Sunday Reflection

I am filled with so much love today--there are so many people around me that I care so much about, yet I know I don't show it or say it enough. I came across this message and thought I'd pass it along. The truth drives deep into the soul. Let us choose love over anger. Love heals. Love enlightens. Love is eternal.

Huh?

My baby sister is serving a LDS mission in the Philippines right now. Being the sweet, generous person that she is, she sent a slightly bulky letter to my family a few weeks ago. Inside were 3 tiny packets probably measuring 1" x 2". Inside were mini beads. She said these were all the rage in the Philippines and the kids will love them. The front of the package reads "Seven Color Crystal Boll". I turned over the package to read the directions. I think the first person to decipher what it is I am supposed to do should get a big, fat prize! This is EXACTLY what is written:

product use information:
1. add water 400G on the product, about 4 hours it will grow up.
2. one clear beauty satiety face will grow up.
3. when the flower want to oxygen and nutrition, I will help you too much.

Not only did it leave me and Todd scratching our heads, but we laugh with every letter and every phone call from her because her broken English sounds just like the above directions.

Well, needless to say, we figured it out. Below is about 2 hours into the process.


The final product. They grew at least 10x their original size; and they are squishy, gel-like balls. And, yes, my kids do enjoy playing with them!



We are in the process of trying to dry them out because we heard they can be used and reused, hydrated and dehydrated. We shall see. Thanks Lace!

Catching up

Whew, I feel like it has been a whirlwind at my house the last few weeks since school has started. We've been busy and the blog feels neglected, so hold on to your seats for lots of pictures and a chronological catch-up.

Mid-August Kendra had a summer dance concert and did fab in her two numbers. This is a picture of her with her good friend Ella. Aren't those dresses beautiful? Rental--even better! Great job Steph!



August 20 was the first day of school. The girls were so excited to get back to school. We all walked together the first day and the cougar mascot was there, with "Mission Impossible" music blasting, to greet everyone. The first picture adequately shows the new length of Alli's hair, from the 6 inches we cut off of it the day before! She loves it and it sure makes my life a heck of a lot easier! No tangles baby!






The first weekend after school started, we took a family camping trip with Todd's family. Between wedding planning and summer activities we hadn't been able to get together much, so it was a much-needed, very relaxing (scratch that, camping is NOT relaxing!) getaway. We went to Ephraim canyon where there was a little pond just steps away from our campsite and the kids had a ball catching fish, skipping rocks and playing in the mud. Man, did they get dirty! I couldn't stand it any longer, so that's why Saturday night I filled up a cooler with warm water (isn't that the oxymoron?!) and bathed the boys. Colby wasn't sure about it, but Drew loved it! Other highlights included, but were not limited to, hiking, playing games, making bottle rockets out of Alka-Seltzer and film canisters, water fights, making crafts with the kids, wrestling with Uncle Dave (the kids did), enormous flying black bugs with 4-inch antennae (Todd says this is an exaggeration, but I think not), Dutch oven cooking, homemade ice cream in a bag, campfires and of course, s'mores. We had a great time and here's proof:



Last Monday we decided to take a little hike up American Fork Canyon for FHE. We are so close, yet we don't utilize the beautiful canyon enough. We had driven, hiked and were back home getting ready for bed all within an hour. We love the outdoors and we had a great time.



Kendra planted a cabbage near the end of the school year and it grew, and grew, and grew over the summer. I've never harvested cabbage before so I was unsure when to pick it. Consequently I will take the blame for it splitting, being eaten by numerous bugs and eventually going bad, BUT it was fun to see how big it got. Needless to say, we won't be eating it.



After MUCH anticipation, Andrew FINALLY started preschool last week. I swear he asked every day of the summer if it was time to start preschool. He has had a great time his first two days and hopefully his teacher can teach him his letters more effectively than I can. I have tried and tried, but it just won't stick with him!




Friday I went with my sisters and Mom to Park City for a ladies getaway. We had a great time laughing and having some great food (LOVE Bangkok Thai!) and going to Swiss Days Saturday. There were way too many people there, but it is always fun to go and see what the vendors have. Everyone but me got a bratwurst sandwich with sauerkraut and pickles (doesn't that sound disgusting?) and Ki even asked for extra kraut! The pregnancy hormone in her necessitates some strange things I guess.




While I was away (thanks Jana for watching the boys!), Todd was at a Father/Daughter campout with the girls. Sounds like they had a great time dancing, chasing the "candyman" and watching chick-flicks. They took lots of silly pictures. Here are a few: