Baby Names

NO, I AM NOT PREGNANT.
Would I like to be? Absolutely.
AM I? Absolutely Not. :(

But, my friend Reyna had a little game posted on her blog. I liked it. So, I am copying her.

And I too think about how much I want a(nother) baby several times a day.

Out of the following names, you get to figure out which ones I really like and which I dislike.

I like all these names except 3 girl and 3 boy.

Girl:
Edith
Ruth
Cora
Eloise
Georgia
Esther
Sadie
Helen
Meg
Felicity
Anna
Etta


Boy:
Rand
Mark
Hyrum
Gedeon
Aiden
Buck
Ethan
Garrett
Frank
Isaac
Abel
Preston

Can you figure it out?

family Portraits

Ok, I am trying to upload family pictures that Kathy took this summer. She just sent us a few that she edited and stuff. Blogger is only letting me upload one at a time. So, for now. I am just uploading this one. I don't have time to do all of them right now, but I will soon. I promise.

videos

Eve is getting cuter and crazier every day.
I wanted to share some videos! (Kathy, don't worry, I will post the family photos soon.)

This was just her silliness after dinner one day.

Here she is eating some lunch, winking, jabbering, and saying a couple prayers.

One of my favorite videos. No explanation needed.

Of love

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them." Mother Teresa

Lately, I have been very judgmental toward myself. Mostly about my physical appearance.
I have been struggling with the way my body looks and how I feel. I can't quite resolve the conflict inside of me between just being happy with who I am as a mother and a wife and the desire to be a better looking woman.

"Love is the flower you've got to let grow." John Lennon

The other day, I took some self portraits. When I was looking through most of them I thought how unattractive I was. Then as I was washing dishes one evening and thinking of my lack of beauty I began to realize how horrible I had been acting. My negative self image was infecting me with hateful feelings toward myself as a person.
So, in order to combat all the negativity and destructive feelings, I decided to do a post about love. Love of self. Love of MYSELF. To let the "flower" grow.
This is in no way meant to be a vain post. It is is no way meant to be a "puffed up," prideful post. It is simply me shouting out to the world, the things I love about myself.
It is also a post of encouragement. I think that we, as women need to take a moment to boost ourselves up. I know that we should not focus on physical beauty alone but I think it might be okay to look upon our outward appearance every once in a while. So, just for this post I am going to share the physical characteristics that I like about myself.

1. My hair. I really do love my hair. It is stick straight and shiny. I cannot remember the last time I blow dried it. (I only blow my bangs out which takes all of 1-2 minutes.) When I let it air dry, it turns out the way it is in the picture at the top of this post. I am lucky.
2. My feet. I have always thought my feet were cute, except for about 4 months during my pregnancy. I have had other people tell me I have pretty feet too.
3. My smile. I was voted "best smile" in our high school superlatives. I am fortunate that my teeth are pretty straight, considering the fact that I have never had braces. My cheeks are nice and round and jolly.
4. My skin. I don't wear makeup very much and when I do, it is just eye makeup. I have a little powder I use for my face occasionally, but generally, my skin looks pretty good and I don't have to use it.
5. My hands. They remind me of my mother's hands.

"The art of love is largely the the art of persistence." Albert Ellis

Now, I just need to remain persistent in loving myself. Persistent in serving others, for that will help me become more beautiful. Persistent in faith of the Lord for that will sustain my inner and outer beauty.

Elder Richard G. Scott said,

"So many of our sisters are disheartened, even discouraged, and disillusioned. Others are in serious trouble because of the choices they make. Satan has unleashed a seductive campaign to undermine the sanctity of womanhood, to deceive the daughters of God and divert them from their divine destiny. He well knows women are the compassionate, self-sacrificing, loving power that binds together the human family. He would focus their interests solely on their physical attributes and rob them of their exalting roles as wives and mothers. He has convinced many of the lie that they are third-class citizens in the kingdom of God. That falsehood has led some to trade their divinely given femininity for male coarseness."

I hope we all recognize our exalting roles as wives and mothers and recognize the beauty that comes with those divine responsibilities.

And that we love ourselves a little bit more.

Aunty Ollie $100 Gift Card GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Check out this giveaway. So awesome.
Aunty Ollie $100 Gift Card GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Halloween finally

Handmade Halloween 2009

WITCH
Hat: $1 from Target.
Shirt: from the "costume bin" Hand dyed.
Skirt: Made from fabric on hand.
Shoes: already owned.
WARLOCK
Hat: Handmade with materials in my craft closet
Robe: From college graduation. Jazzed up with gold fabric from an old costume.
Cape: From the "costume bin" more of the gold fabric added.
Beard: Homemade with fabric, batting and pillow fluff. And some spray paint.

LITTLE WITCH

Hat: Handmade with materials in my craft closet.

Dress: Handmade with materials already owned. Dress pattern of my own design.

AHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!

ps. we took Eve trick or treating with the Kennedy family. It was her first time.
After she knocked on a door and the person answered, she would try to walk in.
She was so cute...the cutest witch out there.

pumpkin

So, here is one of the pumpkins we carved.
After I carved it, I realized that part of it the letter was going to fall, so I propped it up with toothpicks.

Pinewood Derby

This year our ward had a ward pinewood derby. Anyone who wanted to could make a car and race it. Russ and I worked on our cars all week (sometimes late into the night.)

I did my very own car. I did not add anything to the block of wood they gave me, so it did not look completely like the car I was trying to model it after. Plus, the wheels were out of proportion. But, I think, in my humble opinion, that it turned out pretty good considering that I have never made a Pinewood Derby car and that I did it myself. I was however, not going for speed but rather STYLE!!

So, any guesses as to what kind of car it is?
My dad should get this, but only if he reads this post.
Oh, and although my car was not fast...it did win a ribbon for BEST DETAIL.

new stuff

I wanted to share some of our cool stuff...

Our new navigation system. Way better than a garmin.

Eve's new sippy cup.

And, her new hair brush.

continuation

This is what happened after that previous video I posted...

This was at a friend's house. It was raining and Eve did her own rendition of a rain dance.

because it is saturday

I thought it was time to post some videos of the girl.
It is hard to get video these days due to the fact that any time she sees the camera, she stops what she is doing and immediately wants to hold/look at the camera.

She makes some pretty funny faces and this is just a small sampling of some of them.

I had on some Nat King Cole the other day and she was dancing around. This is the only video I could get and I had to be stealthy to do so.

I love this life. I laugh every single day. Eve is such a fun little girl and she cracks me up.

labor day

This is really old but here are some snap shots of our labor day. We went to Weeki Wachee Springs. We saw a mermaid show, some peacocks and went on a boat ride.

273

These are some pictures that Kathy took this summer.
I am trying to decide which ones to print and put in frames in Eve's room.
I also wanted to post. I did not want to get the pictures from the camera though...
So, enjoy some cute ones of Eve.

trip pics

One of the good things about funerals is the amount of family that attend them. Therefore, it is like a family reunion of sorts. Although it is a little bit sad, it is really great to see so many family members. So, here are a TON of pictures that I took while I was in Utah for Grandpa Larson's funeral.
In no order whatsoever.

Audrey and myself. She drove me to Idaho Falls to catch my plane. It was so nice to visit with her.

Rachel and I.

Nancy and Lance came up with baby John. It was so fun to see them!

Audrey and her angel baby Afton.

I have the greatest parents.

Baby Cole. The cutest baby boy! He is Meg and Q's third boy. And oh-so-cuddly. It makes me want another baby.

I really have beautiful nieces and nephews.
Janie, Reid and Jack all belong to Rachel and Justin.
Below is Claire, and she is Sarah and Eric's baby.

Me and cousin Will.

Beautiful Momma, beautiful baby!

Sweet cousin Katie with her nephew Daven.

The pall bearers

Mom, Grandma and I. (This is an awkward picture. I look like a giant compared to them...)

This is Luke. He must always be wearing his yellow boots. He even wore them with his dress clothes.

I really have the most gorgeous sisters. I think they get it from my mom.

This is my mom with her life-long friend Kathi, who flew in from Ohio.

Cousin Katie with her brother in law, on the left, and her now fiance Cameron, on the right.
Woohoo. Katie, I am so excited for you! Cameron is such a nice guy and I am just thrilled for you!!!

Look at that face? Is that not the cutest little grin you have ever seen?

funeral

I went to Utah for my Grandpa Larson's funeral.
It was a lot of traveling and I left Eve home with Russ. That was hard.
The funeral was great. It was such a relief for everyone when Grandpa finally passed. He had been so ill. He is now free from pain and suffering.
One of the speakers at the funeral said "We are sad because of the separation." That was the first time I had ever heard that. It really made sense to me. I am not sad because Grandpa died. I am sad because of the temporary separation from him that we now face.
I remember Grandpa telling wacky jokes and using funny puns. One time when my siblings and I went to Antelope Elementary School, he asked if we went to school with Antelopes.
He also asked if we could eat our shoes since they were "jellies."
He loved trains. He once had a room in the basement dedicated to his set up of his model trains.
He panned for gold at Harlequin Lake in Yakutat, Alaska.
He always wore a hat. Not baseball caps, but straw hats or fedora like hats with wide brims.
He loved to garden.
He loved books. I remember him reading a lot of church books and also a lot of history and political books.
He often talked about politics.
He made the best homemade salsa. I have a distinct memory of sitting on one of the swivel stools in the kitchen, watching him make his delicious salsa. He always made some mild and in a separate bowl made some hot. He once gave me the recipe (which he never gave anyone.) He told me that the key ingredient was cilantro. I still remember his insistence that cilantro was key. He even told me that if I couldn't make the home made stuff, then to just add cilantro to any store bought salsa.
He had an amazing voice! I remember one song in particular that sticks in my mind. He sang it with Aunt Cindy. Some of the lyrics go like this...
"The tree of life, it is white, it is light, it is love." I can't remember many of the other lyrics, but he sang it beautifully.
He was a great man. He was a wonderful grandpa and a faithful person.
I am blessed to have known him and look forward to seeing him again someday.

(I will post more photos and videos of my trip soon.)

Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe came from Ada Castle. It was typed on an index card with a type writer...so it must be old. I will tell you all about Ada Castle another day. But, this recipe is called Mrs. Field's Chocolate Chip Cookies. I made this recipe a few weeks ago for the first time and it made a TON of cookies. A TON, I tell you. It called for like 4 sticks of butter (1 lb!) and 6 cups of flour. Holy moly. So, this time I cut the recipe in half and changed it up a bit. I did not have enough of one kind of chocolate chips, so I used three kinds. I also used some of my whole wheat and they turned out really well.

Triple Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 C. sugar
2 C. brown sugar
2 sticks butter (1/2lb.)
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3 C. flour (I used 1/3 wheat 2/3 white, but will do half and half next time.)
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3 C. Chocolate Chips (I used 1 c. semi-sweet, 1 c. milk choc., 1 c. white choc.)
1 C. nuts (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cream sugar, brown sugar and butter together. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat until smooth.
3. Sift dry ingredients together.
4. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture and mix until combined.
5. Add chocolate chips and nuts. Form with small ice cream scoop.
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Fresh Ground

Allow me to take you through a portion of my day yesterday.

Fig. 1. A container of whole wheat flour almost empty.
I have never used my wheat grinder, but because it was out on the counter (my friend had borrowed it) and I knew I had some wheat in the pantry, I decided to grind my own wheat.

Fig. 2. An unopened can of hard winter wheat.

Fig. 3. The Kitchen Mill in action. I tell you what, this thing sounds like a jet plane!!

Fig. 4. Eve loved watching.

Fig. 5. Wheat fresh from the mill.

Fig. 6. Child keeps busy by playing in the sink.

Fig. 7. A nearly full container of FRESH GROUND WHOLE WHEAT.

But, the fun continues...
(if you have time while the baby is sleeping.)

You take 3 kinds of chocolate chips.
Add some sugar, eggs, vanilla, butter, salt, baking soda and flour (some of which you just ground.)
Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes.

Then when the baby wakes up and the husband comes home, they enjoy triple chocolate chip cookies!

Lauren Wallet

Another giveaway.

I am just a messenger.
The good thing is is that when I tell you all about the great giveaways over at ELIZA I get more chances to win. The bad thing is that if you enter, I am decreasing my chances....
it's a catch 22.
Here is the link anyway.

ELIZA giveaway; Lauren Wallet

Summer Sum Up

In an effort to expedite my catching up on the blog I am once again doing a long post with a lot of pictures. Mostly to sum up the summer.

Here is Meg with her boys...little Cole was not yet born.

Cayden

Cooper

Grandma Robinson with Eve and I.

Bryan, Rachel, Kallie, Eve and I.

The awesome apricot tree from Grandpa and Grandma Larson's yard.
(that was the orange stuff on Eve's face a couple posts ago.)

Once we were back in Florida, we just spent time with Nancy and Lance and baby John before they had to leave. We went to Diane's apartment and Eve loved the chocolate chip cookies.

We went to the beach

Eve has become more daring. I don't know if it is just the age or having spent time with older cousins, but she is fearless now.

The night before Nancy and Lance left, I made some good food. Nancy wanted chicken salad with croissants and Lance wanted some wings. So, I made some.

This recipe is from Pioneer Woman and they were really good.

Lance loved them.

I am obviously not a food photog. But this is the chicken salad. It is really delicious.

Nancy liked the wings too!

Then we had to say goodbye.
We miss the Clarks a lot!

Especially this handsome little guy!!

(now I am caught up from the summer. I do have a couple videos that I am going to post though.)

Eliza giveaway

I love Eliza Magazine! I know I have told a lot of people about it and today I am telling you all to go to the Eliza Blog for an awesome giveaway. They will be giving away some really amazing things all week too, so keep checking back!

Images of Mackay

So, here are a ton of photos from Mackay.
Lots of family. lots of fun.

The water was cold

I saw some cousins that I haven't seen in a few years.

Luke was always wearing his yellow boots!

Eve put her shoes on by herself for the first time.

One cousin brought a new kitten that all the kids loved.

Sarah caught some crawdads.

I was very surprised to see crawdads in such a cold river.

Here's mom with all her girls, except Meg who was unable to come.

Cousin Scott with his little man, Deacon.

The kids LOVE the dirt.

Eve loved her cousin's bikes.

Eve got a hold of Grandpa's reading glasses.

Janie giving Eve a ride.

So, that about sums up the Mackay part of our trip.
More to come about Utah and Idaho.

Images of a dirty face

This post is dedicated to some images of the babe with various things on her face.
Most of them are images of a plain old dirty face which happened a lot while we were camping.
You can guess what the orange stuff is above and the green stain below followed by the white dripping stuff.

stuff

I have lots of stuff to post about. Traveling, camping, visiting family, etc., etc.

So, that will all be coming soon.

I LOVE Harry Potter

Although I have not seen the movie yet, I did attend a Harry Potter Party. It was great.

There weren't a lot of people there, but we had a great time.

Here is Nancy with her house elf.

See those scars on our head? They were some tattoos that Laura gave to us. After we put them on, Nancy said they needed to be darker so that they looked like real scars. I said "Yeah, it looks like you smeared some ketchup on your head."
Well, when Jenny and Kempton showed up, Jenny said to Laura,
"You got some ketchup or something on your head."
It was hilarious. You just had to be there.

Here is Laura being Professor Trelawney.

Nancy.

The girls around the table.

We had a great time. Thanks to Laura for hosting it.
Now, I just need to go see the movie.

Hot Cross Buns

Kathy posted some video of Eve getting her groove on.

Check it out HERE.

Nancy also posted about some goings on that involve our family.

Not anything that important though...only Russell's birthday. Check it out HERE.

I just haven't been in the blogging mood lately. I guess if I wait long enough, my sister's will cover everything for me.

So, go and check out the links and then come back here and comment on them. I assume all of my faithful readers care enough to follow the links and take time to comment on my life, as told by other bloggers. I bet none of you have anything better to do, so just go ahead.