15 yrs old

Today is Jake's birthday. I cannot believe he is 15 yrs old - where has time gone. It has gone to baseball practices, scout camps, airsoft wars, video games, school, soccer games and friends. Jake is the best kid. We have been so blessed to have such a fun and responsible teenager. Everyone warns you about teenagers, but if the girls are anything like Jake, there will be no problems. So here are 5 things you need to know about Jake:

1. He loves baseball



2. He loves BYU


3. He is a carbon copy of his Uncle Brock




4. He hates this crap - Blogging



5. He is will accept bribes


HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAKE!

For Kids who love to cook or Make a mess in the Kitchen

Izzie received this cookbook from my last September for her birthday. It is by far the best cookbook I have found for kids. It covers the most basic snacks to quite complicated dinners. I love this! She is an advanced cook for being only 12 so there are lots of options but even the quick simple things are fun to make. The instructions are excellent. They utilize both written and images and even detail every utensil/dish you would need to use while making your dish. (I need to challenge Izzie to only use what is listed - not twice as many utensils as listed) We have discovered two recipes that are now part of our permanent collection: Stuffed Shells (ravioli in a large shell noodle) and Homemade Pretzels.

If you have a budding cook, child/adult who loves the Food Network... this is the book for you. It is available at both Amazon and Boarders.

Mr. Bradley Cooper

Today I had to go to LA for meetings and on my flight there I sat by Bradley Cooper. The sad realization is that I didn't realize for most the flight. He was in seat 1D (next to the window) and when I boarded he had his head down (under a baseball cap) and coats on his lap. He was trying very hard not to be noticed. I wondered if it was someone that had been to Sundance but never guessed it would be him. It wasn't until the very end that I realized who it was. So here are all the answers to you burning questions:

Yes, he is just as cute in real life

Yes, he was very nice

Our conversation consisted of him apologizing for closing the window cover things because I was using the light to read.

Him offering to get a bag down he thought was mine, but wasn't

It was a very short encounter but right up there with my Tim McGraw encounter.


Other details: Adrien Grenier and Renee Zellweger were also on the same flight but I didn't realize that until we deplaned. Brad and Renee acted like they didn't even know each other.

I really need to fly to LA more often.

Do You Remember?

Do You Remember this?


I found it on DVD when I was buying this. I absolutely LOVED this movie as a teenager! We did not have it on VHS but I babysat for a family that did. So as soon as I would get the kids in bed I sat down and watched "Girls Just Want To Have Fun." I was so excited to get it home and watch it with my girls but they did not have quite the same appreciation I did. Izzie was bored early on and left. Libby & Camdyn watched the entire movie with me and said that they liked it OR they humored their mom. I think it was the latter.

2010 Book 2

I had purchased this book back in October while I was in India. I read the Lucky One then and had put this aside. Last weekend it was the book I was reading in the bath when I got the concussion call. I finished last Saturday, despite my attempts to read slower and slower the closer I got to the end. I loved it and I loved the characters and was quite sad when it was over. I am not sure that the upcoming movie will be the same but I am okay with that. It will give me another chance into John & Savannah's lives.

Just my luck

I travel to San Diego once or twice a month for work and I have to say it is one of my favorite places. Our staff there is great but it is the weather that I LOVE! I leave tonight and I am not happy about this at all.

Frozen

My weekend started out perfect. I was going to work from home on Friday to spend time with the kids who were out of school and since Jay was out of town. Because of that, I had the luxury of sleeping in and running in daylight as opposed to the dark, dark mornings. We had fog come in overnight and everything was frozen and as I was running I was thinking I wish I could freeze time, freeze the weekend so that we could spend more time together, freeze the day so that I could get caught up on work, freeze time so that I could enjoy each of my kids a little more.................It ended up be a really good thing that you cannot freeze time.

Friday night I started getting a sore throat and not feeling well. I woke up Saturday morning to meet the BBK's and was sicker than I was on Friday so I skipped the run. This meant that I was home with plenty of time to convince Jake that he wanted to go sledding with the YMYW. Izzie was so excited, Jake was not. But the reality of staying home with his mom and two other sisters was less appealing then sledding (and a little pressure from mom) so he went.

They left at 10 am so I decided that I was going to soak in my tub, read a good book and try to relax with half the kiddos gone. After being in the bath for about 30 min, the girls came to inform me that one of our neighbors was on the phone - I knew this was not a good thing because he is also one of the YM leaders. Apparently, Jake had been thrown from a sled and hit his head pretty hard and was having memory issues. NICE! I had about 5 min to get dressed before they showed up at the house and as they walked in, I was searching for shoes, yelling at the girls to get ready to go somewhere (not sure yet) and making sure I had everything we would need for the ER.

Jake and his leader walked in and the poor kid did not know what day it was, what had happened the past few days and how he got hurt. I had him get in the car, the leader took the girls to his unsuspecting wife and we headed to the ER.



He kept trying to remember as we were driving and he was repeating phone numbers, class schedules and saying that it was 2010 and he was almost 15 years old. We were taken right back and after the usual assessment and CT scan, we were told that he had a concussion. Not that we didn't already know that, but I do not mess around with head injuries and this is not this kids first by any means. But there was no bleeding and no reason to be more concerned than normal - this is a good thing.

So the two sickies headed home picked up the girls and Izzie from her YW leaders and the whining began. For some reason these girls have radar and the worse your day is and the worse you feel the more the whine and argue. It didn't stop, ever .......until Sunday night.

Finally, today I am feeling better, Jake is feeling better and I am so, so glad time did not freeze - Can you imagine if it did?

BTW - The new IMC ER is fantastic. This was our second visit in the past few months and they are extremely efficient and both visits have been as quick as possible.

Decisions, Decisions

Not life or death decisions, just need input decisions. I was shopping with my kiddos and I am in need of a new purse. It has been several months since I purchased my last one and it was way to big......that is another story for another day. Anyways, I have been making do with one from a while ago but both of these are on sale. I can't decide.....I really like the yellow, it reminds me of summer (I miss it terribly) but it is light colored and will get dirty fast and my kids HATE it. The blue/tourquise (color is a little off) is nice as well and will not get as dirty and doesn't quite scream at you like the yellow does. They are about the same size, I think I like the functionality of the yellow a bit better, but the are both a change from the open pit I have now, and have had mostly in the past. Anyways I can't decide (I was able to eliminate a third choice on my own), there are things I like about both but just can't decide. The sale ends tomorrow - so decided I must, but as most of you know - I HATE decisions. SO, help me out and let me know which one I should buy.

PS. Thank goodness for the iphone, how else would I make a decision

2010 Book 1

Last year I read quite a few books but I never kept track of what I had read. I tried to go back and remember each book but I would forget some along the way, so this year I am keeping track. Last week on my trip to Dallas I forgot the book my mom had lent me and so I picked this one up at the airport. It turned out to be a really quick read (which is always nice) and I enjoyed the story.

It tells the story of 9 characters who are part of a cooking class for about six months. Each chapter focuses on a different character and how that cooking lesson is part of their story. However, the star of the book is the food. I loved reading about the food, the menus, the smells, the way the food tasted. It was amazing!

If you are looking for a good book to read this year and you love food as much as I do, you will not be disappointed.

9 Years

Nine years ago today our family was blessed with this sweet girl. She is like no other! Here are 5 things you need to know about Libby:

1. She is the sweetest most tender hearted child



2. She can sleep anywhere




3. She is an awesome helper



4. She plays the cello



5. She is a great friend



Happy Birthday our sweet girl!

Why I love Tuesday's

Every Tuesday night that both my husband and I are home and not traveling, we have a date at 9:00 pm with The Good Wife. It has quickly become our favorite show and the "one" we cannot miss. It is the reason why, when I have been up since 4:30 am and have to get up just as early tomorrow, I will stay up and watch. Yes, we DVR but I want to watch it tonight. So if you like TV shows that have impeccable writing, characters that are honest stay true to themselves this is the show for you. So tune in to CBS at 10/9 central OR set your DVR and enjoy.

Ticket to Ride

My sister asked for this game for Christmas and while we were in St. George for New Year's, it was the thing to do. We played and played on New Year's Eve and the she left and took the game with her. All New Year's day was spent calling stores and searching for Ticket to Ride and we came up empty.

Needless to say, I was very happy when I returned home from a work trip to Dallas Friday night to my family and our very own Ticket to Ride. So our weekend was spent playing game after game and we are looking forward many more.

Taking matters into her own hands.......

While I was straightening up the kitchen this morning, I found this:

SERIOUSLY!

When asking Camdyn for an explanation (after several attempts to get her to confess), she said she was trying get her ipod off the charger. Well.........she succeeded and now we are down a charger. Not a problem for most people but in a family of six, 2 iphones, 1 itouch, 3 nano's and a shuffle......this is a problem.

Thank you Camdyn, for the opportunity to work on our ability to share and take turns. We are going to get lots of practice.

Skookies

While in St. George last weekend, we got to try out my Dad's Christmas present. He received a set of Skookie pans. What is a Skookie, you ask? It is a cookie made in an iron pan with ice cream and toppings. Here are some pictures.....I got too excited to eat them so the last photo is a photo from the website. They were a ton of fun and really yummy!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough pressed into a pan

After Baking.....Cooling

All ready to eat! YUMMO!

Back to Normal

Here is sign that the holidays are over and life is getting back to normal.





Camdyn has assumed her spot on the sofa with her treat from the 7-11 while mom offices at home until it is time for Kindergarten to start.

I really wish I was 5 and enjoying life like she does!

I love January

I love the month of January, no not because of the weather, but because I love making goals (in case you forgot) and the opportunity to start fresh so to speak. I love thinking about what a want to accomplish in the coming year and know that most of it will not happen but I like to think that desire is good for something. This year is the first year in a long time that my goals or things I am thinking about have nothing to do with running or health (mostly). So here are a few things I would like to improve upon during 2010:

- Increased dedication to my Savior: This includes being better at scripture study, fulfilling my church callings and temple attendance. (Somewhat broad but I read somewhere that if your list has more than 7 items on it, you will not accomplish anything so I am setting myself up to succeed:))

- Be a better mom. I need to spend more time with my kids and the things they want to do rather than being worried about all we need to get done in a day.

- Drink more water, less Diet Coke.......If I fail at anything, this will be it :)

If I improve a little in any area it is a good thing and having it written down for all to see should help.