Allison's Wonderland

Happy Mother's Day

2010-05-09T14:44:00.000-07:00

The men in my life!

It is a privilege to be your wife and mother!

Happy Halloween

2009-11-13T15:44:00.001-08:00

We had a fun Halloween! I found an cute little dragon costume for Colin, so (with mom's help) I made a knight in shining armor costume for Isaac. We went to our ward party on Friday night and to Michal and Jared's annual Halloween party on Saturday. We even managed to get Isaac away from the train table long enough to go trick or treating at three or four neighbor's houses.

Fun with Family

2009-10-16T14:55:00.000-07:00

I have had the pictures for this post uploaded for a month now, but I can't seem to get around to writing the post.

We will call it a nearly wordless Wednesday (since it is actually Thursday and I am using some words).

Grammy and Grandpa Ferkin and Forest and Paige's family came out to visit the week we blessed Colin. We used the opportunity to do some of the sight-seeing things that we have never done in our area.

On Friday we rafted (all but Colin and I) on the American River, and picnicked at one of the American River Parks. On Saturday, we went out to the Jelly Belly Factory for their tour, and had our "dance party". On Sunday after Colin's blessing, we enjoyed family with a big dinner, and (or course) a game of Settlers.

Thanks for coming!

p.s. Apple Hill Season is coming. Who whats to come see us next month?

Happy Birthday Flint!

2009-08-23T19:51:00.000-07:00

Thanks for being such a wonderful husband

and fun hands-on daddy.

I love you, and am a lucky girl to have you for eternity.

Colin Smiles!

2009-08-11T15:57:00.000-07:00

Now it is Colin's turn to preform.

And just in case you want to see more of the same thing...

P.S Isaac thinks it is hilarious when try to get Colin to smile. Whenever we start talking in silly voices and saying, "Give me a smile, come on, give me a smile..." he giggles like crazy!

My little Dancer

2009-08-11T11:52:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago when Isaac's cousins came to visit we had an impromptu dance party in our front room. Forest had created several family slide shows set to music that we were watching on our TV. When the music changed from a slow soft song to one with a beat Isaac, Emily and Noah got up and started to dance. Emily decided that it needed to be a dance contest and put on her show with all her serious moves. After each song she asked us, "Who won? Who won?" Isaac was encouraged by the fact that not only did he have a couple dance partners, but he defiantly had an audience. He pulled out some pretty good moves himself. :) Watch out ladies!

Here is a quick slide show of some of the moves that I caught on camera.

Here is one of the videos that I caught of the event. Unfortunately, the lighting in the room was kind of dim and my video camera is low quality so the picture is pretty grainy. Plus, I have to apologize in advance to Emily. I am afraid that I was focusing on Isaac and often cut off her head and miss some of her dancing.

Let me know in your comments who you think "Won" the dance off. I'll be sure to let Emily know.

Oh how I love a sleeping baby!

2009-07-31T23:08:00.001-07:00

At first it seems like all they do is sleep. Sometimes during the first week I wondered if Colin would ever open his eyes. He even closed his eyes when he was awake or eating.

Those rare awake and alert times were precious, and we got out the camera to capture the moment. Hey look! He's awake!

Now at 6 weeks, I am afraid that he has forgotten how to sleep!

I feed him, I burp him, I bounce him, I rock him, he falls asleep. I put him down in bed... and in about 5-10 minutes...

(This is just a picture of some tummy time, but the sequence was right.)

I get him up, I check to see if he still has a bubble, I try to give him a pacifier, I check his diaper, I rock him, I bounce him, I pat him on the back, he goes to sleep... and the sequence starts over again.

Most of the time during the day, I just give up trying to put him down in his bed and strap him into the Moby. (THANK YOU ERIKA!) I strap him to me, and he fall right to sleep so I can do the dishes or cook dinner.

Or, if I'm really lucky...

Nana comes over and rocks him while he sleeps and I can work unencumbered.

But when he finally gives up an goes to sleep and stays asleep...

That's right, I get out the camera to capture the moment. Hey look! He's asleep!

I love you Colin! Especially when I decide to give in, let the dishes go, and just take the to cuddle you.

Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-04T11:07:00.000-07:00

Boys!!!!

2009-06-27T16:15:00.000-07:00

What is it with boys and weapons? I swear, Isaac watches shows like Cars, Toy Story, Baby Einstein, and Signing time. Not Transformers, Star Wars, or other shoot-em-up movies that older boys seem to love. But, he knows just what to do with a sword or light saber. Every stick becomes a gun/sword type weapon, with sound effects included.

In May we went to Southern California for an unofficial Ferkin Family Reunion. Isaac and Fawn's boys found a couple of Grammies swords and the battles began. I am afraid that when Isaac starts swinging, you have to be quick to defend yourself or you'll get whacked. Owen was usually the only cousin who was up to the challenge.

Watch out! This kid is all boy!

Well at least until you get the doll out.

Colin's Second Day

2009-06-24T17:33:00.001-07:00

I decided to try a short slide show on RockYou!.com since it is such an easy program to use (uploads really quickly, I already know how to use it, etc.). I hadn't used it in several months and hoped that the glitch that brought up some girl and her boyfriend's slide show instead of mine would be somehow fixed by now. Unfortunately, the glitch has not been fixed.

I guess I will be finding a new slid show sight for sharing the rest of my pictures. For now, here is the link, where you can see a few random pictures we took in the hospital room, pictures of Colin's "waiting for dad to bring the car around photo shoot", and his welcome home "Birthday" party. (The link works, I just can't get my slid show embedded in the post.)

http://www.rockyou.com/show_my_gallery2.php?source=ppsl&instanceid=139603743

So many pictures so little time!

2009-06-21T15:55:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted more about Colin and our new family of four.

Here is one to hold you over till I can either create a slide show or find the patience to upload more to blogger. (This picture is proof that I can take a bad picture. :) I just cut myself out of them when I do.

Rain and Lemons!

2009-02-13T16:23:00.000-08:00

I know, I have been totally lame about posting. I have been too busy living through a terrible hacking cough cold, and reading about Evan and the 31 Dates of course. If you haven't, start reading!

The weekend before I got hooked on 31 Dates, and the weekend that I got my cold, Flint, Isaac and I took a trip down to Southern California. Flint had his company's 2008 awards banquet in Anaheim on Saturday, but we decided that since we were going to drive down, we might as well add a couple days on each side of that event to visit with Family and give Nanna, Grammy and Grandpa a chance to play with Isaac. Let's face it, they don't really want to see us anymore. The cute little (but quickly growing) grand kid is all they are interested in.

Forest also blogged about our lemon harvest, but since I had a few more pictures I thought that I would add pictures to his post.

We love all lemon juice, but the real fun was getting together with Great Grandparents Ferkin and Forest's family for the harvest.

Winter Colds

2009-02-03T22:11:00.001-08:00

I was on the computer the other day and looked up to Isaac at the door, trailing toilet paper behind him. I asked him what he was doing and he started blowing his nose on it. As if to let me know that he was not playing around, he was just cleaning up his face. (I guess he learned a thing or two during this winter cold season.)

He was being so cute both Flint and I were laughing our heads off at him as we took pictures.

He realized that he was causing our laughter and started acting silly for the camera.

Where did you get that tissue anyway? Uuu ohhh, am I going to get in trouble now?

At least he stayed out of the toilet water.

Fun at the Griffith Park Observatory

2009-01-06T14:17:00.000-08:00

We spent our Christmas holiday with both Flint's family and my family down in LA. While we were there the weather was beautiful. Well it did rain one day, but when it cleared away, so did all of the smog. The sky was crystal clear! We could see all the way to Catalina, the Hollywood sign and the snow capped mountains. Flints brothers got out to enjoy the weather by going on a mountain bike adventure which looked like a lot of fun, but a little too much exertion for our lazy behinds. We opted to take a scenic drive up to the Griffith Park Observatory to see LA's panoramic views.

Unfortunately, most of LA was on the same wavelength as we were, because Griffith Park was Packed! Not just the observatory but the entire mountain. The road up to the top was a slow stop and go mess. People were grabbing any parking spot that they could find. Even if it meant that they would have a mile or so to hike before reaching the observatory. Flint and I, who were in the van with Evan, Stu and Malia REALLY lucked out. We were nearly to the top, and doubting that we were ever going to find a parking spot, when the car parked right in front of us pulled out! We parked, walked to the observatory, and played around on the lawns, waiting for Michal's family and Mom (in a van about 10 min. behind us) to arrive. Stu broke out the rugby ball and he Evan and Malia kicked it around a bit.

Isaac couldn't believe his luck when we just put him down on the lawn and followed him as he wondered wherever he wanted. http://www.rockyou.com/show_my_gallery.php?source=ppsl&instanceid=130186882 (I even created a new account and am still getting someone else's slide show when I try to embed it into the blog. oh well)

Michal finally called to let us know that the parking enforcement had turned them away because the lot/hillside was so full, so they just had to turn around and go home! Sorry Michal! (If it is any consolation it was freezing up there! At least 20 degrees or more colder than in town.)

We decided to take a quick look around inside, and then spent some time enjoying the sunset and taking pictures before we left.

I guess if I had realized how many pictures I would be taking before I left the house, I would have put a little more effort into my hair and make-up, and defiantly would have asked Flint to shave and brush his hair. Oh well, I guess you can tell this way that we were on vacation.

Isaac's smile is courtesy or Stu and Evan, who stood behind and did the Haka. It is a dance meant to intimidate, but their version makes Isaac laugh out loud.

We even got some pictures of Isaac sticking his tongue back at them.

I admit that for us, who lucked out with a great parking spot, the trip was defiantly worth while. (I'm pretty sure that Michal and her van full of people would not agree.) LA is rarely so clear and beautiful. I would have much rather fought the crowds on a clear day, than had the place to myself on a smoggy day. I guess that is why they have a laser light show inside; for those smoggy days.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-29T22:51:00.000-08:00

I copied Erika and Tyler's Christmas card design and created a card to send out to all of my far-away friends and relatives.

Unfortunately, the only people who ended up getting a card were the people that I saw face to face and handed them to. Sorry!

At least it is a step in the right direction. This is the first year every that I have even attempted to send out a Christmas card. Next year, I'll just plan on it and get an earlier start. (I hope...)

Merry Christmas and Happy 2009!

Love, Flint, Alli, Isaac, and our June Baby!

Merry Christmas, I'm finally blogging about Halloween

2008-12-10T22:33:00.000-08:00

OK, so I've been a slacker, but I kind of have an excuse... About a month ago, I made a long slide show, complete with captions, of Halloween pictures. I was finished and in the process of saving the show when Isaac found the power button on my computer, and figured out that he could press it in. When I found the time to go back and try again, I discovered that no matter how I saved my show, it always displayed as a show created by someone else... I told myself that I would figure it out and post later, but after the frustration, it was always easier to find other things to do.

Anyway, I had kind of figured that I had lost my window of opportunity, since we are deep into the Christmas season already, but ScrapChairPotato did a Halloween, etc. post today! If she can do it, so can I.

Here is my little chicken wandering the cultural hall at our ward party.

The party was fun, but the confusion in the room was a little much for him.

He preferred playing with the decoration in my "trunk-or-treat" room.

On Halloween night, we went to the party at Michal's house, and he felt much more at home.

At first he was still more interested in playing with or eating the decorations.He thought that the decorative corn was pretty cool (appropriate for a chicken), but the ladybug would have been more impressed by flowers.
The party was wonderful, as usual. Lots of food, friends and fun.
Daddy even took the night off to join in on the fun.

Daddy tried to take Isaac trick-or -treating, but Issac was still more interested
in the corn cob then the candy.

My favorite thing of the evening was the homemade root beer that accidentally
(overactive dry ice) froze into root beer slush.

Henry (The Dread Pirate Roberts) liked the cauldron full of trick-or-treating candy.

What? Candy?

Don't worry, Papa with share his candy.
And Bronwen with share her milk.
Then you can kick back in your chicken coop for a while.

I didn't get my camera out when Becky and the cousins were there.
But I got the other cousins to pose for pictures.

Kimball was Dr. Howard Carter.
(He and Henry did tours of King Tuts tomb back in their room.)

Henry was a very serious Dread Pirate Roberts.

Ian was Peter Pan.

Bronwen was a ballerina - "Pli-e"

Jared was an 80's Rocker, who cooked our hot dogs and corn dogs to perfection.

Ian changed out of his costume into his cozy PJs early
to cuddle on the couch with Grammy and Papa.

and Isaac wished that Daddy hadn't had that last bowl of chili.
"Breath of fire."

All in all, it was a fun and successful Halloween.

I guess it is time to start decorating for Christmas!

Eat up!

2008-11-24T22:56:00.000-08:00

May you all enjoy your Thanksgiving turkey as much as Isaac enjoys his Ramen noodles...

...and penne with spicy red sauce!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We have nothing to be ashamed of...

2008-11-08T14:49:00.000-08:00

I got this letter in an e-mail and thought it was worthy of posting. I don't know if it was a letter to the editor, or just a letter to friends who may be confused by the craziness in the media regarding Proposition 8. Either way, he or she makes some very valid points that I wish more people would consider before condemning the LDS church of wrong-doing.

"Dear Friends,

In the aftermath of the recent election, we may find ourselves oddly on the defensive regarding our support for the Yes on Proposition 8 cause. Our young people have been especially subject to mean spirited comments by high school friends and teachers. We have nothing to be ashamed of. We did nothing wrong. In fact, we did everything that a civic minded American can and should do. I have put together a few facts that help me to appreciate our position better. For example:

1. Mormons make up less than 2% of the population of California. There are approximately 800,000 LDS out of a total population of approximately 34 million.

2. Mormon voters were less than 5% of the yes vote. If one estimates that 250,000 LDS are registered voters (the rest being children), then LDS voters made up 4.6% of the Yes vote and 2.4% of the total Proposition 8 vote.

3. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) donated no money to the Yes on 8 campaign. Individual members of the Church were encouraged to support the Yes on 8 efforts and, exercising their constitutional right to free speech, donated whatever they felt like donating.

4. The No on 8 campaign raised more money than the Yes on 8 campaign. Unofficial estimates put No on 8 at $38 million and Yes on 8 at $32 million, making it the most expensive non-presidential election in the country.

5. Advertising messages for the Yes on 8 campaign are based on case law and real-life situations. The No on 8 supporters have insisted that the Yes on 8 messaging is based on lies. Every Yes on 8 claim is supported.

6. The majority of our friends and neighbors voted Yes on 8. Los Angeles County voted in favor of Yes on 8. Ventura County voted in favor of Yes on 8.

7. African Americans overwhelmingly supported Yes on 8. Exit polls show that 70% of Black voters chose Yes on 8. This was interesting because the majority of these voters voted for President-elect Obama. No on 8 supporters had assumed that Obama voters would vote No on 8.

8. The majority of Latino voters voted Yes on 8. Exit polls show that the majority of Latinos supported Yes on 8 and cited religious beliefs (assumed to be primarily Catholic).

9. The Yes on 8 coalition was a broad spectrum of religious organizations. Catholics, Evangelicals, Protestants, Orthodox Jews, Muslims - all supported Yes on 8. It is estimated that there are 10 million Catholics and 10 million Protestants in California. Mormons were a tiny fraction of the population represented by Yes on 8 coalition members.

10. Not all Mormons voted in favor of Proposition 8. Our faith accords that each person be allowed to choose for him or her self. Church leaders have asked members to treat other members with "civility, respect and love," despite their differing views.

11. The Church did not violate the principle of separation of church and state. This principle is derived from the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which reads, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof . . ." The phrase "separation of church and state", which does not appear in the Constitution itself, is generally traced to an 1802 letter by Thomas Jefferson, although it has since been quoted in several opinions handed down by the United States Supreme Court in recent years. The LDS Church is under no obligation to refrain from participating in the political process, to the extent permitted by law. U.S. election law is very clear that churches may not endorse candidates, but may support issues. The Church has always been very careful on this matter and occasionally (not often) chooses to support causes that it feels to be of a moral nature.

12. Supporters of Proposition 8 did exactly what the Constitution provides for all citizens: they exercised their First Amendment rights to speak out on an issue that concerned them, make contributions to a cause that they support, and then vote in the regular electoral process. For the most part, this seems to have been done in an open, fair, and civil way. Opponents of 8 have accused supporters of being bigots, liars, and worse. The fact is, we simply did what Americans do - we spoke up, we campaigned, and we voted.

Hold your heads up high - you did a great job on this most important cause. We will have more opportunities in the future to participate in our democratic process. Let's remember the lessons learned and do an even better job next time.
These are my personal opinions and thoughts; any errors are mine and in no way reflect official Church policy or doctrine." (End quote)

Again, I am sorry that I don't have the source of this letter, other than the fact that it as "Apparently the written by a member of the Newbury Park stake." Regardless of the source, I enjoyed reading it and hoped you did too.

"And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved" (Matthew 10:22).

Preserving the Divine institution of Marriage

2008-10-13T10:24:00.000-07:00

I am taking a quick break from posting cute pictures of Isaac,

and cooking projects,

to talk about something that has been occupying my thoughts and time over the past couple months. Even though I am pretty sure that the only people who read my blog are family and friends who already know my opinion on Proposition 8,

I feel like I need to point out a few things that I have found out while researching the issue. I thought that I would post a few talking points that I collected from here and here, that we can bring up in our daily conversations. (I highly recommend reading both articles if you are interested in finding out more.)

Hopefully, this will help get the word out about the importance of a yes vote.

- Proposition 8 is about preserving marriage, it is not an attack on the gay lifestyle. We an have tolerance without condoning. (Just like cute little Scotty learned to do when watching Isaac attack his birthday cake.)

We can love someone while still maintaining and advocating our standards and beliefs.

As Elder Dallin H oaks has explained,

"Tolerance obviously requires a non-contentious manner of relating toward one another's differences. But tolerance does not require abandoning one's standards or one's opinions on political or public policy choices. Tolerance is a way or reacting to diversity, not a command to insulate it from examination."

- In California, the law provides for marriage-related benefits to be given to civil unions and domestic partnerships. Proposition 8 does not diminish these benefits. Proposition 8 does not diminish these benefits.

- While it may be true that allowing singe-sex unions may not immediately and directly affect all existing marriage, the real question is how it will affect society as a whole over time, including the rising generation and future generations. Unless Proposition 8 passes, California society will soon undergo a profound change in its basic understanding of marriage and family life. That will affect everyone in numerous ways.

- Legalizing same-sex marriage will affect a wide spectrum of government activities and policies, intended to ensure that there is no discrimination against same-sex couples. Over time, greater acceptance of nontraditional marriage will be demanded of all people. This could impact the ability of any religion to teach and practice its beliefs.

- In fact, some advocates of same-sex marriage are suggesting that tax exemption and benefits be withdrawn from any religious organization that does not embrace same-sex unions.

- Failure to pass Proposition 8 will hurt children. If gay marriage remains legal, public schools will be required to teach young children that there is no difference between gay marriage and traditional marriage. ("They are going to teach me what?")

Children will likely receive “age appropriate” information about sexual relations within heterosexual and homosexual marriages. Morality is taken completely out of the equation.

- Failure to pass Proposition 8 will hurt churches. The court’s decision will inevitably lead to conflicts with religious liberty and free speech rights. Society will become more and more hostile to traditional beliefs about morality, marriage and family. We can express genuine love and friendship for homosexual family members or friends without accepting the practice of homosexuality. However, speaking out against practices with which a church disagrees on moral grounds - including same-sex marriage- will be identified as abuse, "hate speech" and discrimination.

- The prospect of same-sex marriage has already spawned legal collisions with the rights of free speech and of action based on religious beliefs. For example, advocates and government officials in certain states already are challenging the long-held right of religious adoption agencies to follow their religious beliefs and only place children in homes with both a mother and a father. As a result, Catholic Charities in Boston have stopped offering adoption services.

- The people of California voted 61-39 to make traditional marriage the law. Four activist judges overreached their authority and have ignored the will of the people. Judges are appointed to interpret and uphold the law, not to make the law.

Please do your part in defending the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman. This is not about equality. It is a moral issue. We can't foresee all of the consequences if Proposition 8 fails, but we know enough to see that it is of profound importance to our religion and the future of our society that it succeeds.

"... the family is ordained of God. Marriage between a man and a woman is essential to His eternal plan. Children are entitled to birth within the bonds of matrimony, and to be reared by a father and a mother who honor marital vows with complete fidelity." (The Family: A Proclamation to the World)

Happy Birthday Isaac!

2008-10-11T11:29:00.000-07:00

Guess who is one year old!!!

We love you sweet Isaac and are so blessed to have you in our lives! Every age has been my favorite so far. I am excited to see what the next year brings.

(Yes, this is a random slide show, but it is supposed to be Isaac eating cake.)

I spent a long time on creating a birthday cake slide show, on Saturday, but when I went to post it, the code kept giving me this other persons show. Very strange and frustrating. I am working on making another one. But until then, I think that you can view the right show by going to this URL. I love technology.....

http://www.rockyou.com/show_my_gallery.php?source=ppsl&instanceid=124668767

First Pair of Shoes

2008-09-27T10:47:00.000-07:00

As the seasons change and it starts to get cooler, the transition from flip flops to "real" shoes takes some getting use to. For Isaac, as the seasons change and his walking skills advance, the transition from bare feet to any shoe at all takes a lot of getting use to .

(Here is Isaac in his new front facing car seat, on the way to the shoe store.)

We went to the Stride Right outlet store and got Isaac sized for new shoes last Saturday afternoon. She originally told us that we should get him a 6 1/2 wide, so that he would have some growing room. We found a pair and put them on his feet, but they were ridiculously big. The poor boy kept stepping on his own toes as he attempted to walk across the floor. I didn't get a video of that first attempt because I was to busy catching him as he fell down, over and over.

We decided that we should try the 6W and found that there was still plenty of growing room, but not as much "tripping surface". They were a little brown boot, with a fairly stiff sole. Here he is trying to walk in them. They are a little better...but he does keep tripping over himself.

Even though we knew he would get use to walking in them eventually, be decided to look for something that was a little more flexible. We found a cute little pair of flexible tennis shoes for him. Here is his maiden voyage. He still needs to get use to them, but he did much better this time. (He did have a little extra motivation, there were some little girls in one of the isles around the corner that he really wanted to find.)

I can't believe how big he is getting. (Thanks Nana for the early Birthbay gift!)

P.S. I took all of the video and pictures with my cell phone, since I left the real cameras at home. Hey, bad quality is better than nothing.

New Couch

2008-09-22T14:52:00.000-07:00

Yes, we did get a new couch. And, at my mom's request, here are some pictures of it for your viewing pleasure.

When we got married and were looking for free or inexpensive furniture, some friends in our ward gave use thier couches. They were hand-me-downs they had gotten from her sister when they had gotten married. They were actually in great shape for being hand-me-down, hand-me-downs. They served us well for the last three years, but for the last year, since we moved into our house, I have been looking for and longing for something fresh and better suited for our new space. (P.S. I know the picture on the wall is too high, but it is just hanging on a existing nail. I haven't wanted to hang pictures, or buy a rug, etc. until I have the couches to match them to. Thank you to Richare and Myrna for the loaner rug in the mean time.)

I found a sectional at Becks Furniture at least 9 months months ago that was the size and shape that I wanted for the room. It was reasonably price but still more than I could justify spending when we had just added a mortgage and baby to our expenses. So I waited patiently and kept my eye on the sales.

Well last week two things happened. First, we got our "economic stimulus" check. Second, the exact couch that I have wanted went on sale at a local store called "Stupid Prices". It was a good three hundred dollars less than even Becks best sale price (and was still brand new in the factory shipping wrap, not an old floor model now for sale). We debated a bit and then jumped at our chance. We wanted to do our part at "stimulating the economy", right?

Plus, I can finally start decorating my living room. (Flint made a deal with me before we made the big purchase, that we could get them if I agreed to hang pictures on the wall during the next two weeks.)

Anyway, Flint and I love it, and Isaac thinks that it is pretty fun too!

Now for those pictures on the wall...Any suggestions?

Walking

2008-09-21T13:31:00.001-07:00

We got a DXG568 video camera this week, since the cell phone video just wasn't good enough. Maybe some day we'll fork out the money for a "real" video camera, but for now this is much better than anything we had. Plus, I can slip this one into my purse and have it whenever I need it. I played around with it on Saturday morning and got some clips of Isaac walking around the front room.

For the Grandmas who still want to see more, here is another clip. Maybe soccer is in his future?

Walkers

2008-09-16T16:47:00.000-07:00

After Isaac had been cruising around the furniture for a while I thught about getting him one of those baby walker toys that he could push around the house. He beat me to it when he discovered the rolly chair in the office. This video clip is from when he was just starting to use it.

Now he can do his own steering, and can even reverse. The chair starts out in the office, but lately he uses it to make his way around the house. (He is doing some walking without it, but he feels a lot more in control with his walker.)

He is pretty inventive. On Sunday I let him play in one of the low cupboards while I cooked. He found the rice cooker, pulled it out of the cupbord and started pushing it around the room like a walker too. It was so funny, I stopped to catch it on viedo.

(Stay tuned for unassisted walking video.)

Tagged - Who are You?

2008-08-22T10:10:00.000-07:00

1. Any nickname? Alli, Uncle Tom called me Sunny
2. Mother's name? Rhonda (Help me Rhonda...)
3. Favorite drink? Water (or Jamba Juice)
4. Tattoo? N0!!!
5. Body Piercings? One in each ear, but I rarely wear ear rings anymore.
6. How much do you love your job? Best job I've ever had. :)
7. Favorite vacation? Summers at Grandma's Cabin, or Hawaii
8. Favorite TV Program? Amazing Race (a new season starts Sept. 28th!!!)
9. Ever been to Africa ? Yes, Egypt (we hiked Mt. Sinai)
10. Ever eaten cookies for dinner? Yes. I wish I could say it had only been once.
11. Ever been on TV? I was in a children's choir that sang in a Made-for-TV Movie
12 . Ever steal any traffic sign? No. But we had a lost hubcap wall in one of our college apartments.
13. Ever been in a car accident? Only a fender bender in the seminary parking lot when I was 16. Thanks mom for cleaning that one up for me.
14. Drive a 2-door or 4-door vehicle? Flint drives my 2-door so that I can put the car seat in to the more convenient 4-door.
15. Favorite salad dressing? Orange or citrus Vinaigrette (or a homemade ranch)
16. Favorite pie? Boysenberry but last fall I discovered Apple/berry/sour cream pie with a crumb crust...yum!
17. Favorite number? 25 (I wish that I could have stayed 25 forever.)
18. All Time Favorite Movie? I can't choose. I really like the period movies like Pride and Prejudice and Wives and Daughters.
19. Favorite holiday? Christmas (probably one of those seasons where I would eat cookies for dinner. :)
20.Favorite dessert? hot, HOMEMADE cookies and milk
21. Favorite food? Fresh Mex
22. Favorite day of the week? Friday,Flint takes the night off and we get to go out.
23. Favorite Brand of Body Wash? no favorite
24. Favorite brand of toothpaste? Colgate Total
25. Favorite smell? Baking Bread (or any baked good for that matter...cookies, cakes, cinnamon rolls, pies....)
26. What do you do to relax? read (books, or blogs)
27. Favorite Sport? any sport where someone I know is playing. I love watching water polo.
28. How do you see yourself in 10 years? old
29. Furthest Place you will send this message?

This is another tag. I am just supposed to put an X after all of the things that I have done.

-Gone on a blind date: X (Way too many.)
-Skipped school: I don't think that I ever did unless my parents pulled me out for a vacation or Disneyland or something. Sad, I know.
-Watched someone die: no
-Been to Canada: X (Toronto and Niagara Falls)
-Been to Mexico: X (TJ and Puerto Vallarta)
-Been to Florida: X (Disney World)
-Been to the Caribbean: no, (but I've been to the Mediterranean)
-Been overseas: X (Study Abroad in Israel)
-Been on a plane: X
-Jumped out of a plane: no
-Been on a helicopter: no
-Been on a train: X
-Been lost: X (If anyone says that they have never been lost, they're lying.)
-Gone to Washington, D.C.: X -- 3 times
-Swam in the ocean - played in the ocean: X -- I love the ocean! I love to body surf and boggie board with all of the guys while the moms and other girls read on the beach
-Cried yourself to sleep: X (too many times)
-Played cops and robbers: X (I'm sure I did, but Star Wars was our game of choice growing up.)
-Recently colored with crayons: X (I was an elementary school teacher. I love crayons.)
-Sang Karaoke: X (Love it!)
-Paid for a meal with coins only: X
-Done something you told yourself you wouldn't: X (Especially when it comes to eating and sleeping in.) (refer to #10 above)
-Made prank phone calls: X (Ah, college days! (the boys dorm prank calls would crack us up)!
-Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose: X (Especially when I hung out with Heidi and Mikey, that Mikey is a crack-up)
-Caught a snowflake on your tongue: X -- Ah, college days!
-Danced in the rain: X -- Ah, college days!
-Written a letter to Santa Claus: Not that I can remember.
-Been kissed under the mistletoe: X
-Watched the sunrise with someone you care about or love: No, Flint wanted to propose to me while watching a sunrise. Instead he showed up at my house and made me breakfast in bed. (You have to get up early to watch the sunrise.)
-Blown bubbles: X (Who hasn't blown bubbles?)
-Gone ice-skating: X
-Gone snow or water Skiing: X (both, neither very successfully)
-Gone to the movies: X (but not for a long time. I average twice a year.)

There you go... If you are still reading, you know about 50 things that you never needed to know about me.

More Summer Food?

2008-08-18T17:38:00.001-07:00

Summer Fruit!

2008-08-18T14:21:00.001-07:00

Happy (Belated) 4th of July!

2008-07-31T14:34:00.000-07:00

Thanks to our Family Reunion, our 4th of July was filled with Family, Friends, Fireworks, Food,and Fun!

Three Fun Cakes

2008-07-28T12:38:00.000-07:00

During my trip to Utah this month I got to go and stay with Fawn and her family. We had a wonderful time together. We played some settlers, played in the yard with the boys, went to Wheeler Farm, watched Persuasion...and talked about cake! In fact after browsing through her beautiful cake books, we decided that we needed to make on, just for fun.

We made a yummy Banana Spice cake from the Cake Mix Dr. book. Then she taught me this fun and relatively simple decorating technique. Even the boys got involved (I love how seriously they work with their little ball of fondant). Thanks Fawn! You are amazing!

Since I've been home, I've been able to make two more fun cakes. Both of them are from, or at least inspired by, Debbie Brown's book 50 Easy Party Cakes.

First, I did a fairy princess cake for Catelyn's Birthday! It didn't turn out like the one in the book, but it was still cute, and she loved it!

We celebrated at an amazing new park nearby. I don't have any pictures of her with the cake, but I got some of the kids playing in the park.

On Friday Monica came over and we made a cake for Betty's birthday! It fun to work with Monica. We baked the cakes, made the fondant, colored the fondant, split and filled and decorated the cake all between 12:30 and 3:30. Not bad considering Flint came home for lunch during that time, and we were trying to keep BettyLou, Toby and Isaac entertained/happy while we worked.

I think that we did a better job entertaining Betty, than Toby and Isaac. :)

They were only entertained by the toys on the rug for part of the time.

In the end we were thrilled with how our little creation turned out. (Monica added the black licorice antennae when she got home.) Happy Birthday BettyLou!

100 Books

2008-07-25T17:11:00.000-07:00

Fawn posted this list on her blog.

It was said that the average adult had only read 6 of the 100 books listed (I‘d like to see the source of this statement). I’ve marked the ones that I‘ve read in bold. See how many you have read. Have you read more than 6?

1. Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (2 times)
2. The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte (3 times)
4. Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (most of them more then once)
5. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6. The Bible (Most of the Old Testament, all of the New Testament 3 times)
7. Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte (hated it)
8. Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9. His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10. Great Expectations - Charles Dickens (in school)
11. Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
12. Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy (On my “To-Read” list)
13. Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14. Complete work of Shakespeare (I’ve read Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Much A’do about Nothing, and The Taming of the Shrew)
15. Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16. The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17. Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18. Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger (in school, hated it)
19. The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger (couldn’t finish it)
20. Middlemarch - George Eliot
21. Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell (loved it)
22. The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald (in school)
23. Bleak House - Charles Dickens (On my “To-Read” list)
24. War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25. The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26. Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27. Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28. Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck (in school)
29. Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30. The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame (My mom read it as bedtime stories, I think)
31. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32. David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33. Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34. Emma - Jane Austen (2 or 3 times)
35. Persuasion - Jane Austen (I can’t believe I haven’t.)(On my “To-Read” list)
36. The Kite Runner - Khaled Hussein (On my “To-Read” list)
37. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
38. Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden (captivating, much better than the movie)
39. Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
40. Animal Farm - George Orwell
41. The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
42. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
43. A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
44. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins (great book!)
45. Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
46. Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
47. The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
48. Lord of the Flies - William Golding (in school)
49. Atonement - Ian McEwan
50. Life of Pi - Yann Martel
51. Dune - Frank Herbert
52. Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
53. Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
54. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
55. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
56. A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
57. Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
58. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
59. Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (On my “To-Read” list)
60. Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck (in school)
61. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
62. The Secret History - Donna Tartt
63. The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
64. Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas (I read it aloud to my brothers one summer.)
65. On The Road - Jack Kerouac
66. Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
67. Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fiedling
68. Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdi
69. Moby Dick - Herman Melville
70. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
71. Dracula - Bram Stoker
72. The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
73. Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
74. Ulysses - James Joyce
75. The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
76. Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
77. Germinal - Emile Zola
78. Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
79. Possession - AS Byatt
80. A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
81. Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
82. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
83. The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
84. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
85. A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
86. Charlotte’s Web - EB White (5 or 6 times; I taught 4th grade)
87. The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
88. Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
89. The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
90. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
91. The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
92. The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
93. Watership Down - Richard Adams (I think)
94. A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
95. A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
96. The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
97. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
98. Les Miserables - Victor Hugo (On my “To-Read” list)
99. Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton
100. Twilight series - Stephanie Myers (read them all, they were okay, kind of melodramatic)

So I guess that is 33 or 34 for me, and several on my "To Read" list. What about for you?

p.s. I just finished reading North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. She also wrote Wives and Daughters and Cranford, all three are BBC Masterpiece movies! If you like Jane Austen, you'll like her.

Flint's New Office

2008-07-02T11:48:00.000-07:00

Flint has a new office!

I have my house back! That is, now I don't have to tiptoe around the house all day so that I don't disturb him or interrupt a phone call. On the down side, I seem to have lost my husband. He has been putting in very long days. Most days he is gone for 12-14 hours! It is so strange to have him gone all the time when he used to be home. Hopefully he will be able to cut back a bit once he gets everything rolling.

Everything is going smoothly so far. We have the work stations/supplies/copier... all set up and organized, Hartford came out to do a launch and trainings, and Flint has hired 4 or 5 agents. It looks like his agency is off to a great start. Congratulations honey. Thanks for working so hard.

The men in my life...

2008-06-30T17:17:00.000-07:00

Aren't they cute!

Ready or not....

2008-06-30T17:12:00.000-07:00

Guess who has become mobile and very active?

I have to be really careful. For some reason he loves the bathroom and makes a b-line for it every time I forget and leave the door open. I'll take Erika's experience as a warning.

San Francisco!

2008-06-18T09:29:00.000-07:00

I am having a hard time motivation myself to post. I think it is because I have so many other blogs on my "reading list". By the time I finish reading and commenting on others, I have already spent way too long just sitting at the computer and either need to pay attention to my son, or my housework.

Tonight, I got Isaac down for the night and decided to not even check my Google Reader until I posted about our wonderful girls day in San Francisco. Michal's wonderful husband gave her an early birthday present, and I was one of the lucky few to benefit from it too! The limo picked us up around 9:30 a.m. and we were chauffeured into the city and around town all day! We enjoyed the drive so much that we didn't even notice the traffic, until our driver put down the window to comment on it. We were too busy girl talking, eating cranberry scones and chocolate dipped strawberries.

Isaac was the only baby that was allowed to come, and he was a star! I may have caught him letting out a couple "oh ladies!" sighs as all six of us stood around the bead carts and tried on jewelery, oohhhed and aahhhed, deliberated and debated... so many to choose from!

This one is perfect...oh, maybe I like this one better...
Should I get a bracelet and earrings to match?

"Do you like the orange with silver, the orange with black, or the orange with orange?"

We did catch him clapping and shouting for joy when we finally made our selections and decided that it was time to move on.

Only to stop 15 yards away to admire the cute little hand-made beanie hats.

What a good sport! (No, I didn't buy it.)

His favorite part of the day was dinner. He loved the spinach and cheese ravioli that I got, but he spent most of his time charming the servers!

How could you resit that smile? After about ten minutes of them standing behind us and making him smile (it was a small restaurant and we were right next to the open kitchen.) one of the waiters finally asked if he could pick him up.

He continued to charm them, as they held him and got him to laugh. They even gave him a little private tour of the kitchen.

"Oh, what's that? Dessert? Put me back down please!"

An amazing white chocolate, lemon tart.

And a decadent chocolate walnut tort.

"Thanks for sharing ladies! Happy Birthday Aunt Michal!"
"I'll wait for you at the jewelery booths anytime."
"Don't even think about putting me in another one of those silly hats!"

Another Isaac Slideshow

2008-06-04T21:23:00.000-07:00

Just another slideshow of our beautiful little guy.
Enjoy!

Watermelon

2008-06-04T08:13:00.000-07:00

Guess who loves watermelon? He feels so big to be able to hold the whole piece and gnaw on it with his two little teeth.

I don't have to worry about him eating too much and upsetting his little stomach because it seems like he likes the rind best!

Maybe it's because this is still an early summer melon. We'll see how he likes the fruit when it is bright red and at it's best.

p.s. Yes, he has a pink bib on. Thanks for sharing Bronwen! You saved his shirt from a sticky mess, and he is secure enough with his manhood to not even be phased by the color.

Tagged Again (I thought)

2008-06-03T15:34:00.000-07:00

I read Mahina's Keeping it Real post on Friday and thought that the Allison that she tagged was me. So ... I walked around my house and took pictures. (It was not too bad since I had already started to clean for the guests that I was having over on Saturday.) I sat back down later that day to start my post and realized that the Allison she tagged was not me after all. Then Isaac demanded more of my attention, so I put it off for later.

I had decided that I did not need to to the post after all. Then Michal tagged me anyway!

So here goes:

the rules: you must take 10 pictures of the following things right away without straightening or cleaning (that's the part that worried me). then you tag 5 others.

1. The fridge:
- not too bad, except that the nearly full container of spinach is slimy and needs to be thrown out. I still need to wash and properly store the grocery bag of romaine lettuce that my neighbor gave me. I really should to finish cutting up that watermelon or it will never get eaten. Plus, that ice cube tray is empty. Jared would grumble about Johnson girls who never refill the ice tray if he saw. :)

2. My Closet:

- Mine is not too bad, although I do need more clothes in it. :) (Yes, that is a boppy pillow on the floor.) Good thing I did not have to take a picture of my linen closet or my game/movie closet. Those are embarrassing!

3. The kitchen sink:

- Since the dishwasher is running the sink has a small collection of dishes. Definitely one of it's better days. 4. The toilet:

- not too bad, but I can't for the life of me get the hard water ring (that was there when we moved in) to come off. Any suggestions?

5. My favorite shoes:

- Life would be great if we could always just wear flip flops.

6. My favorite room:

-It may not be my dream kitchen, but I sure love it.

7.What are my kids doing?

-Isaac was sitting on the floor watching mommy takes pictures. (Right now he is squirming around on my lap while I type one handed.)

8. The laundry pile:

- Not bad, this is only two loads and they only came out of the washer this morning.

9. Self Portrait:

-I could have done without this one. I like to think that the close-up camera angle is the reason I look so chinny. :)

10. Dream Vacation:

-I don't have a picture of that one yet, but I came pretty close in March when we went to Hawaii.

I've been tagged Part II

2008-05-30T17:15:00.000-07:00

Becky tagged me a couple of weeks ago and I'm just getting around to it. :0

4 things

4 things you may not know about me: (This is a hard one, because my family knows everything about me and they are my top readers.)

1. I can wiggle my ears (without touching them)
2. I love to Latin dance and swing dance (I haven't done it in years)
3. I'm a driven and motivated person but, I hate making goals
4. I knocked the passenger side mirror off of my car twice in 5 months while pulling out of my garage. :)

4 Places I go over and over:

1. Google Reader, to check all my friend's blogs
2. Isaac's crib in the middle of the night
3. Michal's house
4. Costco

4 People who email me:

1. Trayce (the Young Women's President)
2. Erika (I love getting her Scotty pictures.)
3. Baby Center: My Baby This Week
4. Mom

4 Of my favorite foods:

1. Cafe Rio Salad
2. home made chocolate chip cookies
3. Caterpillar rolls
4. Anything Michal makes, especially her cheesecake

4 Of my favorite books:

1. The Giver
2. The Tale of Despereaux
3. Emma
4. The Book of Mormon

4 Places I would rather be right now:

1. Whittier (Flint's family is all in town for the weekend, Evan is coming home for the summer, and Mom needs help with her projects.)
2. Grandma's Cabin
3. Some tropical paradise
4. At the Gym (I never seem to find the time)

4 Movies I watch over and over again:

1. Pride and Prejudice
2. Wives and Daughters
3. While You Were Sleeping
4. Emma

People I am tagging: 4 x zero

I've Been Tagged

2008-05-19T20:26:00.000-07:00

Wow! I can't believe that it has been so long since I have blogged. I guess I just wanted you to read about my mom over and over. :) It may also be that even though I have lots I could blog about, I keep getting "tagged" to disclose things about myself that I would just as well keep secret. I guess the time has come to respond to my tags so that I can get past this roadblock.

The weekend after Mother's Day Flint, Isaac and I took a quick three day trip down to visit my mom. One evening while I was there, I took a minute to read Michal's blog. She had been tagged: What's in Your Purse? I laughed as I scrolled down, down and down the page to see all of the things that she had in her bag and her funny commentary about them. I was glad that I was looking at her bag and not mine, because although she had a lot in her purse, I was traveling and my purse is also my diaper/baby bag. Then I saw it, my name at the bottom of her post! I had been tagged to empty my bag too!

I waited until I got home from my trip, although I didn't change the contents of my bag, to empty it out and photograph the mess. Keep in mind that there are very few pockets in this bag and most of these random loose items and just in a jumble at the bottom of the bag! I followed Michal's lead and organized the contents into categories so that it didn't look as bad as it really was. :)

First, I'll show the diaper/baby stuff:

- two diapers, (no wet wipes, oops!), a pair of pajamas, an extra onesie, two pairs of clean socks and two and a half pairs of dirty socks.

- three burp rags (that I can never find when I need them), a pacifier that Isaac has NEVER taken, an aspirator, baby Oragel and Tylenol, Aloe sun block paste, Vaseline, two packages of gauze dressing, an alcohol swab, and two Purelan 100 samples that I got at the Hospital to help take care of Isaac's umbilical chord, etc.

- a blanket, chew ring, board book, squeaky monkey, a spider/fly rattle/squeaky/chew toy, two chew toy elders (I know it is a little disrespectful, but they were a gift and Isaac likes them.)

- Cheerios, graduates snacks, a box of golden raisins, 1/2 package of star burst, two root beer barrels, one ring pop.

My paperwork/junk

- a stack of fliers for the Young Women's Mother Daughter Reception that I was helping to put on, two crumpled and chewed on (by Isaac) programs from the Young Women Recognition night, one relief Society calender of events, the recipe packet from the Relief Society cooking Enrichment activity (yummy spinach and cheese calzones) two books that I needed to mail out for a book exchange that I was also "tagged" to do, the 6 book exchange letters that I need to send to my unsuspecting friends and relatives, my young women's calender/misc. paperwork, the primary songbook DVD set, a friends and family discount for Macy's, a thank you note from a friend.
- seven pens, two paper clips, a rubber band, a cold stone punch card with one punch, my new AAA card, a macy's furniture store business card, and my very dirty wallet...

- feminine products, a bobby pin, a hair brush compact (it is actually one of Isaac's favorite chew toys), a travel bottle of Tylenol and a zip lock bag of extra strength Excedrin.

- a deck of cards (you never know when you'll have time for a quick card game.) and a Christmas's cross stitch ornament from the Christmas Enrichment Activity (hidden in one of seldom used pockets.)

- and all of this trash and crummy stuff. Yuck.

I don't tag anyone! You're welcome.

2008-05-11T13:16:00.000-07:00

Mom,

Because my Mother's day card did not arrive in the mail yesterday, I thought I would post a little something here to let you know how special you are to me. Here are several reasons why you are so amazing:

- You wanted a big family.

- You wake up early and have a "productive morning".

- You watch Jeopardy and try to answer the questions before the contestants do.

- You are not afraid of a challenge (or at least you act like you are not afraid).

- You sew beautifully. (check out the Zurg costume she made for Kimball)
- You go to Curves three times or more every week.

- You are an amazing 1st grade teacher.

- You are the major influence, but are happy to sit back and let us think that it is our idea.

- You taught seminary for 4 years!

- You were the Cub Scout den mother for 8+ years.

- You sent all 6(+1) of your children on their missions.

- You sent all 6 (+1) of your children to college.

- You play the piano.

- You taught yourself to play the organ when you were called as Ward Organist.

- You never turn down a church calling (ie. Seminary teacher, cub scout den mother, ward organist...)

- You showed me how to make a weekly menu and shopping list.

- You kept my closet (and Michal's closet) fully stocked with pretty (hand made) church dresses throughout our childhood.

- You are fun to do projects with.

- You are creative and clever.

- You made dinner for the family every night!

- You love the gospel.

- You married Dad!

- You held scripture study (devotional) and Family Home Evening.

- You are and were supportive and encouraging of us even when it mean (meant) more work for you. (Student officer campaigns, participation in musicals, sports, music lessons, choral groups, my bread making "business", any and all extra-curricular activities...)

- You made fresh bread.

- You are an artist. Even your doodles are beautiful!

- You made our home a welcome place for friends.

- You took us on vacations every summer.

- You showed us that Johnson's have "high standards".

- We wanted to live those high standards to make you proud, not to avoid punishment.

- You told me that "Johnsons don't get Cs on their report cards."

- You opened your home back up to your adult children when you should have been an "empty nester".

- You helped me to go back to school to earn my Teaching Credential.

- You helped me to pass the classes I needed in order to earn my Teaching Credential.

- You are the first one I call when I need advice and wisdom, or just a clever idea.

- You are my mom, but you have become a dear friend.

- When I go with you, even trips to the grocery store, Target, and Costco are fun!

- You put up with your children's teasing (and seem to enjoy it.)

- You can plan a great party.

- You let me turn your house into the singles ward hang out for late night games.

- You set and keep lots of fun family traditions.

- You cry when you open a great present.

-You bought Settlers of Catan so that your kids would come over and play. (We did.)

- Your love of the gospel and your testimony of Christ is apparent in you words and in your actions.

- You came to Isaac's birth.

- You pampered me while I was recovering from Isaac's birth.

-You taught me how to take care of babies, and gave me lots of practice with little brothers.

- You come up to visit us whenever you can.

- You let us come visit you whenever we can.

- You make and have made millions of little sacrifices for your family, and act like it is your pleasure. ("Sure, you can use my car..." "Why don't I come by and help you..." "Do you need any help in your classroom..?" "Why don't you bring the Boys over..."

-You helped create a family that we want to be with eternally.

- And all of that stuff Michal said.

- And all of that stuff The Deanery said.

I love you mom. You are my role model and friend. You are truly amazing. I wish that I could be with you this Mother's Day.

See you again soon!

Isaac in the Mirror

2008-05-10T23:50:00.000-07:00

Isaac likes the mirror, just as much as his cousin Scotty does. He is so interested in that baby in the mirror. But, he really gets excited when he looks up and sees another Mommy in the mirror. "Wow, first she is behind me and now she is in front of me!" Babies love their mamas like crazy!

Happy mothers day to all you moms out there who have ever had your baby's face light up in a huge smile when he (or she) sees you. There is a connection there that can never be broken.

I love you mom. Thanks for being that special person in my life. I love you like crazy too!

P.S. He looks like he is about to fall over at the end, but he catches himself. :)

Sushi Training

2008-05-10T14:35:00.000-07:00

We took Isaac with us to our new favorite sushi place, California Roll and Grill. When our food came, he kept reaching for it, so I put him in the highchair and gave him a couple of grains of sticky rice. He loved it! I could hardly eat myself for all of his begging. Our server came to the table, noticed that I was sharing, and asked if I wanted a dish of tofu for the baby. (I guess that is something that she fed her babies when they were learning to eat.) She brought out a little dish full of tofu in miso sauce. I was skeptical that he would like it, but it was a hit. He completely emptied the bowl of tofu chunks.

I bet he would like the Caterpillar roll too! (I guess I wait a year or two for that.)

A trip to Mom's House

2008-05-06T21:48:00.000-07:00

Since we hadn't been "home" for a visit since Christmas, my sister and I decided that Mom's Birthday would be a great reason to make a quick trip. I told Flint that the trip was not just for her birthday, but to help her with projects that will get her house ready to sell this summer, but I had a suspicion that we would be doing more visiting than working. (I just needed to plan a longer trip.)

Michal and I loaded up her new minivan with all our children and all the luggage (and then some) required for taking them on a quick road trip, and hit the road last Sunday after church.

We were well stocked with books on tape and DVDs for the kids, but somehow forgot that we would want (need) some chocolaty treat to sustain us through the trip. We made due with much more righteous sugar snap peas that we pretended were peanut M&Ms.

Monday, while mom was at work, we took the kids down to the tide pools at Cabrillo Beach. We ate lunch on the grass above the beach.

Isaac chewed on his fingers while everyone else ate.

And then his sunglasses.

Even though Bronwen offered to share her roll.

The tide were too high by the time we finished eating, but we had enjoyed ourselves so much, we went back on Tuesday with the kids, Grammy Julie, Paige, Emily and Noah.

It was a beautiful morning at the beach.

We did actually spend some time with Mom, celebrating her birthday and helping around the house, but since this is getting so long already,I guess I save that for another post.

Young Women Fondant Fun

2008-05-05T11:53:00.000-07:00

Since I have been doing so much with cake and fondant lately, my Beehive class (12-13 year-olds) at church wanted to get in on the fun. We set up a class activity a couple of weeks ago to make fondant monsters from Debbie Brown's 50 Easy Party Cakes book.

The girls worked in groups of two to make the marshmallow fondant. Then they choose their color and died their dough.

I'm afraid that by then they only had about 15 minutes to wrap their piece of cake in the fondant and create their monsters.

They did an amazing job considering the time crunch. Look, even little Betty Lou got in on the fun.

We didn't have time to stack them up, but everyone got to take home their little monster treat to show their family. Aren't they cute!

It was an ambitious undertaking for an hour long activity, but we all had a lot of fun, and made an absolute mess of the church's kitchen. (A couple of the girls even went home and made some fondant with their friends at home.)

I do what I can to pass along the cake obsession. :)

Playing with Cake

2008-04-28T18:04:00.000-07:00

A few years ago my sister found out about a cheese cake recipe contest sponsored by Philadelphia and Gourmet Magazine . The winner would get either $100,000 or new professional kitchen appliances, or something like that. She decided to create several cheesecake recipes. She ended up creating several amazing cheesecake recipes, six of which she entered into the contest, including a lemon raspberry and a chocolate mint truffle that are to die for. She unfortunately did not win the contest (although I think she should have), but since then she has become famous for her cheesecakes.

Last summer, a friend from her ward approached her about doing the "cake", or more appropriately, the cheesecake for her wedding. It was a huge undertaking, but my sister is just that crazy, so she said yes. The wedding was beautiful, and the cheesecake was fabulous. Michal was not experienced with fondant at the time, so she found a friend that could decorate the cheesecakes that were on display in lieu of traditional wedding cake. They were simple, but gorgeous.

Fast forward to this spring. Michal had another request for wedding cheesecakes. This time, she volunteered me to be the one to decorate the wedding cake. The bride wanted a very simple cake--one layer of cheesecake. No other tiers. At first, she specified no embellishments. We slowly convinced her that she should at least have fondant, then flowers, then a ribbon.

The cheesecake was lemon raspberry, which Michal and the bride's mother made ahead of time and had frozen. We then iced it with buttercream and covered it with a buttery yellow fondant.

It takes much more time than it seems like it should take, but Isaac was happy to sit and watch, as long as I kept him stocked with a cheerios and toys while he watched. "Come on mom, can't I have some of that?"
After I covered the cake with fondant, I brushed with pearl shimmer, and trimmed with brown organza ribbon. By then Isaac was ready for his mom to pay him some more attention.

At the reception the florist tucked a few fresh flowers around it. It was simple and elegant and not bad for my first fondant cheesecake if I do say so myself. :)

This is what it looked like during the reception, after they cut it.

Here are some of the shots of the cheesecake we served that night at the reception:

Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake with Lemon Curd and Raspberry Reduction

Classic New York Cheesecake with Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache

Michal and I actually went to the reception too to cut and plate all of the cheesecake. By the end of the day, we were ready to get off of our feet and, I might add, O.D.ed on sweets. :)

So Evan, what kind of cheesecake do you want at your wedding?

Getting to Know You Survey

2008-04-11T14:41:00.000-07:00

Here is a little get-to-know-(random facts about)-you quiz that my friend Trayce sent to me by e-mail. I figured that if I was going to fill it out, I might as well post it on my blog. Enjoy

1. What is your occupation? Wife and mother (I have a Clear Multiple Subject Teaching Credential for the state of CA and taught 4th grade until October 5th, 2007. :)

2. What color are your socks right now? White

3. What are you listening to right now? Flint on the phone (My computer is in the "home office" so I have to be quiet while he is working.)

4. What was the last thing that you ate? A homemade chocolate chip cookie (you caught me)

5. Can you drive a stick shift? I've learned several times, but I have never had one to drive regularly enough to gain real confidence.

6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? aquamarine

7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? My sister

8. How old are you today? A lady never tells, or at least never publishes on-line.

9. Favorite drink? Jamba Juice (Caribbean Passion, or other tropical flavors)

10. What is your favorite sport to watch? Water Polo if my brother Stu or Evan is, or Football if my brother Tyler is playing.

11. Have you ever dyed your hair? Yes, I like to highlight my hair, but it is currently it is my (cheaper and lower maintenance) natural color.

12. Pets? no (We like to say that it was in the "pre-nup")

13. Favorite food? I love food! I can't pick a favorite, that's my problem. (not fast food)

14. Last movie you watched? Oh Brother Where Art Thou

15. Favorite day? Day of Week, Friday (Flint usually takes the afternoon and evening off.)

16. What do you do to vent anger? Call my sister or mom

17. What was your favorite toy as a child? ? I had a preemie baby doll wrapped in a blanket that was a puppet so I could make it move around like a real baby. (Does anyone remember what those were called?)

18. What is your favorite season? Summer - I love all of the swimming and water sports that we can do in the summer, and I look forward to family vacations, family reunions...

19. Hugs or kisses? hugs

20. Cherry or Blueberry? fresh cherry (not processed cherry or cherry flavored things)

21. When was the last time you cried? When I read my brothers' comments to my sisters blog post about my dad.

22. What is on the floor of your closet? Shoes and my swim bag

23. Favorite smells? Homemade bread, Chocolate chip cookies, pine forests, rain on hot pavement, my baby after his bath...

24. Who inspires you? My mother (of course), I have been reading President Hinckley's biography and his life is also very inspirational.

25. What are you afraid of? conflict

26. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? I love Red Robin's Gourmet burgers (Like the Blue Ribbon Burger: A juicy burger basted with a tangy steak sauce and topped with crumbled Blue cheese. Served with onion straws,lettuce,tomatoes and zesty Chipotle mayo on an onion bun.) Please refer to #13

27. Favorite car? I don't have a favorite car type. I will always love my little Honda Civic, since it was the first (and only so far) car that I bought brand new.

28. Favorite cat breed? I always wanted a Persian (long hair cat) when I was young. They looked so pretty and soft to me.

29. Number of keys on your key ring? 7

30. How many years at your current job? Isaac's Mom

31. What's been your favorite job? This one! (Salary job? Teaching)

32. How many states have you lived in? 3 - Idaho: birth to 18 months, Southern California until college, Utah for college and my first job, back to Southern California to teach, meet Flint, and get married, now Northern California to be a mom. (I know that it is the same state, but Southern and Northern California are so different it seems like I need to specify.)

Isaac's First Baby Food

2008-04-05T13:05:00.001-07:00

I took so many pictures of this little meal that I thought that I would make a slide show of the event. Since the slideshow program that I have been using takes forever to upload photos, I decided to try something new. I really like the Smilebox program. It is quick, easy, and comes with a lot of templates. The only problems are, the text is hidden up at the top, I can't figure out how to speed up the transitions between slides, and most importantly, it does not play in the blog. If you want to watch it you have to click and open a new window to view it.

I'll probabbly switch programs next time. If you do watch it, I think you'll get a kick out of the faces he made when he got his first few tastes of baby oatmeal.

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

CTR Cake

2008-04-01T20:47:00.000-07:00

I am always looking for an occasion to make a cake, especially a big fancy one. If you have already read my sisters blog you have already seen the fun cake we made for Kimball's baptism. My mom and sister and I all worked on this one, and we were very pleased about the way it turned out. (By the way, if you don't know, CTR stands for Choose the Right. It is a primary motto.)

Since we wanted it to taste good as well as look good Michal spared no expense. The cake was a moist rich chocolate chocolate chip cake (a Dr.ed up cake mix with sour cream, pudding and chocolate chips). We made two 18 inch square cakes, that we then split to make four layers (the whole cake actually took four mixes).

We used 20 oz. of Trader Joe's chocolate and a cup and a half of cream to make a ganache to use as a filling. We realized after filling the first layer that it was only going to be enough for two of the three filling layers. Since we would have to go back to the store for more ingredients anyway, we decided to fill the very center with a chocolate mousse to mix things up a bit. We should have gotten a picture of the sliced cake. The layers were: cake, ganache, cake, chocolate mousse, cake, ganache, and cake. :) I think that in the end there was almost three pounds of chocolate in the fillings of this decadent cake!

The marshmallow fondant went on quite smoothly, but the ribbon at the base hides several flaws. Mom's lettering was perfect, and the green luster dust, left over from Jared and Kimball's light saber cake, came in handy as a finishing touch.

It was a hit at the party, and I think Michal only went home with one or two leftover pieces.

I wonder when our next occasion will be?

Hartford's Big Island Events

2008-04-01T12:47:00.000-07:00

Hartford had quite a schedule of events planned for our group, that would entertain us and show off the beautiful island. They planned evening events every night except for the night that followed the Tour of the island and Volcano National Park.

The first night's event was a welcome reception down at the Hotel pool/beach.

Isaac went to sleep just as it was starting, so we put him in a stroller, covered it with a blanket, and "parked" him near our back corner table. We filled our plates with food from the generous, fresh, seafood buffet, and headed back to our seats.

Before we got back, someone pulled Flint aside and politely as possible let him know that under no circumstances were children allowed at any of the events. NO EXCEPTIONS! Isaac and I were kink of upset about this.

I had been worried about what we would do with Isaac if we were faced with these objections and couldn't see any other options. I can't get Isaac to take a bottle of pumped milk, let alone formula, so leaving him with someone seemed like it would be out of the question.

We just decided to just enjoy the fact that we were in Hawaii together, and not worry about whether or not we could go to any events. With that said, I started researching any options we had to see the island on our own, and/or attend an event or two.

The next day, Flint had meeting till noon. I got to hang out at the hotel beach and pool. I visited with someone I met at last year's convention and she mentioned that since she was feeling sick, she was not going to go the Luau that night. I took a mental note of her room number for future use. At 6:30 the group all headed off to the luau, but I was happy to find out that it was being held at the adjacent hotel (shuttle service was available). Isaac, like the angel he is, fell sound asleep for the night promptly at 7:30. I called my friend who was happy to keep Isaac in her room. I and rolled his stroller into the vanity area of her bathroom, where he continued to sleep soundly, and I rushed off to join the party.

We had so much fun! It turns out that the party was just beginning. I had only missed the sunset photo-opp and cocktails.

The food, flowers, music, and dancing were wonderful!

I know that I'm crazy, but can you believe that everyone was leaving their leis behind! I took a couple extra on my way out.

Mom helped me reserve a rental car for our day trip around the island, since we wouldn't be able to ride on the bus with Isaac. (That reservation didn't end up working out, since the Internet and call center information was wrong, and the promised car delivery was unavailable. Plus, the pick-up location was a $90 taxi ride away). We were saved by Aaron (Flint's boss) who gave us the car reservation with the hotel that he had booked and didn't need after all.

It turns out that most of the people on the tour bus envied us the freedom that the rental car gave us. We went to Rainbow falls,
... then out to a nice lunch, the black sand beach, to Volcano National Park, and to a fun local Hawaiian food drive-in for dinner.

Volcano National Park felt like Jurassic Park. Maybe it was the tropical forest mixed with the strange sulfur smell and the thick overcast sky. Maybe it was the craters and tunnels that made up the rest of the scenery, but it was kind of eerie once it got dark.

Here I am with Isaac in narrowest part of the "Lava Tube" in Volcano National park.

Here is Flint in the biggest part.

The next day was a free day, so we played at the pool and beach all day and recovered form our road trip. We hung out with Mike and Vicky, who had brought their 8 and 10 year old boys. We did some body surfing and snorkeling etc., and came up with a plan to that evening. Vicky didn't want to leave her boys in the hotel room from 5:00-10:30 (the scheduled time for the evening's events at Kohala Ranch) and I couldn't leave Isaac until he was sleeping, around 7:30. We decided that we would split the cost of a rental car so that we could tag team the kids.

We drove up to the ranch together. What a gorgeous drive! The sunset and light were just beautiful when we got to the ranch.

The hillside pastures were breath-taking. These are what I call Happy Horses!

After taking a few pictures, I dropped off Flint and the other couple and took Isaac on a little sight seeing drive across the country side. I wanted to check out the Northern point of the island. I drove back to the ranch by 7:00 so that I could feed Isaac and get him to sleep. When he went to sleep around 7:45. Mike and Vicky took him with them (and the rental car) back to the hotel so that they could spend the rest of the evening with their boys, and I could spend the rest of the evening with Flint at the ranch.

They had an amazing paniolo ranch barbecue dinner with steak, ribs, chicken, baked beans, potatoes, corn on the cob ..... They had a couple horse shoe toss games going (which I am really bad at, and Flint is pretty good at), a lasso toss station (which I am pretty good at, but Flint is not so good at :), a branding station (where we could brand a piece of wood with the ranch brand), a star gazing station with a telescope (we saw Saturn and its rings), a s'more station, and a live country band playing! It was great fun! Doug (one of Flint's Hartford friends) even got up and took a turn with the microphone.

The next day, we used the rental car to drive to Kona and then the Pololu Valley (I'll tell about that in another blog.) That night I decided to play with Isaac at the pool and watch the band and hula dancer on the terrace instead of joining Flint at the "Surprise" final event.

They ended up going to a boat club on the Kuilia Coast for dinner and dancing. Since Flint went alone...

he spent his time taking pictures of the sunset and thinking wistfully of his wonderful wife. :)

(Great pictures don't you think?)

The Hapuna Prince Beach Resort

2008-03-24T14:54:00.000-07:00

Here is the view from the lobby of our hotel of the pool and beach!

Pretty incredible isn't it?

There is nothing quite like having a vacation on the company dime. When I vacation, I am afraid that I try to go economy in the accommodations and activities. When the event planner at the Hartford plans a vacation there is nothing economy about it!

We stayed at the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel on the Kohola Coast of the Big Island. For a virtual tour of the hotel, with much better pictures than we could have taken, click on the link.

Here is the entrance, and walkway up to the golf course and spa.

Our room was large and beautiful. It had optional shuttered doors on the balcony and front door so that we could enjoy the cross-flow if ocean air in the room too. Here is a picture of Flint and Isaac looking out over the balcony, ready for an afternoon at the beach. I admit that I took others that showed more of the view, but I'm a sucker for a close up of Isaac in his shades.

Isaac loved the pool, and charmed everyone with his giggles and Mr. cool glasses. In fact, after our trip to the pool, he enjoyed the ocean water too!

The beach was crystal blue, beautiful...

and perfect for snorkeling, boogie boarding,

and/or just gazing out on...

One of my favorite spots to watch the sunset was the lounge level just below the lobby. They had a little four man Hawaiian band and a hula dancer there every evening. If you look in the bottom right hand corner of the picture you'll see the dancer.

It was perfect! The music and dancer kept us, and most importantly Isaac, entranced while we looked out at the view of the sun setting over the ocean.

We were spoiled and pampered, and loved every minute of it!

The Beautiful Black Sand Beach of Punalu'u

2008-03-23T23:52:00.000-07:00

This beautiful beach was one of our favorite spots on the Big Island. It was over on the Volcano National Park side of the island and the black lava rock has become an amazingly beautiful beach. The sand was not super fine (more like the size of coffee grinds) but it somehow felt cleaner that way.

Isaac liked digging his little toes into the sand, but wasn't quite sure what to think of the cold ocean water.

Since he was born in October, and it has been winter for most of his life, he has not spent much time outside; except when he was all bundled up for walks. (Here he is on one of our early Feb. walks.)

We were thinking that he was pretty lucky to be getting his first experience with ocean water in Hawaii. (On a black sand beach, no less.) But he felt differently!

He was not very happy with us at first; and he let us know. (I love his face in this family shot.)

Perhaps because the black sand provides a nice camouflage. This beach is a popular feeding and resting spot for Sea Turtles. We saw 4 or 5 during the hour or two that we spent there. We saw some when we went in with our snorkel gear, some near the shore feeding by the rocks, and this one just crawled up onto the sand to rest in the sun.

Isaac liked watching the turtles from Daddy's arms. Especially if he kept his feet out of the water.

From the lookout point on the rocks just below the beach we could see spray and occasional tails of the migrating whales. Isaac just has eyes for his daddy with the camera.

Hawaii is definitely an amazing and beautiful place. Stay tuned for more pictures and travel-log over the next couple of weeks.

(Since we were in Hawaii for 9 days, and have a digital camera with 2 GB of memory, we were not very selective in our picture taking (taking several shots of the same thing to make sure we at least got one good one). When we got home we realized that we had taken over 950 pictures during our trip! It has been quite a project to sort out/organize and trim down. Don't worry, it takes far too long to upload pictures to blogger for me to post more than just the highlights. ;)

Hawaii!!!

2008-03-21T10:25:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in ages because we just spent 9 days in Hawaii!

I am planning on posting lots of pictures and giving a details of our adventures, but I am afraid that once I am still trying to unpack, catch up on laundry (one more load still in the dryer)

... take care of a baby that is still adjusting to our time-zone and being home, and catch up on my calling/other responsibilities.

I hope to have an update for you soon.

Great in 8!

2008-03-03T23:56:00.000-08:00

I love food! I love cooking, baking, barbecuing, crock-potting, steaming, sauteing ... good food. Or just reading through my cookbooks and dreaming about cooking, baking, barbecuing, crock-potting, steaming, sauteing ... good food.

I am slightly obsessed with it in fact. I am usually either thinking about making and eating something delicious, or thinking about how I can resist eating something delicious. Sometimes I even think that I can make something delicious, and then resist eating it. :) Since I seem to have a hard time resisting, I have always struggled with my weight.

Weight Watchers and exercise worked for me a few years ago, and I thougtht I had figured out the balance... (enough exercise and appropriate resisting)... Then I got a full time teaching job and all of the sudden my exerciseing became a little sparatic. Then I got married. Then Flint started working evenings, and it wasn't uncommon for us to eat dinner at 9:00-9:30 at night. By the time I got pregnant I am afraid that my sparatic exercise rutines had dissapeared. Then I had a baby (enough said). Finally, I bacame a ravanous nursing mother at about the same time "the holidays" hit.

Needless to say, by the time January came around, I needed to make some drastic changes. When I found out that the Relief Society was sponsoring a "Feel Great in 8" competition, I was excited to participate. Those of you that know me best, know that I am slightly competitive. It was just what I needed!

We earn points by keeping track of several "good choices", and deduct points for "bad choices". The great thing about it is, it's more than just a weight loss program. It is aimed at improving health (rewarding good foods, exercise, water drinking, and weight loss), spirituality (rewarding daily scripture study, and personal prayer) and service (rewarding the completion of assigned tasks). About 50 sisters in the ward signed up to participate; and teams of 4 are keeping track of points to see who can score the greatest improvements.

Here is what the form looks like.

Since I realize it is too small to read, here are the three sections:

First, the "Good Food List".
We can earn up to 10 points a day by eating food from this list.

Second, the "Activity" points

and "Daily Challenge" points.

(The "Daily Challenges" change each week.)

Notice how high the scripture reading and exercise points are.
Notice the no eating after 8:00 p.m. points!

Finally, the "Bad Food List".

We keep track of our individual points during the week and then report the total to our team captain. (This was extra motivation for me, since I let down my team if I cheat or get lazy.)
The truth is, I could find the loop holes that would let me eat poorly and still get the maximum number of points, but I have to remind myself when I start to rationalize bad food choices that I am trying to loose weight. ("Butter is not on the bad food list!", or "Since portion size doesn't count...")

I am proud to say that after the first 6 weeks, I had lost 16 lbs. and was the highest individual score. (Did I say I was competitive?) It has been a wonderful way for me to break old habits and reintroduce good habits. I make "dinner" at 2:00 or 3:00 now so that we can eat before Flint goes out on appointments. (No more 9:00 meals!) I haven't missed a single day of scripture reading! I even joined a gym and have started exercising again (I'm debating one of those "tracking" page elements to keep me motivated). I even made it through Valentine's Day without eating any Valentine's candy!

I admit, I was weak and had 4 "Bad food" items last week, (I did throw a baby shower with delicious food.) but I really think that I am on the right track, and plan to stay on that track, even after the 8 weeks end.

If I could somehow get rid of this food obsession I would really be in good shape!

Baby Shower

2008-02-25T00:17:00.000-08:00

My sister-in-law Fawn is a master cake decorator. She actually sells the cakes that she makes and decorates. (Check out her new cake blog http://buttercream.wordpress.com/) When we lived in the same ward, she taught a series of cake decorating classes as enrichment activities. We learned how to split and fill a layered cake, how to make royal icing flowers, and (my favorite) how to use fondant. I really caught the bug when I got to go over to her house to "help her" with a cake project. Mostly, I got to watch her work and learn from the master. (Thanks Fawn!) Let me just tell you that it is harder than it looks to make it look like the pictures in the books, but it is a lot of fun trying.

Last Saturday Monica, Maren and I combined forces and threw a baby shower for someone in the ward who is expecting her first baby (a girl) in April. We decided to make it a "Little Princess" party, and I got to work looking for the perfect cake for the occasion. I looked through my books, and searched the Internet and decided to make a tufted pillow cake with a princess tierra or crown on top of it.

There was a pattern for a crown in one of my books, but it looked way too complicated and intricate. Plus, they wanted me to make it out of royal icing, which I think, is hard to work with.

I went on line found a couple great tierras that I could use as patterns. Here is the one I chose.

I enlarged the picture, printed it out, traced it onto parchment paper, taped the parchment onto an upside down 4 cup Pyrex measuring cup, and piped over the pattern in melted white chocolate. I worried that it wouldn't be strong enough to hold, but once the chocolate dried, it was solid and strong. And as Henry put it when he saw it, "Wow, That's beautiful!"

I made the cake from a Cake Mix Doctor book. It was an almond, cream cheese pound cake and filled it with a strawberry cream. I made and colored the marshmallow fondant ahead of time, and Michal helped me make the butter cream icing. Maren came over and we worked together, rolling out the fondant, putting it on the cake, quilting, painting and tufting, buttoning... and admiring. Like I said, it is harder than it looks to make it look like the pictures in the books, but it is a lot of fun trying. Here are a few pictures of our finished product.

The cake was definitely impressive, but you should have tasted the food! I made a craisin/feta/candied almond green salad with Trader Joe's raspberry dressing. Monica out
did herself with chicken salad sandwiches on mini croissants, feta/pine nut/baby spinach/pesto bow tie salad, and cream cheese toffee and citrus marshmallow dip for the fruit platter.

Everyone went home with warm harts, full bellies,

and a gift from the crown jewels.

Greek Steak Pitas with Cucumber Dill Sauce

2008-02-21T11:45:00.000-08:00

There is a seemingly never-ending supply of delicious recipes in a Cooking Light Annual Cookbook, and I have two of them. Why is it that I get stuck rotating the same 10-15 basic meals over and over again. This week I decided that it was time to get a little more variety in our diet. I pulled down the 2004 edition, and in no time, found more recipes that I wanted to try than I had nights in the week to cook. Here is one of the recipes that I tried out. It was absolutely fabulous. So flavorful, fresh and tasty!!! It was so good that I thought that I would share it with you too!

Steak Marinade

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 cloves minced garlic
1 lb. flank steak (or you can use the "carne asada" type thin sliced steak)

The lemon-juice marinade quickly penetrates the steak, so a 10-minute soak is enough to flavor the meat, but longer is OK too.

Sauce:

1/2 cup plain fat-free yogurt
2 tsp. chopped fresh dill (dry dill is OK, just use less of it)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 cup diced cucumber

Remaining Ingredients:

pita
lettuce
tomato
cucumber (I found some cute/tasty little Mediterranean cucumbers at Traders Joe's)
crumbled feta cheese

Yum!!!!!!!!

No mater which kind of meat you decide to use, it will be delicious. Just be sure that you make plenty. I know I wished that I had had enough to go back for seconds!

Which Austen Heroine Are You?

2008-02-19T12:19:00.000-08:00

Look what I found!

I guess I have more sense than sensibility,

or is it the other way around?

Take the Quiz here!

Another Isaac Slideshow

2008-02-15T18:44:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

2008-02-14T13:58:00.000-08:00

This morning Flint had an early appointment. When he came home at 9:30 he announced that he was taking the day off. "No work today." he declared. "What do you want to do?" he asked me. I was excited at the prospect of my hard working (sometimes work-o-holic) husband taking the day off in the middle of the week and since it is Valentine's Day, I said, "Let's go to San Francisco!" I could tell be the look on his face that he had something else in mind. In fact, he had several other things in mind. I guess my idea of a "No work" day is a little different than his. These are the things that he had written down on his things to do wish list that I found on his desk:

Demo the concrete rock garden

(admittedly the ugliest thing about our house, but this involves renting a jack hammer, sledge hammer etc. to break up the concrete, borrowing a truck, hauling it all to a landfill, and then at least smoothing out the dirt and respreading woodchips.)

Plant seed and trim bushes (by the driveway and on the side of the house.)(not quite sure what he wants to plant)

Cut down trees (about 10-15 large volunteer trees along the fence in our backyard and along the neighbor's driveway in the back of the yard)

Build a mail box

Take down and replace light (big ugly light on the garage, over the driveway; the second ugliest thing about our house)

Get an impact wrench and do the breaks on the Saturn

Landfill (I assume this relates to the demo work and tree cutting.)

Go to Chipotle for lunch (This was not written on his list, but he told Isaac that it was.)

So I guess San Francisco is out? I decided that in order to show my love I would let him "not work" today. With two conditions, he not try to do all of the projects on his list today, and I get to choose the movie that we watch tonight. :)

Can I tell you that he is in heaven today?

He went to Harbor Freight and bought some "essential" tools. Then he borrowed a chain saw from the neighbor and started chopping (The trick is getting him to stop chopping!).

I went to Trader Joes and got the makings of a mouth-watering romantic Valentine's dinner and then swung by Chipotle to pick up lunch.

He just came in and excitedly announced that the other neighbor not only had a rope that he can borrow, but he has a "chipper" to grind up the clippings!

Simple pleasures. I love my sweet hard working husband. Isaac finally went down for a nap so I think I'll go out and help for a bit.

I'm sure we'll make it to San Francisco someday.

Happy Birthday Stu!

2008-02-07T15:50:00.000-08:00

Since Stuart seems to have changed his phone number recently and I can't figure out how to get a hold of him to wish him Happy Birthday, I thought I would just write him a blog.

My little brother Stu seems to have a charmed life. ( He is living in Hawaii and he did serve his mission in exotic tropical places.) I know he must have his hard times, but he doesn't seem to complain (Not even when he had to learn three languages, had no electricity or running water, and got boils on our face in those exotic tropical places.) We all love Stu for his easy-going, positive, and charming personality. He has us all wrapped around his little finger. Who can say no to Stu? Not complete strangers, and definitely not his sister Alli.

I just want to wish him a happy 24th Birthday.

Here are some fond memories I have of Stu:

I was the one who could get him to sleep when Mom couldn't, by pacing back and forth in the dark living room and singing.
We loved listening to his gibberish baby talk and actually making sense of it. "Deiddle-do"
The time he convinced dad that he was old enough to go see Les Miserables by proving that even at 8, he knew the music and story better than him.
The summer that I got to share a room with him when I came home from college.
When we decorated the ceiling together with glow-in-the-dark stars and listened to "Night Swimming".
Jr. High bedtime stories of "Maniac Magee" and "Hatchet".
Dropping off a teary eyed Stu at school on my way to the airport to go to the MTC.
The time (after realizing that the waves were better than he expected) he asked a stranger on the beach if he could borrow his surf board for a bit.
Going to see the first performance of "Kiss Me Kate", and being so proud and blown away by how well he did, that I went back to the next three performances too.
Helping him with the research for his Senior Project.
Pumicing our feet together.
Taking the scenic rout through San Francisco from Bec's wedding in Oakland to her reception in San Jose.
Shining the flashlight while he crawled under the house to scoop up the dead and rotting opossum.
Sitting on the sidelines of water polo games with Kimball and Mom and cheering.
He, Evan and I hacking down (with a machete) and bundling the volunteer trees in the back yard.

(I guess the list could go on and on, but baby Isaac is crying and in need of some attention, so I have to cut it short.)

Thanks for being so great Stu. I love you and hope you have a great birthday.

(I can't wait to come and visit you in Hawaii next month.)

Disgusting things in Wonderland

2008-01-24T10:06:00.000-08:00

I really debated weather or not this was just too gross to post about (and I don't mean blow-out diaper gross) so if you have a weak stomach beware...

I am doing an 8 week program with my ward called "Feel Great in 8". I'll post more about it later, but it is basically a program that gets you exercising, eating right, studying the scriptures and praying. I was working on the "eating right" portion of the program this morning, and feeling rather proud of myself. I decided that a hardy bowl of (Old Fashioned) oatmeal with raisins would be just the thing to start off my day.

This is something I use to do all the time, but haven't done for a while. I was loving every bite, remembering why this had been my breakfast of choice for so long, and thinking about how I actually enjoyed it more than cold cereal. I had been eating in the natural light of the morning, but Flint walked through the kitchen and flipped on the light over the table, then ....eek! I stopped the spoon mid-way between the bowl and my mouth and stared at it in horror. "It couldn't be!" " Please tell me it is just a raisin!"

A closer view...

Sadly, I came to the conclusion that it was not a raisin. I was, in fact some sort of worm or caterpillar that had been living in either my bag of raisins or oatmeal. Who knows how many more of them there had been. I had been eating in the dark! Even if I hadn't actually eaten any, it/they had been living in my cereal leaving behind unseen evidence existence. My skin still crawls at the thought. I promptly took a couple pictures, then dumped the bowl, and then the bags of unused oatmeal and raisins. I guess the Costco size bags are just a bit too big for me to use in time.

Not actually "Wonderland", or is it?

Where do you find the time?

2008-01-23T10:41:00.000-08:00

I am obviously new to blogging because I haven't figured out yet how to fit it into my schedule. When Isaac is napping I have a list of things to do that I can't possibly get done. Most of the time when I am on the computer I am holding a baby in one arm and trying to type with one hand. (not very effective).

I guess since the best bloggers out there are mothers, there must be a way to juggle the two worlds. I know that I will get better, but my blogs may be few and far between at first. Sorry!

Laundry Woes, Turned Wonderful

2008-01-17T19:11:00.000-08:00

Part two:

Since we are still adjusting to a mortgage payment and me being a stay-at-home mom, my mission was to find a new washer/dryer set that I liked, worked in the laundry room, and worked into our budget. It turns out that actually means a "newer" not "brand new" washer/dryer. For the next week I made Craig's List my web sight of choice.

Let me just say, you can find a lot of garbage on Craig's List. (Garbage that people are hoping to sell for $500, but that's another blog.) Every time I found something that looked good, I'd call and get the same response... "Oh, sweety it's already sold."
I had just about given up, when I decided to call on a washer/dryer that (like most ads without a picture) sounded too good to be true. It wasn't sold! and even though it was about a 30 minutes drive from our house, Flint and I decided that it was worth looking into. To make a long story shorter, we hit the jackpot. They were beautiful. The woman had purchased them (along with a $600,000 home that was now empty and for sale) for her daughter a year ago. The daughter was living with her again and now everything needed to go. She had bought them for over $1000, but she would sell them for $200. "$200 each?" we asked. "No, $100 each, or $200 for the pair." Needless to say, we came back as soon as we could with a truck.

Laundry seems so easy now! I actually had fun this week emptying all of the laundry baskets and changing all of the sheets. Flint is happy too, now that his "honey-do list" and my "wish list" are both a little bit shorter. (For now.)

Laundry Woes

2008-01-17T18:15:00.000-08:00

When we moved into our house last summer, we realized that the dryer connection in the laundry room was for an electric dryer. Yes, you guessed it. I had a gas dryer. Luckily, my handy father-in-law had come to help us move, and was able to connect the dryer out in the garage by the water heater. I hoped that this would just be a temporary solution, especially since the mismatched set was one that Flint had found on a neighborhood curb with a for sale sign on it a few weeks before we got married. (Luckily, he is handy too, and was able to do the necessary repairs that would bring them back to life.)

Let's face it. I hoping for an upgrade on our "curb brand", but we had just bought our first home, and were not rushing out to buy large expensive home appliances. Weeks turned into months and I was still carting my clean cloths from the washer in the laundry room out to the dryer in the garage and then back into the house. It wasn't killing me, but you know that laundry expands exponentially when there is a baby in the house and the dryer arrangement was not making things any easier.

I was keeping up on things pretty well until it started getting cold and rainy. I started to put off switching the laundry until I had shoes on, or until the rain stopped. I had more than one load of clean laundry that turned slightly mildewy, and needed to be rewashed, after being forgotten in the washer for a day or so. I started asking Flint for help. (He seems to have shoes on more often than me :) "Honey, can you take the laundry out to to the dryer on your way out?" and "Could you run and get the dry cloths from the garage before you get dressed for bed?" etc...

Little did I know, that was all I needed to do to make a new dryer a priority for him too....

Sucked In

2008-01-15T01:11:00.000-08:00

I just got sucked in!

I feel like I have been the only one in the world without a blog, but have been resistant. I am a avid blog reader, but am still not sure that I have anything worth posting.

I love reading my siblings blogs. Their stories and pictures keep me updated and connected even though we are spread out across the United States. Actually, I live ten minutes away from my sister, and hadn't heard the hilarious story she told on her blog today. I laughed like crazy. Then I read it to my hubby. After reading through my siblings' posts I start browsing through their favorite blog links. Who needs TV when I can get swept away in hours of blogger enjoyment?

I was reading through my favorite (bookmarked) blogs tonight and realized what a moocher I am. Take, take, take...that is all I do. I finally decided that I needed to give it a try. I have a wonderfully blessed life. It's time I at least tried to share it. Now you can have a glimps of Alli's world ... or "Allison's Wonderland". An now begins my blogging adventures.

Chubby Cheeks

2008-01-15T01:08:00.000-08:00

My Wonderful Baby Boy

2008-01-15T01:04:00.000-08:00