100th Anniversary of the Boy Scouts of America

Here is the 100th anniversary show of the Boy Scouts of America! Nicholas is there right now, and he's having a blast!

Motocross Mountain Bike Cake

Nicholas' Boy Scout fundraiser was last Saturday. The Boy Scouts and the Young Women prepared a taco dinner - and let me tell you, tacos prepared by people of Hispanic heritage are out of this world! The Young Women president is from Columbia, and her cooking is delicioso! The families who attended were all invited to donate home-baked treats for auctioning. Michael and I found a Motocross Mountain Bike Cake recipe on the Family Fun website.

It was super easy, and everyone thought that it was so difficult and complicated! It sold for the highest amount, and Michael and I are very proud of ourselves!

This is Michael with the woman who bought the cake. She was planning to give it to her son for Father's Day. What a gift! Now Michael wants me to make it for his birthday party this Saturday. Let the baking begin!

Happy Father's Day, Tony!

We woke up this morning and went downstairs to find Michael in the kitchen with a cookbook open. He was trying to figure out what to make for breakfast. When he decides to mix something and turn the burners of the stove on without adult supervision, we are in trouble! Anyway, he found a neat recipe for "Nutty Breakfast Rolls". They consisted of pancakes(which we had leftover from yesterday's breakfast), peanut butter, and bananas. I helped him heat the pancakes and spread peanut butter on each one, then fold an eighth of a banana into it. I am not a peanut butter fan, but the boys loved them!

Tony was very happy(I hope) that we gave him a BBQ grill basket, a panini maker, and a mesh back support.

After church, Michael brought home a candy lei from Primary for him. It was Saran Wrap with different candies rolled up inside with ribbon tied throughout it to separate the candies. Michael was convinced that Daddy was not going to want the chocolate, so he was ready to eat them before we got home. I convinced him to wait until we got home to let Dad make that decision. Of course Michael was right, and he and Dad had a good time taking the candies out and eating them!

Tony had a fantastic day!(I'll post pictures tomorrow)

Happy Birthday to me!

Today is my 44th birthday! as well as Dad, and Holly's birthday. It would also be Gayla's birthday. I hope they have enjoyed their birthday celebrations as much as I've enjoyed mine!

It's Pinewood Derby Time!

Lincoln Center

Nicholas has been playing with a youth symphony orchestra this year. Yesterday, they performed at Lincoln Center.

We brought Nicholas in early for rehearsal, then went to an early dinner at an Irish Pub, and saw Bruce Willis and his new wife!

After dinner we went to the concert. We were not allowed to take pictures, but the youth orchestra had hired a photographer to take pictures during their rehearsal. Here are a few of them:

Let it Snow, let it snow, let it snow!

This is the snowiest winter we've had since I was pregnant with Nicholas 14 years ago. I so wish I could put my boots on and play in the snow. As it is, I can sit on the porch and enjoy the view.

Michael is loving the snow! Nicholas is not loving it so much, now that he's old enough to be shoveling it.

Happy Valentine's Day

I've been having a lot of pain in my left foot, and my podiatrist told me that I would have to have a 2nd bunionectomy to fix the problems I was having(I had a bunionectomy about 14 years ago in both of my feet). So I scheduled my surgery for February 9, and I had plans to be home for recovery for four days of school, then we would be off for winter break.

Two days before that, Michael woke up with a raging fever, and had to stay home from church. Tony brought him to the doctor, where he got some medicine. Our school district's policy is that children should stay home for 24 hours after a fever breaks. I stayed home with Michael the next day, and was also able to prepare for my surgery. He was an adorable little mush, and we spent the day watching movies together.

Nicholas and Michael spent the night before my surgery at Grandma's house, because I had to be at the hospital at 6 a.m. the next morning. My surgery was successful, and I came home to recover.

There was a winter warning for the next day, and late that night, both Tony and I got a call from our school districts telling us that school was closed the next day(whoopee!). So my first full day of recovery was going to be with my whole family. It was really nice!

I like any opportunity to be crafty, and there is a website that gives me lots of great ideas. At http://www.familyfun.com/ , Michael and I found a neat valentine card to make for his classmates. It's called the "Magic Message Card". I cut out the hearts and strips of paper, and Michael helped me weave the papers through. It took some doing, but we figured out how to make them work.

Once we were finished with the class valentine cards, we worked on his teachers' valentine cards.

For his classroom teacheer, Michael made a popcorn holder and we taped a package of popcorn to the back of it. You can't see the message, but from what I remember, it says "I don't mean to be corny, but you're the greatest!".

Then for his music teacher and the classroom helper, Michael gave them a hot drink cup with a packet of hot cocoa and a heart with the message "Valentine, you warm my heart!"

Our winter warning turned into a blizzard warning, so school closed for a second day. It was really nice to have my family home with me for another day, but I had planned to watch girl movies. Oh well, it would have to wait for another day...

Family Life Merit Badge

As part of Nicholas' Family Life merit badge, he was required to complete two projects that benefit his family. The first one he completed last summer, and it consisted of spreading mulch all through the garden beds. I'll try to remember to post a picture of it soon.

The other project Nicholas chose was to bake a meal for the family, which he completed back in January. He decided to make meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and a cake.

He had to peel all of the potatoes - which you can see he thoroughly enjoyed doing(not!).

He was also going to bake a loaf of bread, but thanks to my visiting teachers, who brought over a loaf of home-baked bread for us that day, he got out of it!

I think his favorite part of preparing the meal was baking the cake and decorating it.

At the next Court of Honor, when he received his 2nd class Scout badge, Nicholas also received his Family Life merit badge. We're proud of you, Nicholas!

Baby, it's cold outside!

I helped Michael's Cub Scout pack learn how to make a quilt. They decorated the squares, helped me sew them together, and then they tied it. Here's the finished product! Now we're looking to donate it to a well-deserving organization...

Happy New Year!

The day before New Year's Eve, we drove into New York City. Nicholas and I went to the Manhattan Temple for a baptism session, and then Tony, Nicholas, Michael, and I went to Times Square and had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. We saw all of the stages being set up for the New Year's Eve TV broadcasts.

When we went into the Hard Rock Cafe, we were told that there was an hour long wait for a table. We entertained ourselves by browsing around the waiting area and looking for rock star paraphernalia. Here's what we found:

When we finally made it into the dining area, we gave Nicholas the camera, and he went around taking more pictures:

The food was delicious, and I highly recommend a visit to any Hard Rock Cafe near you!