We're ready!

I've been gearing up for our trip to NC...the girls and I leave tomorrow and will be there for 3 weeks!!! I am so incredibly excited, it feels like ages since I've seen my family. Bryce is going to be able to come out for 5 days as well.

One of the big events of our trip is my counsin Nancy's wedding. Claire gets to be the flower girl and is oh so excited about this. I finished both her and Cady's dresses. No, Cady is not a flower girl, but she wanted a pretty dress too. :) Go figure. I used a sheer fabric with Cady's dress that I had originally bought to use for Claire's dress but didn't use (I decided to go for simple elegance).

We went out and bought shoes, headbands, and necklaces yesterday. This is the result of our photo shoot. I wont be posting again for about a month, so enjoy the pictures!

More Spam Please!

I don't know what happened to me today but I woke up feeling really restless! I felt like I needed to leave not only my house but Rochester as well. I charged up the portable dvd player, re-activated the trak-fone, paged Bryce to let him know we were going on a trip, packed lunch, and away we went. We went to a place about 35 minutes away...the Spam factory!

Believe it or not, the factory is very nice to tour and it shows the history of Spam, variety of ways to cook it, sample platters, old advertisments from the 1940s, and has a little dress up and play area.

We came home 2 hours later feeling happy and refreshed. I'm going to have fun telling Bryce all of the little known facts about our dinner tonight...Spam!

Strawberry time

It's one of my favorite summer activities, picking strawberries! We went for FHE on Monday night and picked strawberries for about an hour. It was a lot of fun, Bryce and I picked a lot of good ones and Claire and Cady ate a lot of good ones. :) The only down side was when my arms broke out in hives. I guess I'm allergic to some of the weeds that were out there. These darned allergies, they keep cramping my style! You can't see them very well, but my arms were covered in little white bumps. Next time I'll have to wear long sleeves. I spent most of the day on Tuesday making Strawberry jam, yummy. I do need help with one thing---does anyone know how to can strawberry jam and have the fruit not all rise to the top? Any tips are appreciated. :) Hope you all are having a wonderful summer.




Sticky hands!



The spoils of our labor.

Rochesterfest

This past week was Rochesterfest. It's a week long celebration throughout which are many different activities and events each day. We participated in a few this week and I wanted to share the highlights with you.

We saw the "moon glow," where colorful hot air balloons lit up the sky. Bryce and I loved it, but the girls weren't so sure. About every 2 minutes fire would be shot up into the balloon and it was a noisy affair. We actually lost Cady for a minute because she ran away when she first heard the noise.







We also went to the "Rochester Has Talent" show on Saturday afternoon. We sat down and enjoyed an afternoon of ballroom dancing, belly dancing (an unexpected surprise), cheer leading, and a surprise performance by...Cady! Well, almost. They ran ahead of schedule for a few minutes and the announcer opened the floor up to anyone in the audience. There were about 100 people there. Jokingly, I asked Claire and Cady if they wanted to go up on stage and sing a song. Simultaneously, Claire said no and Cady said yes. Cady stood up and began walking towards the stage. Slightly stunned, I stood up and followed her. I asked her again and she said she wanted to do it. She took the microphone and went up on stage by herself. The announcer asked her name and she said, "Cady," and then started to giggle. Right after the giggle ended, she covered her face up with her arms. That was the last the crowd saw of Cady's face. The announcer tried to persuade her to sing and eventually suggested that Cady turn her back to everyone and sing, but to no avail. Well, if nothing else, Cady got three minutes of fame along with her picture in the local newspaper. :) Bryce and I are pretty thrilled with the newspaper bit, that's going in her scrap book! Claire is already practicing the song she is going to sing next year, she wants to be in the paper too.

Anything You Can Do...

So, we had a "Provident Living" Talent Show for Enrichment this past month. Molly Johnson and I thought it would be funny to do a slightly unique singing number. We got the sheet music to the song "Anything You Can Do" from Annie Get Your Gun and changed some of the words around. It was a blast to do this number, and Molly was a total delight to perform with. I honestly feel that our roles should have been switched---she is amazing! This video is the last few moments of the song. We have been asked to do this number again at our Stake Relief Society training meeting this fall. :) I'm looking forward to singing it again.

Anything You Can Do (Jean and Molly Style)

Jean: Anything you can do I can do better ......I can do anything better than you Molly: No, you can't
J: Yes, I can
M: No, you can't
J: Yes, I can
M: No, you can't
J: Yes, I can, yes, I can

M: Anything you can be I can be greater ......Sooner or later I'm greater than you
J: No, you're not
M: Yes, I am
J: No, you're not
M: Yes, I am
J: No, you're not
M: Yes, I am, yes I am

M: I can tend a baby, one two or 80
J: I can tend a dozen, bring along a cousin
M: I can live on quaker oats
J: That's really nice, I can on rice

M: Any note you can reach I can go higher
J: I can sing anything higher than you
M: No, you can't
J: Yes, I can
M: No, you can't
J: Yes, I can
M: No, you can't
J: Yes, I can
M: No, you can't
J: Yes, I can
M: No, you can't
J: Yes, I can

J: Anything you can buy I can buy cheaper ......I can buy anything cheaper than you M: Fifty cents
J: Forty cents
M: Thirty cents
J: Twenty cents
M: No, you can't
J: Savers!! Yes, I can, yes, I can

M: Any friend you can make I can make faster
J: I can make any friend faster than you
...Both start greeting and complimenting the audience
M: No, you can't
J: Yes, I can, yes, I can

M: I do visit teaching at each month's begining
J: I always sign up fer things in the binder
M: I can clean most anything
J: In skirt and heels?
M: In pearls and rings

M: Any talk you can give I can give longer
J: I can give any talk longer than you
M: No, you can't
J: Yes, I can
M: No, you can't
J: Yes, I can
M: No, you can't
J: Yes, I can, yes, I can
M/J: No, you can't - yes, you can

J: Anything you can make I can make cuter...I can make bows and cards cuter than you M: That's not fair, where'd you learn?
J: At Leah's house
M: When's my turn?
J: Thursday July 2nd at 10 am

M: Anything you can bake I can bake better
J: My bread and rolls taste better than yours
M: No they don't
J: Yes they do
M: No they don't
J: Yes they do
M: No they don't
J: Yes they do Yes they do

M: I can can beans
J: I can sew things
M: I can knit a sweater
J: I can fill it better
M: I can do most anything
J: Can you bake a pie?
M: Yes
J: So can I

M: Anything you can sing I can sing sweeter
J: I can sing anything sweeter than you
M: No, you can't
J: Yes, I can
M: No, you can't
J: Oh, yes, I can
M: No, you can't
J: Yes, I can
M: No, you can't
J: Yes, I can
M: No, you can't, can't, can't
J: Yes, I can, can, can, can
M: No, you can't
J: Yes, I can

Summer fun!

 

 

 

 

It has finally gotten warm enough to pull out our little wading pool. We bought this thing when Claire was just a few months old. :)We had some friends over and I had the brilliant idea of pulling it out to use. I got a kick out of this, five kids crowding around this little thing. I think it may be time to invest in something bigger...

Our LOOOOOOONG bike ride

Hi guys! We are officially cyclists. It all started when Tyson (Bryce's co-resident) called us Sunday night and left a message asking us if we wanted to pack a picnic and go on a long bike ride on Memorial Day. We called back Monday morning and set a time to meet. I began making sandwiches while Bryce went to the store to buy a bike rack for our car. A few hours later and we were on our way. We drove to the Douglas Trail, about 10 minutes from our house. After the girls were nicely situated in our bike trailer, the journey commenced. It was a perfect day - about 70 degrees, sunny, with a constant light breeze. After about 4 miles we stopped to rest at an old water pump/picnic area in Douglas (a very, very small town). After we finished eating our picnic and the girls stretched their legs for a bit, we continued on the trail. It was a beautiful trail with honeysuckles, wild rhubarb, little farms tucked here and there throughout our path, and greenery everywhere. We rode another 9 more miles until the trail finally ended at Pine Island. Fortunately for us, there was a beautiful park and playground at the end of the trail. The girls were troopers during the ride, but they were more than ready to get out and play. Crazy enough, the 13 miles we had biked didn't seem that long or hard. The trail was very level due to the fact that it was built and paved directly over an old train track route.

The 13 miles back was a different story. The wind was now actively blowing against us the entire way. Poor Bryce, the bike trailer that he was pulling was acting like a "parachute loaded with bricks" as Lindsey so appropriately described it. :) Well, long story short, we made it back to the cars. And yes, we felt pretty proud of ourselves for having accomplished a 26 mile bike ride!!! Despite the fact that we had no idea just how "long" the bike ride would be when we first agreed to go, I would totally do it again! I have discovered that I'm more "outdoorsy" than I once thought. I would take biking over running any day. Bryce and I have talked about trying to get out and do this a little more often now that we have a bike rack. :) However, before I turn pro, my first investment is going to be a padded seat!

Claire's photo shoot

When Claire came home from preschool, I thought it would be fun to have her do the same thing. You'll notice that I have less pictures of Claire in this collage. As a disclaimer, that is not due to a lack of effort on my part. Imagine those few pictures of her pouting I included in here times 50. Evidentally, she did not agree with my idea of fun. Can't imagine why. Who wouldn't love to sit on a bathroom counter (she ended up sitting in the sink), with a clip you do NOT want in your hair (that's what started the pouting), and being told to smile for 5 minutes. :) Poor girl.

 

Cady's Photo Shoot

Hi guys! So, I've been seeing some amazing photography of your children posted on your blogs and decided to give it a try myself. It all started when Claire was at preschool and I decided to curl Cady's hair and put a new hair bow in. I had her up on the counter in the bathroom and thought it would be cute with the mirror behind her. As you can see in her pictures, she was loving it. Cady is the kind of girl who could happily spend the rest of her life in front of a mirror. :)

 

We are prepared!

So, this is a tribute to Claire and her 72 hour kit. My parents gave us 72 hour kits for the girls this past Christmas. It had a few things like coloring books, crayons, ponchos, a compass/whistle, and a flashlight included. Claire has been asking me all kinds of questions about 72 hour kits and why we have them. I told her it was in case there is an emergency (like a flood or fire) and we had to leave our house quickly. She went into her room and emerged about 45 minutes later with her 72 hour kit. Some of the things she had in there were her baby doll, cabbage patch doll and accessories, princess coloring book, stuffed dog, plastic plates from a princess tea set, overalls and shirt, black sunday shoes, a snack baggy filled with goldfish and raisins, among other things. She also figured out how to clip on more bags with a beaner buckle that came with one of her pants. She has kept this 72 hour kit near her at all times for the last week. She sleeps with it next to her bed and carries it from room to room with her. Fear not, this girl is prepared!