Mystery Dinner in YM/YW

It's a little hard to tell, but everyone is eating random food with random utensils: spaghetti noodles with a toothpick, anyone?

Rachel's Kindergarten class

Is it just me, or does this seem
Like 2023 is forever away? I know it will go by in a flash, though.

"Hike" at Silver Lake

Friday we went for a "hike" around Silver Lake. Mitchell was at scout camp, so it was just the 4 of us.

SOURDOUGH BREAD, you're the best!

I love sourdough bread. Like, REALLY love it. It's my favorite. I have tried for years and years and years to make a good SOUR sourdough. It just was not working. No matter which recipe I tried. Recently, I had given up. I decided that our Utah dry desert air was not conducive to the yeast the bread needs.

Well, a month ago, I got a book from the library called, "The Breadbaker's Apprentice" by Peter Reinhart. I in no way consider myself a full time baker, which this book requires that you be, since the first loaf of bread I made from it was a Ciabatta bread that took 7 hours to complete (and I even left out a step). It was good, but not 7 hours good. I decided that I would give the book 1 more try, and chose a Sourdough recipe. From start to finish, it took about 2 weeks worth of care to get this bad boy. I made my own seed culture (the fermented flour and water that catches the yeast in the air), from that I made the barm (or mother starter, if you will), and finally the dough to make a loaf of bread. If you already have the barm going, it will still take 2-3 days to finish this loaf.

So without further ado, here's my finished loaf:
A little underwhelming, I know. I sliced it, and it made breadsticks, but HALLELUJAH! It was SOUR. Even Mitchell said I should be a professional bread baker. um, no thanks. But it was great to FINALLY have a sourdough recipe that was nice and sour.

Dear Whitney,

Remember how Girls Camp was fun back when you were in Young Women's (What was that about 3 years ago?)? Well, I have news for you. It's even MORE fun as a leader.

As requested:
By the way, Nikki and I did this balance challenge, and rocked it in about 5 minutes. As if anyone needed any more proof, we're awesome.They just could not figure this one out.

I was the cheater on this balance beam. I'm a great example, I know.

This wall was fun... except I am not really that tall, so it was a struggle to reach all the holds.

Dance Party/service project
One Clear Voice came to perform for us.

At the top of our hike.Does this picture surprise anyone? Not me. These cute girls are AWESOME!!

A letter to my sister

Dear Kyra,

Wow!! I sure do miss you. I (partly)composed this post while eating (read: scarfing) my lunch. I know you are asking yourself, "What did Mandi have for lunch?". I will tell you: lettuce that I grew in my own garden, tomatoes and avocados that I got from the Co-op pick up on Saturday, cheese that I MADE from yogurt that I MADE (oh, yeah, it's YUMMY), and balsamic vinaigrette that I bought from the store. Aside from the dressing, I am kinda starting to sound granola. Next thing you know, I'll be wearing Teva's, forgoing deodorant, and driving an Outback (sorry, Beef!).

I just got back from Girls Camp up in Wallsburg, Utah on Friday. I cannot believe how much fun I had. Apparently I still think I'm 16, so I fit right in. We had a blast... but as I'm sure you remember, there was a spiritual side to it, too. On the very first night, some of the girls and I had a great talk around the fire (that I built! Thank you, Dad.). As I have thought about the things we discussed, I have no doubt that I was prepared for that discussion.... even as much as 9 months ago. I am amazed at how Heavenly Father works in all of our lives, and knows what we need... and puts it into place for us. We also had a musical fireside by a group called One Clear Voice. One of the ladies in my ward is in that group, and I love to listen to her sing. I am even her Visiting Teacher. How lucky is that? I don't know why I didn't take my tissues everywhere with me, 'cuz I was sure crying a ton that night. Maybe I'll post some pictures later... they will have to be kept on the "D - L" because our YW president is a ball of fun, and has requested that "What happens at Camp, stays at camp." We'll see about that. (hehe)

Mitchell is off to Scout Camp today. They are spending the week at Bear Lake. Bishop asked last night what his goal was for earning Merit Badges, and he said, "At least one." The little stinker. I dropped him off this morning, and as I was leaving, he just gave me a wave from the middle of the group, and I said, "That's not gonna work for me." So I made him come over and give me a hug (I didn't want to embarrass him too much with a big fat kiss). Yeah, I'm THAT mom. It will be a sad thing to have him gone all week. I'm kind of looking forward to less fighting between him and Austin, though.

Austin (finally) learned how to ride his bike. He's still very wobbly, but we took a ride last night to the circle, and he did a good job. He was being a bit defiant (read: VERY defiant) last night, but otherwise, he's such a great boy. He always has funny things to say, and the neighborhood loves to hear it. A week or so ago, Rachel was being a chatterbox in bed while Austin was trying to go to sleep, and Austin finally pipes up and says, "Rachel, help a brother out." So great!

Rachel is still the cutest thing ever, but she sucks at cleaning her room. I swear I have to ask her at least 20 times a day to work on it. She has gotten a little better once I took all her toys away, but she can still find things to leave all over the floor. As you may remember, she rides her bike like a champ. We do have lots of scraped knees, though. She's tough. She also has a little body builder body. I think her biceps are way more trim than mine, or even Mitchell for that matter. I wonder how tall she'll be. She has such long legs, but she also got Mike's long body, too. It's so interesting to think ahead as wonder what your kids will become. Last night (and almost every other night, for that matter) she prayed that she would get a backpack for kindergarten, and that she would have fun at kindergarten... which doesn't start for 63 days, mind you.

We are heading to St George next week with the Blacks. I think we are going to do a couple hikes (VERY early in the morning), and the usual massage and pedicures, and shopping and swimming... lots of swimming. I'm a little worried about how hot it will be, but that's when we get the best stories! Then the week after that, Mitchell and I head back up to Bear Lake to Youth Conference for just our ward. I think I am even more excited about that than I was before Girls Camp. The first day we get to do the ropes course at USU. We'll see if I am coordinated enough to not trip all over my face.

I hope everything is great with you. I love to see all the stuff you're up to (even if I have to read mom's blog to do it). Hope to see you soon. Don't really know the plan yet, though.

Loves, Mandi

I'm only posting to get all the pictures off my camera

WARNING: THIS WILL BE PROBABLY THE BIGGEST. POST. EVER.

In the (how long?) time since my last post, there have been things happening here, but not mentioned. I really would hate to post everyday with nothing to say, and that means I make monster posts. Sorry, that's life for me.

I am going to back track a little bit, just to make sure you get all the pictures. That's all you care about, I know. Who wants a post with all words? Not me. Sometimes I wish I could talk in real life with pictures. Crazy.

Wow, I am going to really go back here.

Back in November, Mike and I went to San Fransisco. It was a fun trip, and mainly resulted from Mike (being the Tenneesee Titan's fan that he is) wanting to go watch a NFL game. Titans played the... who? I can't remember (maybe the pictures will remind me) in Candlestick Park (which Mike informed me was a hole in the ground yucky field)on November, so we made a weekend of it.



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We got there on the night of Thursday, and were cutting it pretty close to make it to the best show...ever!!... Wicked. I got the soundtrack from the library and spent a couple weeks learning all the songs, and it was great to finally know what the story was. The Orpheum Theater was AMAZING.

We were starving after it was over, so we asked the first cabbie we could find (after trying to find one forever) what the best place to go was. He took us to the Grubstake and we had the best dinner!

The next day we and went to Alcatraz Island.





We went there on our honeymoon, but since that was so long ago, we decided to go again. It was rainy the whole time, and thankfully we bought an umbrella after we were done... because it stopped raining. We got a good soaking, though. Had some clam chowder at the Sourdough bread factory (YUM-O), and Mike fell in love with Boylan's diet black cherry soda (we even had to go back a couple days later just to get a soda.)

Today is my birthday... and other random happenings

Rachel requests a picnic in February!

After 17 years of faithfulness, the era of the "Great Honda Car" has come to an end. We sold our Honda to a loving Hispanic gentleman who will no doubt use it for parts. Thanks for all the memories, Great Honda Car!

My second child was baptized last month. I could not wait from his 8th birthday, until he was baptized. He was a hell child those weeks, but I really could see a difference in his mannerisms after he was baptized. He really takes it seriously, this being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ, and representing Christ. We had a wonderful family get-together.... followed by Mike's best friend's wedding later that day.


Can you tell Austin's excited about scouting?

Austin loves scouting. LOVES IT. He is so excited about it. We have half the Articles of Faith memorized just because he loves to work on them. We started to read "Percy Jackson and the Lightening Thief". We can read a chapter in 20 minutes (I read while he follows along - what can I say, I am not patient enough to let him read to me). He is so excited about reading. After we are done reading that, he's grab his scriptures (Thanks, Mom!) and encourage me to read a chapter with him. He loves that we are on a different part than the rest of the family. He has hopes to pass them, but we'll see.
Austin wanted to be Harvey Two Face for some school thing. This was the best we could do. I think the red-eyes really add to the effect. :)

Rachel has been challenging lately. Not really fair to say, but I'm keeping it real here. Aside from the lipstick/pen on the carpet, she loves makeup and nail polish. Stuff she should not get into, but does. I got mad at her for getting into my nail polish twice in two days, and she came back at me with, "Well, if you would paint my nails, then I wouldn't have to do it myself" Needless to say, that did not win her any points.

Mitchell has been playing more with some friends in our neighborhood. I love it. And I'm realizing that he's kinda short. He'll grow, I know, but it's a fun thing to notice. Also, he talks about Nazi zombies non-stop. Just a warning.

Mike and I celebrated our 14 year anniversary last month. Yes. 14. That must mean we really love each other. Last night in Young Women's we were talking about dating (Thank you New Era!), and discussed that as youth, we threw out an "I love you" to everyone, when really, at that age, while we do know what love is, we have no idea the depth of love we can possess. Even from our wedding day to now, it has changed so much. Thanks for 14 great years, Mike, and an eternity to come!

Last week, I told Mike that Austin was my favorite child right now. Yes, I actually said that out loud. (I had had enough of Mitchell not listening, and whining about some lame game he wanted, and Rachel had used my red lipstick to draw a beautiful heart on her carpet, then the next day used a green Expo dry erase pen to emphasize it...among other heinous crimes) And that jinxed it. commence the fighting all weekend long. The Easter bunny almost skipped our house. Really. But he came, albeit a bit late.

We put up our General Conference tent last Saturday. The people of King Benjamin in the Book of Mormon, gathered together to hear words of their prophet, and their tents faced the tower. We have modified that a bit, but every 6 months we put up our tent (which takes up the whole living room), and face it towards the tv, and let the words of our prophets lift us up and inspire us to be better people. This Easter was it especially poignant to reflect on where we were last conference. ...and also to feel the grace and mercy of the Atonement of the Savior, and how it can change each of us into who God wants us to be.

Well, I'll just put it out there. Today is my birthday (well, technically not until 11:23 p.m. Please do NOT call me at that time. I will be asleep. I love sleep.). I am 33 years old. I am practically dead. Why is it that you can still remember when 33 was REALLY old? Then you turn that age, and it's really not that old. Thanks to OLIVIA, who said to me last night, "You can't be that old, right?" Thanks to all who wished me Happy Birthday. I think birthdays are all about feeling loved. I need to make a better effort at that.