chips are a must.

You know you're in a fine Mexican Eatery when there are sombreros to try on and maracas to shake.

Norman sure enjoyed himself.

Yaris

Instead of picking Calvin up from his job late at night, we've decided not to. Instead of taking Calvin to school early in the morning, we've decided he should take himself.  Our family grew by one car yesterday. We are now the proud owners of a 2007 Toyota Yaris. We haven't named it yet, but I'm voting for "Miss Joyful, maybe?*"... Anyways, it will be nice to have another car, along with our new driver. 

Becasue we're super fun parents, I called the school and had them send Calvin out for an appointment (with destiny). He was already outside when we pulled up; Ryan first in the minivan, and me with the new (2007 totally used) car. He didn't even notice me and walked over to the van, but as he was opening the van door, he glanced behind him and I caught his attention. His eyes went huge and he walked over to the car. It was such a fun moment.

To be clear, ti's totally not his car. In reality though, he'll be driving it most of the time. My favorite part of the day was about an hour later after dropping the car off at the school, Calvin walked into our house with two of his friends for lunch. He could have gone anywhere with all the freedom of a new car, but wanted to raid our fridge instead. We had fajita leftovers, so his thrifty ways paid off. I love that boy.  I hope for many home lunches to come.

* From the movie Austenland, when Jane tries to pick her stage name for the theme park she's attending, a theme park that is supposed to resemble the early 1800's... instead she's named Ms. Earstwhile. Bummer.

T.V. Studio Time

On Tuesday I had the pleasure of doing another food demo at Studio 5. I simply love working with them. They are friendly, professional, fun, there's usually great music playing in the background and no one gives me any heat if I sing along, and I even got to make one of my mother's famous recipes. It was a winning day.  I love cooking. I love eating. I love all things food (except grapefruit, bc it's sour and gross... but not Ruby Red Grapefruit juice, which I like, but I think it has enough sugar that what I really like is grapefruit flavored sugar.)

Sausage Barly Cheese Soup.

Now from a different angle.

Tiffany! She works at Studio 5 and often helps me get my table pretty before we tape.

I saw this little wagon at Costco and new it had to be mine.  

Lugging around all the supplies needed for a high-quality demo can be a real pain. It folds up easy, can carry loads, and came in this attractive green color. An excellent purchase all around.

For the recipe and to watch my magic click on the link below.

http://studio5.ksl.com/index.php?nid=126&sid=46233774

Calvin Vs.The DMV!!!

My handsome and kind 16-year-old is now a legally licensed driver, according to the state of Utah.  His birthday was about a week and a half ago, in between Christmas and New Years, which made it impossible for him to take his drivers test on his actual birthday.  Today was the soonest we could get him an appointment, but it was worth the wait. On our way to the DMV, it looked like Calvin was speeding like a madman, but all of the surrounding traffic was zooming past us. It took me about 30 seconds to realize that somehow Calvin's speedometer was no longer reading miles, but was showing kilometers. And his test would be done in this car, Ryan's Prius. I knew if I panicked that he would panic... but I think we both felt a little panicky. After checking the car manual (useless) and reading a few random gems from the internet, I finally discovered that Calvin must have accidentally hit a button with his knee when he climbed into the car. So, he pushed that button again and the car was back to ready miles.  Crisis averted. The lovely woman who took gave the test was super kind and encouraging, which balanced out his nerves. In fact, he got a perfect score on his exam. She printed it out for me to see.  Well done Calvin Rider Holman Smith. Today was definitely a red letter day.

The moment he's been waiting for (just 16 years): Getting his license. 

Norman and I were there to witness his blaze of glory, his moment in the hot sun.

Ryan met us after to celebrate. I love that Calvin chose the place that he works at to get a bite to eat.  He went for the double garden fresh cheeseburger. Norman got the corndog. Ryan enjoyed a chocolate custard, and I couldn't resist the vanilla custard Sunday with real fudge and toasted almonds. A delicious treat for a milestone life event. Calvin is not a regular boy.

Cricket the Wonder Dog

Guest Post Alert - Ryan reporting on Cricket, the hero dog.

Cricket the wonder dog is getting older.  She had a cyst in her ear that would not heal.  So her traveling vet, Ben Brown, performed a surgery in his traveling vet van - so cool.  It took many hours under anesthesia in his surgery van and Ben and his assistant was visibly tired by the time it was complete, but Cricket made it through.  It has been 1.5 weeks since the surgery and she has been recovering well.  She is done with her medications which were administered in a pill pocket - this ingenious hickory smoked flavored treat that is soft and covers many pills so Cricket can swallow it down quickly.  Cricket has been wearing the 'cone of shame' for some time now but will get her stitches out next Monday.  You can do this Cricket!  We highly recommend Dr. Ben Brown, Veterinarian: http://thetravelvet.com/Home.html

Cricket and the cone of shame.

Stitches on top of her ear and inside her ear due to the size of the cyst.

Pill pockets are amazing. I want some for my kids as well.

Monday Night Massage

Every Monday night we attempt to participate in something my church calls "Family Home Evening." Typically this special night involves some type of lesson, a delicious treat, a review of the schedule for the week, and a fair amount of whining/arguing/and drama. In a clear deviation from FHE protocol, Ryan schedule a chair masseuse to come to our home and give everyone 15 minute massages. When we told the kids, they didn't believe us... until the doorbell rang and he set up shop. 10 points to Ryan* for adding some spice to the night, for thinking out side the box (and the bun) and for helping us make some random memories.

Owen getting all the kinks worked out in his back... he had his first basketball 

game of the season about an hour later:~)

Jaron taking his turn. What a lucky night for his crew to join us for FHE!

Norman and Jaden were playing under the table, so Shelly, Jaron 

and I decided to join them.  Cute kids.

*As a reminder, my points are imaginary, and one is only limited in what they can be used for by what they can imagine. You can use them to watch an imaginary movie, buy imaginary shoes, or go on an imaginary trip (but you would probably have to save up your points for a quite a while to go to an exotic imaginary destination.)

New Start

My church building is shared between two Mormon congregations. Just to keep things interesting, every year we swap church times with the other congregation. Last year (2017) our church was on Sundays from 1-4pm. Today marked the new start of 9-noon church. And I am a huge fan of this new time. Afternoon church might suggest that we had plenty of time to get ready, but it was still a mad rush to get out the door. Also, afternoon anything with a toddler is lame. It's nap time, crabby time (for both the littles and the adults.) Also, now that we're back to morning church, the window for Sunday donut making has returned. It takes time, effort, and potatoes to make a good spud nut, and lucky for all that were in the house (including my fabulous niece Jordan who's at BYU) we dined on cinnamon sugar, vanilla glaze and Nutella dipped donuts. 

Ryan was the glazer. I was the frier. Simon was the talker. Owen was the eater. And Jordan was the smiler. Not pictured were the rest of my herd (including Preston who drove up from Provo with Jordan), and Jaron, Shelly, Jaden and Mikey who are still with us until Tuesday (Yeah!!!!)

When it Comes to Playing Basketball...

Annie and Owen both had their very first practice for their basketball teams today. Owen's team are called the Piranhas. Annie is now on the Lady Rockets.  With new ball shoes, willing coaches and the promise of treats after each game, they are both sure to have winning seasons.

Team meeting before the games begin.

Annie waiting her turn in line before she makes a three-pointer or slam dunks the ball.

Owen with the Eye of the Tiger... or the teeth of a piranha.

Playing ball is funny.

Can't wait to see what the season brings.

Painting Party

Annie loves all things crafty and art. Knowing this, on Christmas, she received 1 gallon of clear glue (just perfect for making slime) a massive art kit with paint, pastels, colored pencils, etc, and a night with a pal at an art class.  Below are the fruits of their labors. What fun!

Annie on the left, and her good friend on the right. Annie said the deer wasn't turning out right, so she decided to make it a fox. She's definitely more of a fox than a deer, so that makes sense to me.

I walked out of my bedroom this morning to find my 16-year old holding his 8-month-old cousin. I don't think this little boy is ever going to learn to crawl because he's so darling that everyone wants to hold him. The poor boy wont ever get the chance to be on the ground to work his magic:~)

Welcome to Bountiful!

Ryan's brother and his family are in SLC for a few days, which means that I finally got to meet my 2 year old niece and my 8 month old nephew. The whole gang has been partying hard since their arrival this morning.  Norman loves having a cousin his age to pal around with, and not one of us can keep our hands off the baby, who is like a bowling ball, wrapped in a piece of fudge, rolled in ganache and covered in sugar sprinkles. Mercy, what cute kids! And it's also so great having my brother and sister in law here too. I'm planning on this visit being remembered as the moment they decided to move here, which we will joyfully reminisce about over family Sunday dinners. A girl can dream.

Ryan and his brother Jaron in Normans brand new tent, playing with blocks.

Two grown men inside a toy tent.

There's really not much to say about this little boy. He's a love.

There's something magical about watching a show with your cousin. 

They both have that tired zoned out look... show watching success.

TP mummy party on our bad, making today a toddler's dream day.

Champion of the Loo

I have a darling toddler named Norman.  His nickname is Norm, but he often goes by other names in our home, depending on the state of his diaper. He likes to tell me that he's a rhino when he's pooped in his diaper. We're also fans of the names"Poopasuarus," "Pooperoni", and "Poopsickle." Today however, he was called "The Champion of the Loo" because in said loo he finally went poo.  Well done, Norm.

We celebrated at Baskin Robbins. 

I asked if he wanted chocolate or bubblegum icecream.

He told me he wanted "Blue."

Blue it was. May this be first of many a poo in the loo.

One Happy Custardmer!

Calvin officially started his first official job today at Nielsens Frozen Custard. This fine establishment is a Bountiful original and a family favorite. Its known for it's 50's style decor, it's amazing fry sauce, and it's incredible custard.  It will now also be known as the fast food restaurant where that really good looking, nice, kind, smart sophomore from Bountiful High School works, aka, Calvin.  Well done son!

I ordered some fries. Calvin was happy to help...except he hadn't been taught how to use the register. Good times.

He hand delivered the fries to me personally, making me one happy custardmer.

With such high quality customer service he is destined to succeed. 

Day 1 - It's begun

Welcome, welcome 2018! Another year has come and gone. This year has had it's share of ups and it's downs. Up: finally making my proposal to the school board to offer free pads and tampons in all stalls in the schools... As for a down, most are kept private, but I *can* tell you that I got the worst manicure of my life in August, and it's taken 5 long months for my damaged nails to finally grow out.  Truth. Weird. Lot's of stuff has happened this year, and bc I don't always have an excellent memory, I'm not really going to remember much of it since I failed to family blog most of 2017! Bummer. I will definitely be blogging more this year so that when I'm 87 and want to know what happened in 2018, I can turn to the pages of my blog and find out what costumes were worn on Halloween, how Ryan did in his triathlons, who Calvin took to Spring Formal (he turned 16 two days ago!), what Simon did for his science fair project, how Owen played in his basketball game, when Annie performed as Dorothy in her schools The Wizard of Oz (she got the part!), how darling Norman looked in a swimsuit, how grown up my man-cub Preston the college student was, what sweet and gentle eyes our Cricket had after surgery (she just had some cysts removed a few days ago and is bravely wearing her blue cone.) I want to remember all that stuff... especially all the good stuff which is what typically makes it to most blogs. Welcome, welcome 2018. Like last year, it's going to be a year of love and work and faith and challenges and mistakes and hummus and laughter, but it will also be a year remembered.

On New Years Eve we like to eat midnight waffles. We kicked it up a notch and added crumbled bacon to the batter, just bc we can... When the clock struck 12, I asked my soul mate and  husband of 19 years to give me a kiss to build a dream on. He generously accommodated. It's going to be a great year.