100...

...that's how many days are left until I turn 30. Yikes! Most of you know that I've always really liked my birthdays and since this is a big one, I'm starting the celebration early. I made a list of 30 things I want to do before I turn 30. In no particular order, they are:

1. Go skiing - Water or snow, I don't really care which.
2. Run a race - I'd like to say win a race, but at the pace I workout these days, that isn't very likely. Unless it was the Wellsville Mile with the 5th graders. Actually, my 5th grade self could beat my 29-year-old self, so I probably wouldn't even win that. (In defense of my 29-year-old self, I was a very fast 5th grader).
3. Make Baked Alaska - I had it ten years ago on a cruise with my family and it was delic. I hear it's hard to make so that should be a good challenge for me.
4. Try I-Fly or the indoor surfing at the Solomon Center - Surfing sounds funner, but I'm a terrible swimmer with very little coordination, so maybe I should stick with jumping. I can do that.
5. Do a handspring - Preferably land on my feet.
6. Go fly-fishing - Bonus points if I catch a fish.
7. Try tofu - Technically re-try tofu since I ate it at the World's Fair in 6th grade. It was not yummy. I'm willing to give it a second chance, but don't worry, I'm waaaay too much of a steak lover to go vegetarian. If anyone knows of a good recipe, let me know.
8. Go to a concert - Probably with my baby sis since my husband likes Michael Buble and I don't.
9. Make a snow angel - I better hurry on this one - thankfully our snow is starting to melt.
10. Play sand volleyball. Anyone up for a game? It would be best to play with people.
11. Read "Walden Pond."
12. Write a poem - This one may be interesting.
13. Watch an old John Wayne Western in memory of my Grandpa Max.
14. Climb a mountain - Doesn't have to be very tall - most likely won't be.
15. Go golfing - Real golfing, miniature doesn't count.
16. Look at Saturn in my telescope - I've found it before and think it's incredible.
17. Go on a canoe ride.
18. Ride my bike at the ranch.
19. Grow an unusual plant in my garden - Unusual is relative and since I usually stick to the basics, this could be any number of things.
20. Sleep under the stars.
21. Grind my own wheat to make wheat bread - Shouldn't be too hard to find some wheat - Dad?
22. Make a skirt for myself - And wear it.
23. Attend a yoga class.
24. Climb a tree.
25. Get a massage.
26. Memorize "The Living Christ" - Quite possibly the most difficult one on the list, but I need to do it now before I get old and lose my memory!
27. Jump rope.
28. Go shopping AND try on the clothes before buying them. Let's just say not all mediums are created equal and stupid vanity sizing seems to trip me up now and then.
29. Watch the sunrise.
30. Roast marshmallows over a campfire.

And that's all folks. Wish me luck! If you're tempted to join me in any of these adventures, let me know - I'd love a little company!

Swimsuits and Nostalgia

This is my Annie.

That is her swimsuit - her choice.

That is also her sippy filled with hot chocolate and marshmallows (because I'm an awesome mom).

And yes, that is the doorway jumper she outgrew a year ago. She found it in the closet last night and pulled it out for old-times sake.

Nostalgia must be the emotion du jour around here - I pulled out my old yearbooks last night and read for two hours. Floyd's gone for the week (Louisiana, but NOT Mardi Gras - Bourbon Street on a Wednesday night in September was too much for him). He wrote the sweetest thing in my yearbook - it made me want to be young again. Seeing how happy my little Anners is in her swimsuit makes me want to be young again too - I don't love mine quite so much.

Viva Las Vegas!

Two Airline Tickets - $230
Dinner for Two at Mandalay Bay - $65
Two Roller Coaster Rides - $28
Two Fares on "The Deuce" - $14
Shopping trip at Townsquare Las Vegas - Um, never mind - let's not remind my husband
Three Days Alone with My Husband - Priceless
Watching all the Las Vegas Crazies - Eek! Scary.

Winter Fun

The kids and I had a lot of fun making this green stegosaurus out of all the snow we got last week (about 18" by Saturday - good grief!).


It reminded me of the time my Grandpa Max made a green dinosaur (or was it a dragon?) for us when I was a little girl, so I looked through some old pictures to try and find a picture of it. No luck. But, I did find some other pictures that reminded me of all the fun we had when we were kids.
This is me and my sis Kelli in a big pile of snow and dirt. Occasionally, my dad gets a tad carried away while removing snow with his tractor. My mom learned long ago not to plant any perennial plants along the driveway.


Here is Grandpa Max pulling my mom and two kids on an old wooden sled. (I really am not sure which two kids they are - me and Kelli? Kelli and Traci? Me and Gina? Who knows.) Those sleds don't seem to safe to me. I'm glad for the plastic kind.

Speaking of not very safe...um, what were our parents thinking? I'm not sure which one is me in this picture...probably the one behind Jake (the only boy in the picture - my grandparents had 10 granddaughters before he was born).


I'm in the purple stripes for this one. Lovely snowmen. Not sure if the sun was in my eyes or if I'm trying to make the peace sign. Mostly, I'm just lovin' the moon boots.

Wintertime was made for kids. I'll try to remember that this week when I bundle mine up for the 9000th time this winter.

Little Song Bird

Annie has started singing this past week. So far she has two songs. One is sang while rocking her babies and goes, "baby, da da da, baby, la, da, da, baby..." The other one is sang while she accompanies herself on the piano and goes, "De-sus, De-sus, De-sus." Very sweet.



It reminds me that I once wrote a song too - it went, "Cats, they're bad. Cats, they suck. I want to kill all the cats..." I think Annie might have me as far as songwriting goes. Hers are much sweeter.

Ice Skating

My hometown decided to make an ice rink this year. It is quite a popular place to be! We rounded up all our old skates and headed up. We didn't have any small enough for Annie, which is just as well. An 18-month-old walking on the ice is crazy enough. Cole skated/walked around for a bit. His favorite parts were falling (good thing since it happened frequently) and being dragged around. After a while, his feet hurt so he put on his boots and played in the snow with his cousin. Grandma and Aunt Kelli took the babies home after a bit and I stayed with the oldest three crazies. They would have stayed all night, but luckily Cole needed a bathroom break after about an hour and a half. It was fun and although I don't really hope the weather stays cold, I do hope we get to go again this winter.

Cole is related to his dad - never gets cold. Not really a good match with me who is cold after about five minutes. It was quite impressive for me to make it for over an hour. Probably the longest ice skates have stayed on my feet my entire life

This is Cole telling me "no more pictures." After I took the picture, he told me again - not so nicely.

Family Night

My husband has a hidden talent. Well, not so hidden anymore since I'm sharing it. He gives great family night lessons. Here's how this past Monday went:

While on the train home from work, Floyd received a call from me reminding him it was his week to teach. That means I'm in charge of treats. Actually, it turns out I'm always in charge of treats. Just as well, I'm very good at treats. He came home, we ate dinner, and then I said, "are you ready for the lesson?" He, very nonchalantly said, "Yeah." When I teach a lesson, I come armed with props and games. He had nothing, and I was suspicious, but we gathered anyway. Always an entertaining gathering with the kiddo's involved. It started with Cole giving me a prize for saying, "Welcome to Family Night everyone." He gives a prize to whoever conducts. I have no idea why. After I received my prize, I said, "Now we'll have a song, Cole what song would you like to choose?" I said that mostly out of routine as Cole chooses Called to Serve every week. But Floyd surprised me by saying, "Can you play All Creatures of Our God and King?" Now I was very suspicious. What an obscure song to choose. Not that I don't like it, I do, I just found it a little odd.

I played the song, with copious pauses for Floyd to whisper the words to Cole. Then it was time for the lesson. Floyd started by saying "Cole, our lesson this week is about a word you might never have heard before. Do you know what praise means?" And that was that, an entire family night lesson about praise. Not a topic I ever would have come up with. I stick with the basics - baptism, obedience, tithing (that was a flop), Joseph Smith, etc. No props, no pictures, no cartoons, just Floyd talking about praise and what it means. And it was great. I won't try to duplicate it here as I can't talk about it nearly as poetically as he did. Suffice it to say that I was really touched and know that Cole probably now knows more about praise and how we can praise our Heavenly Father than most people who will read this. I'm still thinking about the lesson two days later and I'm pretty sure Floyd's never been thinking about some cute little picture I had Cole color two days later.

When he sticks to the basics, he outshines me as well. A couple of weeks ago, he taught about baptism and colored all over a white paper towel with a washable marker. Then, he dipped the towel into the water to symbolize how baptism makes us clean. Later that night while getting ready for bed, Cole took a wad of toilet paper and threw it into the sink while brushing his teeth. Floyd and I were a bit annoyed until Cole explained, "but Dad, I was just showing you baptism." Clearly, he paid attention and will remember that lesson.

Floyd noted that one way we can praise Heavenly Father is by developing our talents, so I've been thinking about that and what talents I have neglected. I've also been thinking about his talents and how grateful I am that he shares his talent of teaching the gospel with our little family.