Staying Little

A very close friend of mine has a business selling hats. Not only does she sell these hats...SHE MAKES THEM! She is so talented. She even has hats for Halloween. I realize most kids can't wear hats to school, probably none of them can, but seriously, these are worth having. They are just too adorable. I can totally see little ones wearing some of these to church. Please check out her blog while her website gets up and running. I will update my blog as she updates hers and especially once her website goes live. Enjoy Staying Little!

Getting Ready with the Scary Face

About a month ago we headed over to Jimmy and Carrie's house for dinner with them and my dad and Laurie. Laurie is an awesome Nana. She always brings gifts for Jimito.
But first...this might have been a different visit but it was within the same week...we got there and Jimito started bawling. Usually he is so excited to see Rick and we couldn't figure out what was wrong. Jimmy was able to find out though..Jimito had left his hook at his friend's house. Fortunately the friend lived only 2 houses away. Jimito is SO funny. I don't know if he is still doing it and since Carrie hasn't had a chance to blog about it, I will. (By the way, Maddy decided to call him Jimito = Hee Mee Toe = Little Jimmy) Jimito had to have his gear hooked into his shorts everyday before he would get dressed. He had to have his dager and sword and gun all in the pockets and painters hook thing before he would get dressed.
Notice not only does he have a sword, he has a spear too.So back to the visit... One of the gifts Jimito was given was a sword that makes noises like the guns we had when we were kids. Jimito got all decked out for us and gave us his scary face. Don't forget all of the nerf guns...which his dad likes as much as he does! This kid could outfit an entire army for a small country. No wonder he is going to be Cap'n Hook! (I just hope Cap'n Ris is able to join him.)

Trunk or Treat - Need Some Help - Prize to be Awarded

Last year our ward had a trunk or treat. We were able to take Jimito (our new name for Little Jimmy) with us and he was a hit. I hope we can take him again this year. Last year he was a gorilla. He couldn't say hi ll's that well so it was a crack up to hear him tell what people he was. This year he is going to be Captain Hook and Katie is going to be Tinker Bell.
As part of this Rick and I dress up and need to dress up our car as well. (I was going to post photos of our car but I have no idea where they are.) We were Jeff Gordon's pit crew. My mom had some awesome magnets made for the car... we have a Dupont Sticker, a 24 and Jeff Gordon's autograph. (They now reside on our fridge and washing machine.)
I need some help coming up with what to do this year. The thoughts we have had so far are:
The Mariner's Dugout (We have sweat shirts from the Mariner's game we went to)
Something related to the Bee's/Stingers whatever the heck they are now because I have a Bee's Jersey
Something related to Hockey because we have some hockey jerseys
An Ambulance - We have scrubs since Rick was in nursing, including some great NASCAR scrubs I personally like to wear.

My mom works for a sign company and is able to make magnets for our car and other things like that but I need to have enough time to get them made. Maybe we could continue the Peter Pan theme as Jimito was telling us who we were people in Peter Pan....I could be a mermaid and Rick could be Smythe hhhmmm I am going to have to think about this.

My request of you is to give me some ideas. I am open to anything! The person who comes up with the best idea and if you even help us figure out how to do it, well you will get a prize. Not sure what the prize will be yet but I will come up with something.

Issaguah Farmer's Market

Some time ago, Marissa decided she wanted to make a coffee table book about eggplants. Whenever we went to the grocery store together an eggplant ended up in my shopping cart and it would end up in a new home, such as with the frozen food or baby clothes. (Smith's Market Place....man I miss that store!) We even grew an eggplant one year. It didn't grow to be very large but it grew nonetheless. ANYWAY~ As soon as I saw these beauties I had to take a photo for her. Even though she doesn't read my blog. She is way too much of a rockstar to take time to read my blog. (For those of you that don't know, Rissa is my youngest sister who happens to work for SaltAire with all of their concerts. She is 21, almost 22 and living the dream. NOT my dream!)

Back to the famer's market. We bought some lovely fresh veggies and some homemade bread. Rick picked out the bread, it was bread with spinach, onions and something else in it. It was delicious.

My favorite part about the market was the flowers. FLOWERS, FLOWERS and MORE FLOWERS! We bought some flowers for Grandma Jo as a birthday gift. We bought some for Maddy, who forgot to take them home. And we bought some for Laurie for letting us stay in their home. I wish I could have fresh flowers like that all the time. Seriously...the bunch we bought for Laurie was only $5. Talk about killer deal. Plus they are zinnias which just don't grow in Utah like they do in Seattle. This is the farmer's market that really got me going on the tree hugging too.

The Museum of Flight

Rick and I were able to go to the Museum of Flight while in Seattle. There were SO many things to see. We realized that if we lived there, it would be a place to visit all the time. We would definitely buy a membership.
Some of the cool things we were able to see were....The Concorde, Air Force One and lots and lots of planes from WWI and WWII.

Needed something to post so I stole a post...

Let's call this the LOVE/HATE game (stolen from Carrie's Blog) Play along with me at home...

RULES: You either have to LOVE IT or HATE IT. No in between.

Let's start with an easy one:

• SQUEEZE CHEESE - Love it - The Easy cheese brand on Ritz crackers but Hate it on everything else - We always called it Squirt Cheese
  

• THE PHRASE "ALL BECAUSE TWO PEOPLE FELL IN LOVE" - Never thought about it before today but I tend to lean towards the Hate it
  

• VINYL PEOPLE STICKERS ON REAR WINDOWS OF SUV'S CHRONICALLY THE FAMILY TREE INCLUDING THE PETS - Hate it on other people's cars, love it on mine...I have a Jeff Gordon Sticker ready to go on my car once I can find some normal people I like for Rick and me
  

• THE PHRASE "IT IS WHAT IT IS" - Not so big a fan...Hate it
  

• SISTERS-IN-LAWS- LOVE THEM!!! even the weird ones who know don't read my blog!
  

• SISTERS- LOVE THEM!! They make me laugh
  

• TEENAGERS IN "LOVE" - Hate it...I never was so they never should be.
  

• Shake it by Metro Station- No idea what this even is
  

• THE TWILIGHT SERIES - Love it but not enough to go to the midnight opening of the movie. I just don't do midnight movies of anything!
  

• SATURDAY FOOTBALL - Since there is nothing else on TV that day...Love it
  

• Blogs that have music players-Don't care...my speakers are NEVER turned on so I don't have to listen to other people's stuff
  

• The political views of Hollywood Celebrities- Hate it - don't even pay attention because they are not real people who know anything.
  

• Bajio's Pineapple Shrimp Salad- Hate it - Shrimp is disgusting

Feel free to tag yourself and copy this blog.

Another Survey

1. What time did you get up this morning?	4:45 AM Yes you read that correctly
2. Diamonds or pearls?	Seriously....does this have to be on EVERY survey?
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?	Indiana Jones? Maybe Or Batman
4. What is your favorite TV show?	Don't have one right now
What do you usually have for breakfast?	Muscle Milk Light
6. What is your middle name?	Anastasia
7. What food do you dislike?	meatloaf, seafood, anything with ground beef and pretty much all red meat
8. What is your favorite CD at moment?	Beach Boys Greatest hits
9. What kind of car do you drive?	Scooby Do aka Subaru
10. Favorite sandwich?	Turkey and cream cheese wrap from harmons
11.What characteristic do you despise?	Lying
12. Favorite item of clothing?	Swim suit
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?	Somewhere warm, Disneyland
14. Favorite brand of clothing?	Tommy
15. Where would you retire to?	Not really sure
16.What was your most recent memorable birthday ?	They are all always good
17. Favorite sport to watch?	NASCAR
18. Furthest place you are sending this?	England
19. Person you expect to send it back first?	Maddy
20. When is your birthday?	March 30th
21. Are you a morning person or a night person?	Morning
22. What is your shoe size?	71/2 or 8
23. Pets?	Only the hair bunnies i leave in the bathroom
24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us?	Read my blog, silly, you will get all the info you need
25. What did you want to be when you were little?	Stock Broker
26. How are you today?	Achy
27. What is your favorite candy?	Twix
28. What is your favorite flower?	Lily
29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to?	Thursday just a random one
30. What is your favorite pastime?	Reading a good book
31. What are you listening to right now?	The Rocking Dave Show on Radio Gets Wild online
32. What was the last thing you ate?	toasted cheese and juice
33. Do you wish on stars	YES
34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?	a pink one
35. How is the weather right now?	Clear and gorgeous
36. The first person you spoke to on the phone today?	My sister in law
37. Favorite soft drink?	I don't drink them
38. Favorite restaurant?	I sure am craving Baja Cantina lately
39. Real hair color?	Brown...the color it is now
40. What was your favorite toy as a child?	Oh so many to choose from...
41. Summer or winter?	SUMMER
42. Hugs or kisses?	Hugs
43. Chocolate or Vanilla?	CHOCOLATE
44. Coffee or tea?	I don't drink either
5. Do you want your friends to email you back?	YES
46. When was the last time you cried?	last night
47. What is under your bed?	Torso track - anyone want it?
48. What did you do last night?	Sat on the couch watching Rick clean the house and washed my hair
49. What are you afraid of?	Losing my husband
50. Salty or sweet?	Salt then Sweet then salt then sweet etc
51. How many keys on your key ring?	8 or so
52. How many years at your current job?	1.5
53. Favorite day of the week?	Saturday
54. How many towns have you lived in?	Officially 4 towns
55. Do you make friends easily?	Sure
56. How many people will you send this to?	I am posting this for everyone's enjoyment
57. How many will respond?	The ones who are dorky

Voter Issues Guide

This does not contain all of the issues that are out there are main items for this presidential election but this does contain some of the ones I think are very important as they pertain to moral issues.
Voter Issue Guide
As you vote this year, remember that something might affect you directly such as pay increases for teachers but when it comes to things that pertain to morality, we have a chance to give our vote on where we each stand on these moral issues.

I really try not to get on the political soapbox very often. I think that politics should only be discussed in certain situations and this is not one of them, nevertheless, I feel so very strongly about the sanctity of marriage being between a man and a woman and that it is it a moral issue, not a right. I feel that our country was founded upon Christian principles and that this falls under biblical/Christian principles. I will stop now but thanks for reading....

I Married a Tard

No those words did not come out of my mouth! My dear sweet husband told me that last night.

I decided that I wanted to watch Napoleon Dynamite or Night at the Roxbury. He is the one that said Roxbury. We popped it in and right from the start I was giggling. I know that movie by heart. Years ago my family watched it probably at least once a week. My cousins and siblings all know that movie by heart. We went out of town years ago to Vegas....while in the pool if we needed to get a family member's attention we would yell, "EMILIOOO!"
Rick and I were watching the movie and I was just giggling away. Rick sat and watched me and laughed at me. He said, this movie is like watching your family. I said, yeah pretty much.
I am giggling now thinking of it. For the rest of the night I went around saying, "S'up?" Or "You from outta town?" (I am laughing even harder now.)
Now here is the thing I really learned about that movie...it is a BAD movie!! There is more swearing in it that I realized. AND there are naked boobies!!! That's right! Naked Boobies!!! I had never noticed them before but last night I sure did and they weren't little mosquito bites either. They were big saggy boobs. Should you choose to go out and watch this movie now, let me know and I will tell you where to watch for them. (The giggles and laughs just keep coming.)
In the end I realized, this is not a movie I would let children watch. What the heck were my mom, aunt and uncle well probably mostly my mom and uncle doing ENCOURAGING the viewing of this movie?!?
For ol' times sake though, to those of you who read my blog that are related to me, I highly recommend watching it again. And that way when you get a prank call of "Emilioooo" or "You from outta town" fond memories will instantly be brought back to your mind. ( I think we will be watching Napoleon tonight.)

Master Jedi Skills - I Has Them - UPDATED!!

A few days ago I was talking with Maddy discussing my Master Jedi Skills. She didn't understand how strong they were until I told her some of the things I have been able to do which she has not. I shouldn't admit this but I will....I am not a visiting teacher. I was able to discuss some things with my Relief Society Pres and told her that at this time I am unable to be one...still am not and those that really know me know that my life is only getting crazier!
*Last night while trying to go to sleep I remembered other Master Jedi skills I posses.
When I was working at England there were some people that I REALLY didn't like. Every single one of them that I really concentrated on either was fired or quit. Eventually it got to the point that I needed to leave but seriously, there were 5 different people this happened with. (This isn't the Jedi skill I thought of last night. I can't remember what it was now. Memory is not a Master Jedi Skill I posses. Neither is spelling.) Man I can't remember what the skill was I thought of last night so I will just have to update this a second time when I remember.*
ANYWAY - I was just talking with Wayne about his life and that he feels "flat" at the moment. I told him that he needs to find someone and kick their arse and then he will feel better. He said, yeah were are the JW's when you need a fight? It about died laughing. I said, see, if you could get your feelings out you would feel better. He reminded me that I am right and the wise one. I just told him, it is my Master Jedi Skills.

Pike's Place

I have realized that it is taking me longer to get my videos done so I can post them on here than I had planned so I might as well blog about our Seattle trip then post the videos at a later date.

On Saturday during our vacation, we visited Pike's Place Market. The best part about this was that we went with: Maddy, Drew, Wayne, Barbara, Chris, Stan and Peter...our friends from England! The timing of our vacation to Seattle was such that we could visit them after they returned from an Alaskan cruise.

Again we headed out in Laurie's car...she is so great for letting us borrow her car and just go all over the place. (In case you haven't read or don't know, Laurie is my stepmom.) We met the England group at their hotel which was a few blocks away from Pike's and off we went.
The fish throwing wasn't as grand as I remember. There were SO many people standing around trying to catch "the show" as well.
The flowers were beautiful. What I remember most from my last time there were the flowers and the people with odd piercings. They didn't let me down this time either!
We had a spot of lunch at the Three Sisters Cafe or whatever it was. It was a tasty sandwich that I do know and walked around a bit more.

That evening was the evening family was coming over for a BBQ so we weren't able to stay as long as we would have liked but it was a great time nonetheless!

Yes...

I am very bored at work today!

Snoqualmie Falls

Here is another installment of our Seattle vacation.
On our first full day in Seattle we headed out to Snowqualmie Falls. Laurie suggested we visit and I am so glad we did. I had not idea something like this existed and not so close. It was about a 20 min drive from my dad's house and we took the "back way" which was also the scenic route. There really wasn't anything too special there but it was very beautiful.
At the top of the falls is a resort and spa, Salish. It reminded me of Stein Erickson Lodge by the warm way they have decorated it. I am sure that if one were to stay they that they would have a relaxing time.

Do I look like the tourist or what?!

Mmmm, Cinnamony

Check out that golden goodness BEFORE baking!


I baked cinnamon rolls this past Sunday. It was my first time using yeast other than in a bread maker, may it rest in peace. Anyway...I decided that it might be a good thing for me to learn how to activate yeast and I found an awesome recipe for cinnamon rolls a few weeks ago that I just had to try out.
After our drive I decided to start making these rolls. I followed the recipe pretty closely other than I used regular bleached flour rather than unbleached and I used skim milk rather than 2%. I forgot to take more photos along the way but as you can see, I did something right!This was taken after the second rising while in the pan jsut before going into the oven. Yes the dough with the cinnamon sugar and butter tasted mighty fine.Hot out of the oven!I double the recipe for the cream cheese icing. I also had one package of regular cream cheese and 1 package of neufchatel cream cheese (which is 1/3 less fat than regular cream cheese.) I decided that I would rather have too much frosting than not enough. I used all but about 1/3 of a cup.Rick and I were so excited to try them out that I forgot to take a photo before I pried 2 of them out of the pan. I brought them into work on Monday and was told by 2 guys that they are the best cinnamon rolls they have ever tasted, and I didn't even pay them to say that!

Lazy Sunday

Rick and I had a most wonderful Sunday this past week. We did the usual of church in the morning. Which was pretty darn good. Some weeks our kids are all over the place. They were SO good this week. I even asked Rick, what is up with this, they are all sitting in their chairs and paying attention. This kids amaze me.

We went home, changed and had some great Sports day food...Nachos. We then decided it was time for us to drive along the new Legacy Parkway. Please not that it is officially a Parkway not a Highway. There were no lights along the road, unlike Bangerter Highway but the speed limit was technically lower than the freeway. It was a nice drive.

There were no trucks allowed on the road.This is some wetland stuff...there were people around the pond fishing and seeming to be having a good time. We saw at least a dozen people riding bikes along the trails to the side and 2 riding horses.This is one of the beautiful bridges but it happens to be a people bridge rather than a car bridge.Check out that new asphalt! Remember though, concrete, dries faster...than asphalt. (Thank you NASCAR)