i love cake

Anyone who has ever tried to get tickets to the highly popular and much anticipated Mormon Tabernacle Choir Christmas Concert knows how hard it can be to get tickets, and once in hand they are worth more than their weight in gold (well actually more than that as tickets don't really weigh very much!).  Well, I ended up with two extra tickets (don't ask, it's a long story).  So not wanting to see these precious possessions go to waste, I logged onto ksl.com classifieds only to see that about 1 million people had posted "wanted" ads for tickets.  Desperate, desperate people.  Some willing to pay money, others willing to give up first-borns.  I chose the first one I saw, a woman named Lisa, and sent her a message, "Hi, I have some extra tickets if you are interested."  Well, to say the least, she was interested.  She came to my home night before last to pick them up, but she did not arrive empty handed.  No.  This thoughtful and generous and grateful woman had brought us a cake.  But not just any cake.  No.  She brought us a "Nothing Bundt Cakes" cake.  A glorious chocolate, chocolate chip confection adorned with delectable butter cream frosting.  Look at the photo - isn't it beautiful?!  Almost too beautiful to eat.  Almost.  But fortunately we have managed to consume the entire thing (minus one piece saved for Brooke - don't worry Brooke, it's in the fridge with a big 'DO NOT EAT!' note stuck to it).

I love thoughtful people.

I love cake.

matthew's 8th birthday

Today our Matthew turned 8-years-old. What a busy and amazing day it has been! Not only is it his birthday, but he got the rare opportunity to be baptized on his birthday. I must say it was the best baptismal service I've ever been to (and I'm certainly not biased!).

(December 6th is also Dutch Christmas which we celebrate since we are dutch. He woke up to his wooden shoes full of dutch goodies from Sinter Klaas and Black Pete! It was a good start to a great day!)

Raegan brought her harp and played prelude and postlude.  Click to watch and listen!

These adorable boy cousins are all the same age - all born within a year. We were missing one more - Henry who lives in Pennsylvania.

They sang, "When Jesus Christ Was Baptized".

After the baptism we had everyone over to our home for lunch. I stopped counting at 50 people so I know there were at least that many! I was surprised at how unstressful it was (thanks to the good weather and the boys being able to go out back for a game of football!). Here are some of the "girl cousins" (there are 60 cousins just on one side!).

Dinner at Matthew's favorite restaurant where he got to open his presents. Forget Kung Fu Panda wii game or the Indiana Jones Whip complete with DVD and sound effects, his favorite present was his very own set of scriptures. He carried them around with him everywhere the rest of the night!

have you ever wondered (#3)....

....what naughty things your children are doing when you are not around?  I don't wonder anymore.  Now I know.

Case in point - a conversation in the van last week with Matthew and Adam:

Matthew: Mom, do robbers go to heaven?

Me: Well, I'm not really sure but I suppose if they stop being a robber and start being good then they will probably go to heaven.

Adam: Mom, will I go to heaven?

Me: If you are a good boy and choose the right then I'm sure you will go to heaven.

Adam: Okay, I'll start being a good boy. I won't hit Matthew, or slap Matthew, or kick him in the p***s (boy part) anymore!  


Well, I didn't know that was going on!

have you ever wondered (#2).....

...what your cel phone would look like if you (accidentally) ran over it with your Honda Odyssey? Three times?

I don't wonder anymore. Now I know.

have you ever wondered....

....what your high school yearbook picture would look like if you had been in school back in 1950? 1962? 1986?

Well, I don't wonder anymore. Now I know......

Here I am in 1952. You can call me June. June Cleaver.

1960

I look much more mature in my glasses. Oh, how I wished I had saved those.

1966
That bouffont is the bomb.

1968

Oh my! The year I was born.

1972

1978
I have often wondered how I would look if I were a woman of color (with a 'fro). Hmm, not bad!

1980

"The Love Boat" look (loved that show!).

1984
Think Flashdance.

1990
This is actually (spookily) close to how I looked in high school! (Except I don't think I looked quite so photoshopped in real life.....did I Brett?)


1992

This must have been taken before my chin surgery. Whew, glad I got that fixed! And the hair...well, it was kind of an awkward time for me.

1994

I guess I went a little crazy with the bronzer that day.

1996

Okay, if YOU want to waste as much time on your computer as I have on mine today, click here. It's good for a few laughs!

she did it!

It's a fact I must come to grips with....I have a child old enough to vote. (I know, I know, she is almost 20. It's okay Maryanne - you are still young, you are still young, you ARE......)

She was SO excited she showed up at the polls at

6:45 a.m.!

witch hunt

Halloween wouldn't be complete without a witch hunt at Gardner Village. The place is full of whimsical witches all acting quite.....silly - one riding a bike across a tight-rope, one crashing into the side of an old grain silo, one begging passers-by for some chocolate, another for a kiss (one even sitting in the outhouse reading her newspaper - her name is "Witchy-Poo"!). The funnest part for the kids is the "hunt" where they need to search for certain witches around the grounds, write down their location, and then, once they've found them all, they can trade in their completed Witch Hunt paper for a delicious chocolate chip cookie!

Needless to say, we found all but ONE witch. Oh you "Witch-who-is-afraid-of-a-mouse"....where were you?! We looked everywhere for you! You must have been SO very afraid of that silly mouse that you just ran away. Far away. Oh well, the nice lady at The Neighborhood Bakery had sympathy on us cold and tired witch-hunters and gave us our cookies anyway.

A trip to Gardner Village would not be complete without a visit to The Neighborhood Bakery for some pumpkin sugar cookies and a couple of sprinkle doughnuts!

A few of the locals - these ladies are real witches! I just know they are.

I think I could become friends with this witch - she and I seem to have something in common - the willingness to do almost anything for some chocolate. (I asked her if dark was her favorite, like me, but she wouldn't answer me. Kind of a rude witch, I'd say....maybe I don't want to be her friend!)

recital

Matthew: "Mom, if I go blind before my piano recital do I still have to do it or can I cancel?"

here we go again.....

Bleah.

like mother, NOT like daughter

This morning I went for my usual Saturday morning run. And as usual, at about 10 minutes into it, I was already wanting to be done. I grumbled to myself the whole time because I was too cold, then I was too hot, then I was too cold. I was tired, I was hungry, and I had a cramp in my side. I pretty much hated every single minute of it. I finally grudgingly finished out my 3 miles and was thrilled to have it behind me.

About 2 hours later, Brooke called me....

"Mom, I went running this morning and I swear I could have run another marathon! I was loving every minute of it. It was nice and cool, perfect weather, and wonderful! After running for over an hour I thought to myself that maybe I should stop, even though I really didn't want to. But I decided it probably wouldn't be that good for me to run for very much longer since I'm not training for anything right now. So I went back home but I really could have just kept going and going and going!"

Whatever.

This, my dear Brooke, is why you run marathons and your mother doesn't.