By The Way....

Elyse BIG props to you, my dear. I had several people today at church tell me that my new hair color makes me look younger. So I'm sending big

XOXOXOXOXOXOX's

out to you, sweetie! I'm so glad I trusted you!

A Star Is Born

Elyse and Collin (my niece and her boyfriend) came to stay with us this weekend so they could attend a seminar/workshop. It was held by several LDS recording artists (example, Tyler Castleton, Jenny Phillips, Hilary Weeks) to teach people about the business. There were classes on how to write the best fireside, how to get into the industry, writing music, etc. They learned a ton and came away very excited and with a plan of action. Elyse has a beautiful singing voice and Collin is a composer and plays pretty much any instrument you put in front of him. The highlight, though, was Saturday night. Elyse got to have (well, paid for) the privilege of having a recording session with Tyler Castleton. I got to go along for support. We didn't expect anything great, just that he'd be nice and give Elyse some advise on what she could improve upon.

Everyone who had a recording session, sang the same song and there will be a winner, who will get to sing this song on the next EFY CD.

So Elyse gets into the booth and starts to sing. I was sitting in a chair right outside the booth looking at her, but I could see and hear Tyler (you know, cause we're on a first name basis now) and the technician, Daren (who made sure, when I told him he'd be mentioned on my blog, that I'd spell his name right), to the right of me. Collin was in with the guys. Collin told me that Tyler started to check his email and then stopped cold as soon as Elyse started to sing.


I kept hearing Tyler and Daren, marveling over Elyse's voice. They kept comparing her to Celine Dion! So they have her sing the song once, then ask her to sing it again, but like she's telling a story. Elyse sang it again and I got goose bumps. I started to get all teary eyed, cause she just nailed the song. And I could hear Tyler and Daren talking about her. They couldn't believe what she could do in such a short time. They said what they got out of her in 20 minutes would normally take hours with other singers.

Then Tyler asked Elyse to come out of the booth and over to the piano. Collin said that Daren said,"This should be interesting. He doesn't ever do this." Tyler asked Elyse what her favorite hymn was and then had her sing it. The he just grinned and said that he just wanted to hear her sing it!

He talked to Elyse for a while about her plans for music and told her to call him next time she was in town, because he wanted to do something with her! Then he gave Collin his card and circled the best phone number to contact him at! We were totally blown away!

Yes, we are dorks and got a picture with (from left to right) Daren (spelled correctly), Elyse, Collin and Tyler Castleton.
I always knew that Elyse could sing, but sometimes I wondered if she was really as good as I thought she was or was it because she's my niece. So to hear these guys raving about her just really blew me away. Elyse was pretty pleased, too! I think she has a pretty good chance of winning this contest! I'll keep you posted!

Go, Elyse!!

My New Do!

My niece, Elyse, (I know, it rhymes) is in town with her boyfriend, Collin. Or as Porter calls him, Comet. They are here for this really cool singing thing with some of your favorite LDS artists. They get to have workshops and feedback on their music and Elyse even gets to have some studio recording time with Tyler Castleton on Saturday. I get to go with her so I'll take lots of pictures and let you all know how it goes.

But anyway, Elyse is a hairdresser by trade and so I have her do my hair whenever she can come to town. So here is a great picture of me as a before. Only because I forgot to take one. I just love the double chin.

And here is the after:

So, what do you think? I LOVE it. And no, Elyse, I'm not just being nice! This is a lot darker than I've ever been, but I really like returning to my red roots!

Porter's Room

We just finished the main part of Porter's room!!!!!!

Of course, we still have to put things up on the wall and he needs a book case, but the wood work and most of the painting is done! We still need to do around the windows. We started this project back in March?. So Porter's bed has been in the middle of the room for months! I'm so proud of us! I think we did a pretty good job! Now on to Regan and Hali's!

By the way, I have no idea what those little dot things are. Something with the camera.

A Room with a View Continued....

I know I haven't updated this in quite a while and they've really made some progress on the Temple. It is scheduled to be done sometime next year. I'm really excited that Hali will be old enough by then to go to the dedication!

Sweet Girls

I just had to take a picture of my girls in their finished dresses. Porter insisted on being in the picture, too. I ended up not making Regan a matching one, because the pattern for the smocking would have been too short on her, and I didn't want to add more lines to make it longer. If that makes any sense.

I'm having so much fun with the whole smocking/embroidery thing. I just started working on Hali's baptism dress. Her birthday is in November. But the dress we chose is a LOT of work, so I'm going to need all that time!

I think that I must take a ton of pictures, because Zoey isn't even 2 yet, but she knows exactly what to do when I point the camera at her. And she keeps that grin until I put the camera down. A Diva in the making.

VT Question #5

Tell about handed down talents, recipes, pottery, quilting, writing, etc.


Hum. Let see. I'd say from my dad I got my ability to have no fear of public speaking. My dad is great in front of a crowd. That's probably why I love my calling so much. I'm the Music director in Primary. And to get these kids interested in singing these songs you have to be creative (or know how to find the creative ideas of others) and to not be afraid of making a fool of yourself. I really don't have a problem with that. And it's really fun!

From my mom, I got my singing talent. She won't agree with this, but my mother has a beautiful alto voice. I grew up listening to my mom sing the alto part to hymns and even now, I have a hard time singing the melody. Come on mom, you have to agree that ALL the singing talent in the family come from you, not dad! He would even agree with that!

My mother is half Italian (I know, you'd never know it to look at me!), so I grew up on a lot of pasta. I LOVE Italian! I can remember my mom making homemade pizza and then with the left over dough, she'd it fry up and roll it in cinnamon sugar. YUM! But most of all the recipe that reminds me of my childhood are Knot Cookies! I have to warn you though. They are an acquired taste. They are very bland. But I love them, my siblings love them, my kids love them. My dad not so much. Scott, really not so much. That just leaves more for the rest of us. Also, they are not an easy cookie to put together. You have to have time. So here is the recipe for Knot cookies.

Knot Cookies

Mix:
3 eggs (beaten)
1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup sugar
3 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla

Add 1 cup of flour and then 1/4 cup of oil. Add another 1 1/2 cup of flour.

Let stand 15 minutes.

Put ball of dough on floured mat. You may have to knead in more flour depending on how sticky your dough is. Take small hand fulls (about the size of a golf ball) and roll into into a long line (like a play dough snake). Then tie the dough into a knot. Put on a cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until light brown.

Frosting(trust me this is what makes the cookie)

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

mix together and spread on cookies. Hope you enjoy!

Going Bald

I think we are headed into another Porter PMS stage. Which means I'm going to have a GREAT next couple of weeks! Last night Porter decided he needed a little haircut. But he must have gotten bored quick, because he only managed do cut two spots.

He managed to cut all the way to the scalp, so this was what I was forced to do.
He cried the whole time and kept saying over and over, "I want my hair back!" Yeah, should have thought about that before you cut it. I told him that now he looks like daddy, but he didn't much care. At least it will grow back.

Birthday Gift

Thank You, Grandma! I think this present is AWESOME!!!

I think that Daddy thinks it's pretty cool, too. He wanted to go out as soon as it was built to buy more cars, so they could crash!

Girly-Man

My son has a very slim chance of not being somewhat girly. Today his sisters convinced him to wear lip gloss. The conversation went something like this:

Porter: Mom! I have on lipstick!

Mom: Porter, lipstick is only for girls.

Porter: No! The girls told me I could have it!

(Girls are giggling in the background)

Regan: I can't believe we got him to wear it!

Mom: Where's the camera?

Porter only posed for one picture before he wiped it off and ran away. I guess there's hope for him, yet.

Four!

Poor Porter. We spent his birthday (June 9th) driving in a car from New Mexico. We did sing happy birthday to him, but any sort of celebration just kind of fizzled. So, a couple of days ago I decided that we had to do something. I didn't want to make a big cake, seeing as it was just our family, so I made dirt cups instead.

I think that Zoey enjoyed it the most!

Of course, now Porter says he wants a cake for his birthday. Sheesh. Some people are never satisfied.

We Should Have Taken A Left In Albuquerque

This trip kind of snuck up on us. I think I was concentrating on the last week of school and all of a sudden it was time for the trip. In fact, we took the kids out a day and a half early to go.

So Thursday afternoon we hooked up the RV and hit the road. Scott had it in his head that Cortez, CO would be the perfect place to stop for the night, but didn't want to pay anyplace to camp, so he found an LDS Church building out in the middle of cow pastures (and nothing else) to stop for the night. Of course, we didn't get out as early as we wanted, so we didn't get there until 11:00 pm. We didn't even unhook the RV from the truck and piled inside to sleep. I am my mother's daughter, so I slept very poorly that night, with visions of a cop knocking on the door at 3 am to tell us to move. I could picture waking four sleeping kids to load them back up in the truck and drive somewhere else! Every time the dog moved, I'd wake up, sure someone was outside. Much to my relief, nothing happened.

The KOA in Albuquerque was really nice. We were close to the pool and playground. It was really hot, so the pool was a great place to spend a lot of time.

Here is Scott and Zoey, hanging out.

Porter and Hali doing the same.

When Regan wasn't swimming or at the playground, she had her nose in this book. She must have read it six times on our trip.

We spent Friday and Saturday with Jeff (Scott's brother), Lori, and their girls, Katie, Marissa, and Emma, but they had to leave on Sunday. (We left on Monday.) So we decided to play the tourists and see the sights in Albuquerque. We went "downtown" (in quotes, because there isn't much of a downtown. Salt Lake has a bigger downtown.) and walked around Old Town.
They had a lot of stores with cheap, ugly souvenirs. I had to take a picture of this, just because it made me laugh so hard. I have never seen a Jesus action figure! I mean, seriously?!
The drive home was LONG! We left at 8:30 am and didn't get home until after 11:00 pm! But we took our time, not to mention we were hauling a trailer. We took a little side trip, too. We stopped at the four corners monument.

Here are the kids, one in each state. Regan was in Utah. Porter in Colorado. Hali in New Mexico. And Zoey in Arizona. It was pretty cool.

I have to say, this was a contemplative trip for me. We drove through a lot of Native American Reservations and I saw a lot of poverty. I think I sit in my nice house, with plenty of food in the cupboard, with drawers full of clothes, and just live my life. I often fall into that "keeping up with the Jones" thing and wish for better than what I have. But really, what I have is good. I have a great life. And with the economy what it is right now, it really hasn't made that much of a difference in my every day life. I haven't had to tighten my belt to afford gas or groceries. I think this trip has grounded me a little. I guess every once in a while we need to be reminded of the blessings that the Lord has given us. Especially when we take them for granted.

Albuquerque Century bike tour

On Saturday Jeff and I participated in the Albuquerque, NM century bike tour. It is 100 miles around the city of Albuquerque. There were a number of unofficial photographers along the course and this is the only picture of our group. At mile 84 I had a blow out. My tire ruptured and the tube protruded out and blew up. With a large hole in my tire I was unable to continue. Jeff and the group continued on and finished the ride. I was disappointed not to have finished when I was close to the end. This week I can redeem myself with the Tour de Cure Century. I have new tires and hope to put that bad luck behind me and have a great ride this Saturday.

Wow

We just got back from our Trailer trip to New Mexico (more on that later). I just added up the receipts for gas and it totaled:

$545.56

Holy Cow! That was more than half our budget for the trip! I think I'll go have a heart attack now.

Being An Adult Stinks

I think we are getting to the point where our house is past it's first blush of youth. Last year, our refrigerator motor died. We got lucky and it was still covered by the warranty. We didn't get so lucky this time. On Sunday afternoon our dish washer decided to take a vacation. Actually, it decided to work overtime. We started it when we left for Amy's party and when we got back it was still going and had just started leaking suds. So for the last few days I've had to hand wash the dishes. *shudder* It brought me back to the early days of our marriage when we had no dish washer, except for these lovely hands. I hated it.

So, the repairman came today. And after all was said and done, it would cost over $300 to fix it. And although, they make their money off of repairs, he basically told me to go buy a new one. Man, we made sure we got the upgraded dishwasher! I didn't realize that dishwashers had such a short shelf life. Ugh. Now, I have to go buy a new one. Normally, this would make me rejoice, but frankly, I just don't want to spend the money. I thought when I bought a new one I'd go all out and buy the top of the line kind of thing. Yeah, that's not happening. We have a couple of RV trips planned and with gas prices what they are, we need the money. Adulthood sucks sometimes.

Amy's Birthday

As I was loading all these pictures on, I realized that we didn't even get a picture of the birthday girl! Sorry, Amy! And Happy Birthday, tomorrow!

On Sunday evening, we went up Millcreek Canyon for Amy's birthday. We had tinfoil dinners and s'mores. It was a beautiful evening and the picnic area was right by the river.

The kids had to show me their favorite area by the river.

Zoey was fascinated by the water going under the bridge. She kept saying Whoa, over and over again.
This is Regan's favorite rapid. I didn't realize we were there long enough that she could find a favorite rapid. I'm not sure what Porter is doing. Maybe he's channelling Indiana Jones.
Zoey sure loves her beverages! She doesn't care if it's a sippy, juice box or coke can. She just LOVES drinking something.
It was great being out of doors, although a little stressful with the river. With all the snow we got the river was fast and cold. So we really had to keep an eye on the kids and make sure no one went swimming.

I do wish I had a video camera. Olivia (our almost 2 year old niece) was running down a hill and fell. Not that that was funny, but she did the most amazing thing. It was like a somersault, but untucked. Her body was perfectly straight and she rolled, face first, with her legs going up and over her head! I was closest to her and she had this look on her face, like, I know that was pretty amazing, but I really didn't like it much. She was fine, a little traumatized and a few scrapes on her face, but mostly unhurt. The video would have perfect for AFV!

Pioneer Village

Tis the season of the school field trips! And somehow, I ended up going to both Regan's and Hali's. Usually, Scott gets to go to one, but he had work to do, so couldn't go on Regan's.

This field trip took us to the This Is The Place Heritage Park. That's a mouthful. We took the kids here last Pioneer Day, but it's a lot different when you go with a school group. We had a tour guide in each place that would tell us what life was like back in 1865.

Here is my group: McCoy, Regan, Karli, and Conner.

They have a petting zoo there with sheep, goats, pigs, baby chicks, peacocks, and snakes. Luckily, the snakes were in cages. Although, they kept warning us that it's snake season, so stay to the paths. They had already caught a couple of rattlesnakes that week! Paths are good. We like paths!
This is the barber shop. They also performed small dental and medical procedures. They showed us this hook thing that could pull teeth and a little contraption for blood letting. Lovely. They even practiced shaving on the kids.
The coolest part (in my opinion, but then I didn't have to pull the thing) was the handcarts. They split the kids up into groups of six and had them pull real handcarts around this dirt track, which included a small hill.
Drama Regan made an appearance. The last part of the track was downhill and Regan started having "flashbacks" of the time she fell while riding her bike down a dirt hill. She started crying and having a fit. All the parents kept asking me if she was ok, thinking she got hurt by one of these heavy handcarts. Um, yes, she's fine.

We got to go to the school and learn how kids had to bow and curtsey to their teacher as they walked into the room. And we even got to learn the Virginia Reel in the Social Hall. And as Regan's class has more boys than girls, several of us mom's got to dance, too. Much to the horror of the boys who had to dance with us! It was a pretty fun day.