Singing Time

When we brought the girls home from the hospital I bragged to Brandon that I knew every song in the Children's Songbook. As we sang to the girls each night it became apparent that I may have learned every song I no longer remembered all the words.

So I borrowed the songbook from my parents. I opened it up and found out there were a lot of songs I had never even heard of such as "Father we thank thee for the night."

For a while I was bummed that I really didn't know all the songs, but then I decided that I wanted to learn them all.

So I borrowed the songs on CD from my parents (thank goodness for parents) and I've started learning the songs.

I sing along with one CD everyday for a week. So far I've learned about 10 new songs. I've also learned the second verse to most of the songs where I only knew the first verse- which is basically all of them. Did you know there is a second verse to "Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam"? And I've learned the words to a lot of songs that I know the tune but not the words like "I lived in Heaven"

Here is a video of the fun songs I sing with the girls each day.

6:00 is the new 3:30

I hope I don't jinx anything by saying this, but the girls are sleeping through the night!!!!! I can put them to bed around 10:00 and the BOTH stay asleep until around 6:00. This has happened for the past several nights so I hope it is an indication of good things to come.

It's amazing what I have been able to do with more sleep. I've started actually dressing the girls in planned outfits. Here is how they looked on Sunday.

On Saturday I took the girls to a wedding reception for one of my friends from the ward I grew up in. His sisters are twins and they both wanted to hold my twins. Here is Elizabeth holding Charlotte (in the pink) and Emily holding Lydia (in purple). Pink and Purple were their colors. Charlotte and Lydia's colors are Pink and Yellow, but they just happened to be wearing these colors.

We took the girls to Antelope Island om Tuesday. Here is what the girls looked like as we loaded up the back of our Jeep.

We checked out the visitors center.
And went on a small hike. We had the girls turned facing us in their packs, but they cried. So we turned them around so they could see and they were happy.
We drove around the island and we were able to get really close to some Buffalo. We also saw Antelope.
On Friday we had the pinewood derby. Our car didn't win in the races, but we won the "sleekest" award.
There were lots of really cool cars.
The girls were really good and stayed awake during the whole thing.
Here is the video of our cars two races.

Ohio - With Pictures

My mom's mom lives in Ohio. At least once a year she would fly out to Utah to see my family. When I was 14 me, Lindsey, and Emily were able to fly to visit her. We were completely spoiled!!!! During the 9 days that we were in Ohio we ate out at restaurants, went out for ice cream every night, went to several tourist destinations, and we even went to an amusement park. The trip was a once in a lifetime event and so that meant we splurged and bought 3 disposable cameras (gasp!) So that is why there are pictures in this post.

Before we get started I have to say that I really really really regret not writing about the 9 days in my journal. The main reason I regret it is because I don't remember what order we did anything in. School started the day after we got home and I just never had time to write down what had happened. Emily wrote it all down and I have always (for like 12 years) meant to borrow her journal and write down the order of everything we did. She lives in Rexburg and her journal is either there or in a box somewhere in my parent's house. I really should have just taken the hour and written in my journal. But oh well, here is what I do remember.

Here we all are at the Cleveland Airport. I don't remember what was in the bags. When Grandma came out to Salt Lake she always had a present for us when she got off the plane. So it makes sense that she would have a present ready for us when we arrived.

Grandma lives in Akron, Ohio only a few blocks from the house she grew up in. She knows the owner of the house and so we were able to walk through it. This is the front porch. Grandma's parents owned this house while she was growing up. Later they sold it and moved to Florida. Then several years after that they moved back and bought the house across the street from this one. The current owner of the house says that he remembers watching my Great Grandpa, go out in his front yard to "hunt the weeds."

As we drove around the neighborhood Grandma would point out houses. "There is where we lived when I was born . . . my grandparents lived in that house . . . this is where our meat market was . . ." and so on. I was stuck by how much of my family's life had been lived in such a small geographical area. Of course Grandma hasn't always lived in Akron. She was in Kansas when my mom was born and she lived in Indianapolis for over 25 years too. She moved home to Akron to take care of her mother and brother. Her mother died and after the estate was settled there was enough money to fly us girls out for a visit.
At one point during the trip we drove out to Amish country. We drove over some hilly roads to get there. It was fun to feel our stomachs rise in our chests as we went over the hills. Once we were in Amish Country we saw lots of horse drawn buggies. We also saw lots of people who were dressed in old styles of clothing. We couldn't take their pictures though.

At one house were bought a wall basket from a family. It still hangs up in my parents house. The same day that we went to Amish Country we stopped at a store that always sells Christmas decorations. We stopped at another store that sold lots of pewter stuff. Somewhere we bought yogurt covered pretzels and became instantly addicted.
Another day we toured the Harry London Chocolate Factory. We were able to see how people make chocolate.
The tour ended in the gift shop and we could help ourselves to free "Buck Eye" Chocolates. They were chocolates with peanut butter balls in them. Emily loves peanut butter and chocolate so she had a great time eating those buck eyes.
One of the coolest things we did was go to Geauga Lake Amusement Park. We spent the whole day there and rode lots of roller coasters and other rides.
The best roller coaster was the Serial Thriller. We went on it twice. I had never been on anything bigger than the Collosus at Lagoon so this ride was amazing to me. It is the type of ride where you hang in a seat below the track. This is a movie of what it is like to ride it. I especially loved the cork screw part.
Here we are at the end of the day. We look pretty tired. (The dark circles under my eyes are from where my mascara smeared after a water ride.) That night we stopped at Burger King on the way home. It was the first time I ever ate at Burger King and I have loved it ever since.

Another Highlight of the trip was going to Kirtland Ohio to see the Kirtland Temple. At the time we went about the only thing to see in Kirtland was the temple which is owned by the Comminty of Christ (RLDS church). A few months after we visited, the LDS church started building up a lot of things in Kirtland. Three years later when my whole family went to Ohio we went back to Kirtland. On that trip we were able to see Newel K Whitney's store, a saw mill, and several other sites that had either been restored or recreated.

It was interesting to go on a tour through the temple with a tour guide that was not LDS. Basically everyone on the tour was LDS and so we would ask things like, "Isn't this where Jesus appeared to Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdrey?" And the guide would say things like, "Well, there are accounts that that happened here, but we don't have any evidence."
My Grandma is no longer active in the church so it was nice of her to bring us to Kirtland. We were very impressed by the beauty of the temple.
Another religious place that we visited was Concordia Lutheran Church. My Grandma was married in this church. We went to a worship service there with her, her brother, and her cousin. It was very interesting to be somewhere that had so much family significance. My mom's family was Lutheran up until my mom was nine. Then the missionaries knocked on her door. My grandma invited them in because she had heard of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the rest is history.
Grandma loves antiques. We were able to go with her to a flea market where she sold, among other things, old toys. We enjoyed helping her set up her tables and merchandise. In the back ground of this picture you can see my Grandma's brother Alan. My Grandma lives with him and takes care of him.
On another day we went swimming at the Nauditorium. ( I told you we were spoiled.)
We went to a place called Hale Farm and Village. They recreate how life was like on the frontier. In this picture you can see Jake. He was Grandma's high school boyfriend. They were dating again at the time we came to visit. He helped with the spoiling. He bought me the pink shirt that I am wearing the the Geauga Lake pic. He also paid for a lot of the ice cream that we ate. He was really neat to get to know. Ultimately he decided that it was too soon after his wife's death to be dating again, so he and my Grandma didn't stay together. I'm glad that he was a part of our family for the brief time that he was.
I'm not sure where this picture is taken I think it was also at Hale Farm. We have other pictures of us standing in front of another random church that was just on the side of the road on the way to Amish Country.
Here I am with something I never would have had to wear in school - a dunce cap.
There were a few things that we didn't get pictures of. We went out to eat twice at a place called Rocco's Pizza. It was an arcade as well as a pizza place. I played PAC Man while Emily and Lindsey played some crazy game where their computer characters ran through money.

I wish we had a picture of the beds my Grandma set up for us. The attic of her house was all one room. She had two twin beds and I think a cot set up. We took turns with who got to sleep in each bed each night.

It was such a great trip. For the first time in my life I really felt connected to my mom's family. I'm glad I have great memories of spending time with my Grandma.

Inspiration: A Meaningful Life

I just finished reading "Good to Great" by Jim Collins. It is basically about 11 companies that were able to achieve 15 years of amazing returns- and how they did it. I found it inspiring on so many more levels than just business. There were so many things that tied into my home life and the gospel.

I especially loved the discussion of the Stockdale Paradox on pages 83 - 87. I would share it with you but I don't want to type it in. Plus I want you to go read the book. Instead I will share the last paragraph of the book.

" . . . In the end, it is impossible to have a great life unless it is a meaningful life. And it is very difficult to have a meaningful life without meaningful work. Perhaps then you might gain that rare tranquillity that comes from knowing that you've had a hand in creating something of intrinsic excellence that makes a contribution. Indeed, you might even gain that deepest of all satisfactions:knowing that your short time here on earth has been well spent, and that it mattered."

Pine Wood Derby Car

Our branch is having its annual pine wood derby race tonight. We don't have any cub scouts in the branch so this activity is open to every one. Brandon has been working hard on our car for over a month.

First he designed the car using a Ferrari as a model. He drew the plans in Adobe illustrator and traced them to the wood.

At first he attempted to cut the car out using chisels and a hack saw.
Then he decided that was dumb and decided to use his dad's band saw to get the basic shape.
After rough cutting it with the band saw he used his pocket knife to shape the wood the rest of the way. He sanded the wood by hand at first.
Then he started to use the Dremel tool he got as a very belated graduation present.
He sanded the car the rest of the way with the Dremel.
He drilled a hole for the weights.
Then he had to figure out how much weight to put into the car. According to the rules the car can't weigh over 5 ounces. We don't have a scale so Brandon made one. Cans of tuna contain 5 ounces of tuna so he weighted the car against the net weight of a tuna can. That helped him determine that washers would not give the car enough weight.
While Brandon worked on the weight problem I went to work painting the car. Here is the before picture.
And here is the car after two coats of paint and a varnish job.
Brandon figured out that 63 pennies weighed 5 oz so he constructed a new scale and started balancing the car with it. (I was busy with the girls and had no idea what he was up to until I looked up and saw this on the counter)
Brandon figured that lead was the only metal small and heavy enough. He did a lot of math to figure out the amount of lead he would need. Then he figured out the size of the hole he would need to drill to hold that amount of lead. At one point I think he was writing his own math equations. Then he used his dad's blow torch to melt the lead into the hole in the car. After that the car weighted exactly 5 ounces.
He used the Dremel to construct a rudimentary lathe and ground down the wheels so they will run on the smallest amount of surface area possible.
Then Brandon attached the wheels and put graphite on them to reduce the friction.
Here is Brandon with the car. The races start at 6:30 tonight. Wish us luck!

Testing Out a Few Things

We got our awesome stroller from Amazon.com. Right after it came the weather turned cold so we weren't able to use it. On the first sort of warm day I took it and the girls out for a test drive. It works great! However, I probably should have put hats on the girls. I love the stroller because it is light weight. Plus check out the name on the seats - it is a Jeep! Yep we are starting the girls out early on brand loyalty.

We also got our high chairs from Amazon. I didn't want chairs that would take up a lot of room so I bought the type that strap onto regular chairs. Our Doctor says we can start trying to feed the girls rice cereal once a day so we've been doing that. The key word here is trying. Nothing seems to stay in the girls' mouths.
My sister is still in town and she came to visit me twice last week. Here is Rocklond playing with Lydia.
Yesterday was a beautiful day so we took the Jeep stroller out for a spin so Brandon could see how it handles. He loves it and even took it "off roading" on the grass and wood chips at the park. Then we came home and fired up the barbecue grill for the first time this year. Why does food taste better when it is cooked with fire? It tasted better than the food we had on our date to Outback Steakhouse (thanks Melissa for babysitting)
In honor of spring I created this centerpiece for our entertainment center.
And here is a video of what Lydia has been testing out this week. She has learned how to pout. She started doing it on Monday and hasn't stopped yet. I swear she is doing it on purpose. (The fact that I laugh every time she does it probably is encouraging her to keep doing it.)

First year of Youth Conference – Samoa

My first year of Youth Conference was held in Samoa. Okay not the real Samoa – it was a Samoa recreated in Kearns. We did a lot of authentic things because there was a Samoan ward in my stake.

The weekend started out with the plane ride to Samoa on Friday night. Prior to the beginning of the weekend all the participants were issued tickets to fly on “Lost Sheep Airlines.” (The theme was something about finding lost sheep.) The overflow room of the chapel was turned into an airplane cabin. Somehow the people in charge had rigged up a curved ceiling using PVC pipe and painting drop cloths. They set up chairs in rows of three seats with an aisle down the middle. I think there were even Christmas lights set up on the floor to illuminate the aisle. Johnny Lingo was the in-flight movie.

After we arrived at Samoa we went swimming at the Kearns Rec Center which had recently added a new outdoor swimming area. I remember watching a lot of the older teenagers in my ward jump off the high dive. I could barely swim so I didn't even dare go off the low dive.

All the participants slept at their own houses for the night. On Saturday morning we met at the stake recreation property by the 10th/16^th ward building. We had a continental breakfast like a hotel would have served.

During the day we did lots of things that we would have done as tourists in Samoa. We were given lava lavas to wear as skirts. We also wore lays and put flowers in our hair. The Samoan girls taught us white girls how to do a traditional dance similar to the hula. The boys learned how to Slap Dance. It was really funny to watch the scrawny white guys learn the dance that required slapping, stomping, and yelling.

I don't remember what we had for lunch but I'm sure it was a lot of authentic Samoan food. I'm pretty certain they served Cocoa Rice. I'd first experienced Cocoa Rice at a Stake 4^th of July breakfast when I was about 9 years old. At that breakfast I loaded up my plate with traditional foods such as pancakes, bacon, eggs, and sausage. Then I came to the ladies serving rice in a brown sauce. When they told me it was called cocoa rice I thought, “all right! Chocolate rice!” Instead of the sweet dessert I was expecting I was treated to the most bitter food I have ever eaten.

In the evening my stake hosted the monthly regional dance. I was one of the people that helped decorate the cultural hall with flowers. I remember dancing with a really tall guy from another stake. He was surprised to find out that I was only 14. This was probably my favorite region dance that whole year. I usually didn't enjoy region dances because I didn't know anyone. My stake was in a different region than most of the stakes with kids that went to my Jr high. I'd go to the dances and not participate because I didn't know anyone. In later years all the Kearns stakes would combine for dances and I was actually be with people I knew. Also my stake was dissolved and my ward ended up in a stake that more of my Jr high and high school friends were in. With these changes I enjoyed region dances in High School.

On Sunday we all went to our own wards for church. All the girls in my ward wore their lava-lavas. That evening we gathered in the overflow room/airplane cabin for the trip home from Samoa. My dad was supposed to meet me there. He'd been participating in Youth Conference because he was the bishop. I had his lava-lava for him, but he never showed up. I didn't worry too much about it – I figured he was busy with some last minute bishop stuff.

The plane “took off” and we started watching another in-flight movie. After a few minutes the power flickered and the TV turned off. Then the room went completely dark. Someone came into the plane and told us that the plane had crashed and we were all dead. The person had us follow him to a small dimly lit classroom in another part of the church. We were told that this represented the Telestial Kingdom (click on this link for a description of the LDS church's views of life after death.). A man came in a spoke to us about his life. He said that he had been a murderer and wished that he had lived a more righteous life.

After this slightly horrifying room we were led into the Primary room. This room was more brightly lit. We were told this represented the Terrestrial Kingdom. A man and his wife talked to us about their lives and how they thought they had lived good lives, but they hadn't done enough to achieve the highest kingdom.

I could see where this was going so I was not surprised when we were lead into the chapel. I knew it would represent the Celestial Kingdom. However, I was very surprised when we entered the room. My whole family was there dressed in white. My mom was in her temple dress and my dad was in his temple suit. My sisters and brother were in white outfits that someone in the stake had let them borrow. There were other families there as well. The room was filled with people in white. It looked like heaven.

I was happy to see my family, but I was “too cool” to sit with them. I stayed with the girls in my ward. We all sat down and someone talked to us about the Celestial Kingdom. Then we had testimony meeting. It seems like everyone in the room bore their testimony. I bore mine too.

At the time I don't think I fully appreciated all the thought that went into this Youth Conference. In later years I helped plan several of the stake's youth conferences. In college I worked as a Youth Conference Counselor. I now know how much effort goes into creating a meaningful and fun experience for teenagers. My first year was very successful in that it was fun, memorable, and most importantly it helped me feel the spirit.

Inspiration: We can't afford it

Brandon and I have made more money than we make now. We have also made less. But no matter how much we make I watch our expenses really carefully. There are several reasons for this: 1. We'd like to pay off Brandon's student loans as quickly as possible 2. We like to have money in the bank. and 3. Our financial fantasy is to pay cash for a house (notice right now it is a fantasy not a goal.)

Sometimes it is hard to think about all the things we could buy, but that we are giving up. However, usually we forget about those things pretty quickly. Also we really don't have any room in our apartment for more stuff - so it's easy to say no to buying things.

Here is a talk by Elder Robert D Hales from April 2009 Conference. It reminds me that we are doing the right thing by saving our money.

The first lesson was learned when we were newly married and had very little money. I was in the air force, and we had missed Christmas together. I was on assignment overseas. When I got home, I saw a beautiful dress in a store window and suggested to my wife that if she liked it, we would buy it. Mary went into the dressing room of the store. After a moment the salesclerk came out, brushed by me, and returned the dress to its place in the store window. As we left the store, I asked, “What happened?” She replied, “It was a beautiful dress, but we can’t afford it!” Those words went straight to my heart. I have learned that the three most loving words are “I love you,” and the four most caring words for those we love are “We can’t afford it.”

The second lesson was learned several years later when we were more financially secure. Our wedding anniversary was approaching, and I wanted to buy Mary a fancy coat to show my love and appreciation for our many happy years together. When I asked what she thought of the coat I had in mind, she replied with words that again penetrated my heart and mind. “Where would I wear it?” she asked. (At the time she was a ward Relief Society president helping to minister to needy families.)

Then she taught me an unforgettable lesson. She looked me in the eyes and sweetly asked, “Are you buying this for me or for you?” In other words, she was asking, “Is the purpose of this gift to show your love for me or to show me that you are a good provider or to prove something to the world?” I pondered her question and realized I was thinking less about her and our family and more about me.

After that we had a serious, life-changing discussion about provident living, and both of us agreed that our money would be better spent in paying down our home mortgage and adding to our children’s education fund.

These two lessons are the essence of provident living. When faced with the choice to buy, consume, or engage in worldly things and activities, we all need to learn to say to one another, “We can’t afford it, even though we want it!” or “We can afford it, but we don’t need it—and we really don’t even want it!”

(Funny story: the radio station we listened to this talk on started playing a Mr Mac comercial right in the middle of this talk. I guess they figured that they didn't want anyone deciding they didn't need a new suit.)

I love food storage!

I used to think that food storage was for old people. Or at least for people with basements with space to store lots of food. Then I got married and moved into a married student ward. The first week I attended the ward the Relief Society lesson was on food storage. The teacher asked everyone to share the ways they practise food storage. I was amazed as I listened to young, poor college students share what they did to have extra food. The strategies they used weren't spectacular but they were practical and appropriate for the stage of life we were all in.

Since that day almost 4 years ago I have come up with several of my own food storage strategies. Here they are in no particular order. These pictures are from our most recent stock up shopping trip. (We were getting pretty low on some stuff)

1. Be ahead This is my main strategy. I always try to have one extra bottle, box, tube, canister, or whatever of everything I use. That way I never really run out of anything. If I use the "last" of the miracle whip I can grab the extra jar in the cupboard. It saves me from running to the store for random things. During our most recent food storage stock up trip Brandon and I bought enough things to have 3 extra items on hand of the things we use like salsa, syrup, and formula.

2. Buy what we use Despite the recent disaster in Japan I still think it is much more likely that we will suffer from a reduced income rather than a natural disaster. So Brandon and I don't have any MRE's or other "emergency food." Instead we have stocked up on the food we know and love. We have lots of chili, canned tomatoes, cream of mushroom soup, baking cocoa, etc. We also have lots of non-food things like dishwasher soap. I make sure I have enough makeup and other beauty supplies to last awhile.

3. Take advantage of case lots sales Our first food storage item was a case of tomato sauce that we bought for about $3 at case lots. We always try to buy at least one thing at the case lots sale. I like the sales because buying cans in cases makes them really easy to put into my cart and to store at home.

4. Don't get hung up on trying to find the best deal. I know there are people who are able to keep track of the all the store that are having sales and use coupons to buy tons of food for pennies. I am not one of these people. Maybe one day I will become one of them, but not now.

For now I keep track of the sales at one store - Smiths Marketplace. I've been shopping there long enough now that I know when things are a good deal. When I see something on sale - and it is something I use - I will buy it and maybe several extras. Sure it might be cheaper somewhere else, but I don't have the time or sanity to bother with finding out about the sale, driving to the store, and trying to find the item in an unfamiliar place.

5. Don't ignore the non-food stuff. It is just as much of a disaster if I run out of toilet paper as if I run out of milk - probably more so. So I make sure that we have enough toilet paper. I also keep extra cleaning stuff and soap around.

So there you have some of our food storage strategies. I encourage you to try to save a little bit extra too. The piece of mind is worth it.