Shake Your Booty

I have to preface this video or you won't really get it.
When I was about Paige's age (maybe younger I can't remember exactly) I would go into my sisters room and turn her radio on. It didn't matter what song was on, I would sing "Shake Your Booty". Ok kids, I spent my first 5 years stuck in the 70's so many of you won't know the song, it's by KC & The Sunshine Band. Anyway...I apparently had heard it somewhere and that's the song I would sing. So I thought mom, dad, and Donna especially would get a kick of Paige singing it. I would sing it to the kids when drying them off after a bath and Paige has been the only one to pick it up and sing it on a regular basis. So there it is, my legacy. A shake your booty fest for the ages. Maybe she'll pass it on when she's a mom.
The video isn't very long and please disregard the messy bed, we were in the middle of laundry when she started singing it.

Cake Class

I finally finished my cake class. It's been a long time coming, but I did it! I'm really excited about it too. I've been doing cakes just on my own for a while now, kind of teaching myself as I went. I'm really glad to have this formal training behind me now. Here's what I've done. So if you need a cake feel free to call! hahahahahaha

I did this one at a Relief Society class before my Wilton class began.

this was my first cake. Shaped pan, not sure how much of a fan I am of these. But it was fun. The kids picked out the colors for it.

This one I used a pattern to make the rainbow. My poor little clowns are so sad looking. They fell over. My icing wasn't stiff enough and it was incredibly humid that day. I just said that they were tired from performing! ha!

My final cake. I really like this one. It's my favorite of all the cakes. My instructor suggested I put the babie's names on it since they were so excited to have it home. The blue roses are for BYU's opening game tonight.

Cook With Your Kids.....PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!

Safety Tips for Cooking with Kids
Combined from the California Department of Health & Penn State Cooperative Extension

One of the best ways to teach food safety is to practice it—and to be vocal about why it is being practiced. This needs to begin as soon as the child is aware of and is taking an interest in food (beyond throwing it!).

1. Prevent food poisoning by:
• always washing hands before cooking.
• not eating raw eggs or raw meats.
• waiting until the food is cooked before sampling it. Do not sample uncooked foods.

2. Have children stand at the level of the activity. Use a stool if necessary.

3. Use cooking supplies that will not break (such as plastic measuring cups and stainless-steel bowls).

4. Use plastic knives or butter knives for cutting.

5. Provide constant supervision.
• Always watch children when they use knives, mixers, or the stove.
• Supervise the use of ovens, stoves, and other kitchen appliances.
• Remind children that stoves, ovens, pans, and dishes can be very hot.

Why you should LOVE cooking with your kids-it's learning in disguise!
From the Penn State Cooperative Extension

Most children learn quickly that eating is fun. They also enjoy helping adults cook. Put the two together and you have the perfect recipe for learning. Children learn best when they’re busy and interested in what they are doing.
When children are busy scrubbing, mixing, stirring, kneading, spreading, tossing, squeezing, and pouring, they don’t realize there’s a special ingredient that you’re adding: It’s called learning!

• Cooking involves reading and talking. There is much to talk about as a recipe is read, followed, and prepared.

• Children learn math skills through counting, measuring, and following step-by-step directions.

• Science is learned as children see how food changes during cooking. They learn about hot and cold, floating and sinking, dissolving, melting, and freezing.

• Good nutrition is encouraged through cooking. Seeing exactly what goes into a recipe helps children learn to make better decisions about the food they eat.

• Children can learn about and connect with other cultures as they prepare foods from various cultural groups.

• Thinking skills are developed as children learn to compare and make relationships in food preparation. If we use too much flour in our cookie recipe, the result is a dry, hard cookie. Proportions are easily mastered when children learn that if you double the ingredients in the cookie recipe, you get double the cookies.

• Social skills are practiced in cooking when children work together, take turns, and solve problems. Most importantly, self-esteem abounds when children prepare foods for themselves and others.

SO GET OUT THERE AND COOK WITH YOUR KIDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Cove

We had a ward activity last night. Hot dogss, chips, lemonade and desserts at the park and then swimming at the local watering hole a.k.a. The Cove. It really is a neat place. It's a giant wave pool with a small kiddie area (with a sunken ship slide) and 2 water slides. It's fairly cheap to swim there too. We've been a couple times this year and have really enjoyed it. Last night was no exception. Paige and Keegan had a ball. Seth unfortunately was unable to swim as he was in trouble. So he stayed out of the water and did homework. Poor guy.....
The ward had reserved it for an hour. So we made use of it.

Paige loved the slide. She giggled all the way down.

Keegan just loved being in the water.

all waterlogged and ready to go home!

Temples around the world

This is a neat temple slide show of all working temples. I tried to get it as a slide show on the blog but couldn't figure it out. So you'll just have to click here to watch it. Enjoy!

Seth + Emma = young love

For all who were wondering...yes Seth is still in love with Ms Emma from SLC. They talk just about every weekend and when they get ready to hang up they tell each other how much they love each other. This morning when they were hanging up and saying all the gooshy stuff, Dan commented that he didn't need syrup for his pancakes because the air in the kitchen was already so sticky sweet. Ug......he's only 6 and already has the ladies swooning!!!!

Sew-Tastic

So a few weeks ago we headed up to Tucson to get some fabric. I got a new sewing machine for my birthday and have been dying to use it. The fabric at Walmart here is less than desirable and since we don't go to Tucson very often, I haven't been able to use my machine. Well I started on a little jumper for Paige last week and decided to finish it after we came home from the Primary activity. I also decided to make jammie shorts for the boys. They picked out their fabric and were waiting on me to get it done. I spent all day yesterday working on them. I'm uber proud of myself and they seem to love their new clothes! Hooray for homemade!




Not too shabby for someone who hated the idea of sewing anything while growing up!!

Choose Your Own Adventure Primary Activity

We had a primary activity yesterday morning. The presidency set up a Choose Your Own Adventure type deal. It was a neat idea and seemed to go over well. There were various rooms set up with teachers reading different scenarios. The groups of kids then got to choose whether they would do the right thing or the wrong thing. If they chose the right then off to another room. If they chose the wrong then it was off to the Repentance Room. Luckily none of the kids had to go to the Repentance Room. Afterwards there was hot dogs, grapes and popsicles for all. Unfortunately lunch was served at 1030. So by lunch time everyone was hungry again. Maybe next time start a little later. Otherwise it was a fun morning. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Since Dan and I are Sunbeam teachers we both had rooms. Paige stayed with me.

More Park Action

We spent last Saturday at the park. It was a good day to go. There were hardly any people there. That is until we got there and then everyone decided to show up. But we had a great time and everyone enjoyed themselves! I really like this park, have I mentioned that before????? LOVE IT!!

Just Cook This

One of my favorite channels is Discovery Health Channel. I have sick fascination with all the doctor shows. So it was no surprise one afternoon I found myself headed in that direction. When I discovered one of the greatest cooking shows. It's called JUST COOK THIS. The guy does it out of his own kitchen and it's not scripted in any way. It's really fun to watch him and the food he makes is seriously so good looking that I find it hard to not lick the screen. IF you get a chance check it out. It comes on Tuesdays at 1pm (PST). I HIGHLY recommend it!

Click here for a sneak peek

nighttime play and rainbows

The other night it was so nice we decided to play outside after dinner. Here are some pics...

nope-paige doesn't like to wear clothes at all.

i'm not sure what was going through keegan's mind here, interesting face he's making!

once again, just thought the night sky cloud formation was pretty.

We also got a glimpse of a pretty rainbow. Since we had talked about Noah and the ark and the promise that Heavenly Father made with the rainbow for FHE, I just had to point it out and then of course attempt to take pictures of it.

Saying Goodbye

When we first arrived to AZ, Seth was very unhappy about switching schools and moving. But he was lucky enough to meet a boy in his new class and they became instant friends. Well they are now moving. His dad is border patrol and they got a new assignment..........to Maine. They are leaving today. Seth is pretty upset about it. But both have promised to write and i'm sure they'll remain friends for a long time! We'll miss you guys!!!!!

not sure what the hand signs are all about but hey, they're 6.....

her way of saying goodbye to Keegan.

That just stinks

I saw this on Yahoo entertainment news.....ug and let me tell you...it just stinks.

By DAVID GERMAIN, AP Movie Writer

LOS ANGELES - It's summer school for Harry Potter.

"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," the sixth installment in the blockbuster film franchise about boy wizard Harry, is moving from its planned Nov. 21 release to July 17, 2009, distributor Warner Bros. said Thursday.

The move was made to take advantage of an open weekend in Hollywood's busy summer season, said Alan Horn, Warner Bros. president and chief operating officer. The film had been on schedule, and the change was not due to any production snags, he said.

"The picture is completely, absolutely, 100 percent on schedule, on time. There were no delays," Horn told The Associated Press. "I've seen the movie. It is fabulous. We would have been perfectly able to have it out in November."

The switch will mean a two-year lag between the film adaptations of books five and six in J.K. Rowling's fantasy series. But it will shorten fans' wait between "Half-Blood Prince" and the final two installments, which are being shot simultaneously next year.

Based on book seven, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the last two movies are due out in close order, in November 2010 and summer 2011. Horn said the later release of "Half-Blood Prince" will not affect the schedule for the final two movies.

Horn said the studio has had success with past summer "Harry Potter" releases, including the fifth movie, which was released in 2007 and became the second-highest grossing in the franchise.

The recent Writers Guild of America strike also had affected Hollywood's lineup in next summer, leaving a key date open for Warner to slot in "Half-Blood Prince," Horn said.

The July 17 release will be over the same weekend that Warner debuted this year's blockbuster "The Dark Knight," which had a record-breaking opening weekend and is on its way to $500 million domestically and the No. 2 spot on the all-time box-office charts behind "Titanic."

"Half-Blood Prince" finds Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) returning to his wizard classes with a clandestine assignment to root out dark secrets about the early years of his archenemy, the dark Lord Voldemort.

Now I have to rearrange my calender for that night....I was hoping to be at the theater but NNNNOOOOOO Hollywood has to go and screw around with one of the few times I get to go to a theater sans kids.....it's just not right.

I posted some new recipes on my food blog. I hope you are able to check them out.

http://www.yum-otum-o.blogspot.com

Paige is 2

I can't believe that Paige is already 2. She has changed so much over the last 2 years and I can't imagine our little family without her. She is such a wonderful little girl. Very happy and loving.

Since we still don't know a whole lot of people here with kids her age and our families are scattered all over, we decided not to have a party for her. We just celebrated with us. So half of it was on her birthday and then we went out to eat tonight for it. She loved all her little presents!!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAIGE! WE LOVE YOU!!!!