Healthy Treats For Halloween? I Think I'll Pass

We all got a kick out of this video. The kids involved were brutally honest and they were not impressed with the healthy snacks they sampled. It's pretty funny. We were laughing through tears a couple of times!


Well done, Crest. Happy Halloween!

Now where is my chocolate...?

My Own Mr. Darcy

My friend Karey has done it again. She's written a super clean, totally enjoyable book that I didn't want to end! My Own Mr. Darcy is all about a girl, Elizabeth, who sees Pride & Prejudice in the movie theater and can never look at guys the same again. Everyone is compared to Darcy and she will settle for nothing less. You can see all the problems this might create and all the good guys she would miss out on. Her roommate is determined to help her change her expectations but things like this are never as easy as they seem, especially when a man very much like Mr. Darcy enters the picture.

I love the way Karey has crafted her story. I love the contrasts between Matt (Mr. Darcy) and Chad (Mr. Nice Guy). I love how Elizabeth's roommate and the reader can see the problems that Elizabeth won't acknowledge. I love the suspense and the resolutions.

This plays out just as an entertaining chick flick should, only in book form. (Yes, it would make a great movie!) Savannah has declared it her favorite book of all time. She's already read it twice. Even Jeff and Sam enjoyed it. I hope you love it, too!

{If any of my local friends want to borrow it, I have a loaner copy!!}

Fright Night 2013

Tonight was the annual Fright Night concert featuring our University Orchestra. Sam and Sterling played with the first violins. I love this concert because the entire orchestra is in costume and they focus on kid friendly pieces. This year they played Gustav Holst's Mars. Both my boys love this piece so much that it makes them cry!! Sterling has been talking about it, listening to it, playing it, and directing it at home since they started rehearsals back in September. That kids feels the music like no other! They also played two movements from Harry Potter while showing clips from the movies up on a big screen. It sounded awesome! The boys were challenged on that one with some measures containing more than 25 notes as the violins made the sound of owls flying around. Also on the program was The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra by Britten, Star Trek, and Ride of the Valkyries - another hard one! Oh, the whole program was so good!!

Here are the costumes from our house - nothing too complicated this year as you can see. :)

All the kids in the audience are also encouraged to come in costume. There is a costume contest where they get to parade across the stage during one of the pieces. That's why Sadie and Soren also dressed up. A great family evening!

Trying My Hand at Graphic Design

Last weekend I got a simple program that allows me to create some pretty cool stuff. I'm having a great time experimenting with graphic design, which is something I've long wished that I could do. Here are my first two creations. Someday, after I have a lot of experience behind me, I may look back on these and think they are cheesy or too busy or whatever, but today they make me happy. :)

I got the background photo here.

And The Award for Coolest Uncle Ever Goes To...

It would be an understatement to say that Sterling is obsessed with swords. On a regular basis, he imagines himself defeating the bad guys and conquering the world. Perhaps trying to find a logical explanation for his obsession, Sterling came to me a month or so ago and asked if we had any pirates among our ancestors. My obvious answer was, "I have no idea. Ask your Uncle Rob."

If anyone knows our family history, it's Rob. And if he doesn't know, he'll find out. So after a quick phone call, Rob was on the case. Yesterday, this arrived in the mail:

In short, King Robert the Bruce of Scotland = Sterling's 24th Great Grandpa

You would not believe how happy that postcard made Sterling. Seriously. He has, in the past 24 hours, become quite the authority on Robert the Bruce. It doesn't hurt that the great battle led by King Robert was just outside of Stirling, Scotland. I believe Sterling's actual words were, "Robert the Bruce has spoken my name!"

So Rob, you win the prize. The Coolest Uncle Award is all yours!

Robert the Bruce -- "The most famous king who had ever reigned in Scotland, one whose name will never be forgotten as long as there is a Scottish nation."  Imagesource

Where I Come From

Five generations

My brother told me about this cool website called rootsmapper.com. Log in with your familysearch.org username and password, choose how many generations you want to see, and watch it map your ancestors. (If you don't have an account with familysearch.org, you might consider getting one. It's pretty amazing all the cool stuff you have access to in searching for your ancestors these days!)

Anyway, I'm a little bit Canada, some Sweden and a whole lot of England. None of that comes as a huge surprise to me, but it's pretty cool to watch the generations spread out. It takes a few minutes for it to fully generate, but it's pretty slick!

Time For a Change

I've been itching to change my blog header since April. My friend, who is a genius with Photoshop, sat down with me months ago to get the picture in my head onto the screen. Yesterday I finally (finally!!) added the finishing touches and got everything sized just right - as incompetent as that seemingly simple task made me feel - and we're up and running. Hooray! :) The new header freshens things up a bit, don't you think?

Blog Header, October 2011 - October 2013

First Date

Carlie, Jake, Savannah, Zack, Payton, Sam

Savannah went on her first date last night to the high school Homecoming dance. Savannah had a great time and I'm pretty sure that everyone in her party can say the same.

Here's the scoop. Savannah went with a family friend, Zack. He drove out here from 2 hours away and brought his friend, Jake. Savannah lined Jake up on a blind date with her super fun friend, Carlie. Carlie was feeling like she pretty much hit the jackpot!! They had a great time. :)

The girl Sam asked turned him down because she'd already made other plans. Then, about three hours before the dance, his friend Payton asked if he'd go with her. She and her long-time boyfriend broke up just two days before, but she didn't want those homecoming tickets to go to waste! They tagged along with Savannah's group and I think everyone had fun.

Here are a few pictures taken at the start of the big date:

Savannah and her date, Zack. (Photo bomb courtesy of Jake. Love it!)

Carlie, Jake, Zack, Savannah

Jake and Zack

Carlie and Savannah. You can just tell these girls made it a fun night!

I think we can safely say Savannah's much anticipated first date was a success. Whew!

The Apology

"Mom, I'm sorry I freaked out and I'm sorry I took my stuffed animal and hit it against the wall pretending it was you." 

Um, I forgive you.

Amen to That

I saw this sign outside a country church not far from my home.

My sentiments exactly!

Sunny and 75

It is the most beautiful day! I couldn't help but smile as I drove home through the country after running errands. The corn and soybeans are just begging to be harvested. The top was down on my MINI and I snapped a few iPod photos of the scenery. These barely do it justice, but they are the best of the bunch. I especially like the first one! It really is sunny and 75º.

A perfect day!

Quotes From Conference

General Conference was everything I'd hoped it would be. The weekend ended with my resolve to be better and to really discipline myself to make that happen. The talks were excellent and I enjoyed the weekend at home with my family.

I've come across several memes that were created with quotes from conference. Here are just a few:

Elder Holland was quoting a recent talk by President Monson here. The actual quote is,
"God's love is there for you whether or not you feel you deserve love."

Click on each graphic to read, listen to, or watch the talk each quote was taken from. :)

Embracing My Birthday

This is what came up when I pulled up Google this morning. So nice of Google to make a doodle for my birthday! When I moused over it, it even said Happy Birthday Missy! It made me smile and the kids thought that everyone in the world would know it was my birthday, thanks to Google. Ha! But alas, it was a surprise just for me because when Jeff logged me out, he got the plain old Google screen.

So I don't have a very good track record with birthdays. I think I secretly like being invisible and I don't like people to go out of their way for me which makes me a poor receiver of gifts which makes others feel uncomfortable which is just a lose/lose for everyone. So. This year I've decided to embrace it.

And I've decided to make it my best year so far. :)

General Conference

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I always look forward to April and October because I love General Conference weekend. Tomorrow and Sunday, we'll be gathered around the TV listening to the words of our Prophet and Apostles and other leaders of the church for counsel and instruction. Their messages are timely and spirit-filled and wise. We have our family conference traditions from the snacks we enjoy to the games the younger ones play to help them pay attention.

Each session of General Conference is easily accessible by anyone who would like to listen. Here in the Midwest (central time zone), we'll be watching it live on Saturday and Sunday at 11:00 am and 3:00 pm both days. We watch through our ROKU on either BYUtv or MormonChannel, and both of those channels can be accessed on the internet as well. You can also watch at LDS.org.

I can't wait! It's my favorite weekend. :)

No Ordinary Girl

My sister-in-law, Tanya, has a singer/songwriter friend, Barbara Doyle, who was putting together a video for one of her songs. She requested photos of young women so Tanya submitted a couple of Savannah and my cute niece Emma. The finished video is below. It's a beautiful song, perfect for these beautiful girls!



{Savannah's picture is at 0:55 and she and her friend, Augustine at 2:31. Emma appears at 1:54 and she and one of her cousins are at 2:49.}

National Homemade Cookies Day

Did you know that October 1st is National Homemade Cookies Day? Well, neither did I until I accidentally stumbled upon that happy little fact earlier this afternoon. :)

In honor of this delicious cookie occasion, here are links to our favorites in no particular order:

Chewy Gingersnaps
Pillow Cookies (a.k.a. Buttermilk Cookies)
Marta's Coconut Krispie Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
Fudgy Chocolate Cookies
Peppermint Balls (especially if you're feeling festive!)

What are you waiting for?

Enjoy. :)