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.



.





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.

A story to tell

Once upon a time, a certain employee of a certain dental office went into the break room for a staff meeting. All staff present at this meeting were dismayed when the white board came out (we were in for a looooong meeting). Then a certain dentist invited us into his office to watch a movie:



(I will admit, I even shed a tear. A lone single tear)

Then the staff members assembled back into the break room to finish said staff meeting. All rejoiced when said doctor announced he did not want to ruin the feeling we had, so we would have our staff meeting another time. Then he handed out gift certificates for lunch for everyone.

Thus we see the power of a smile!!

(P.S. That JUST happened!!)

Let's just start where we're at

Dear faithful readers,

I know you check daily to see if anything new has been posted here, but there never is. Well, hold on to your hats. We have a new post... and it's about an activity we had YESTERDAY. I know. A recent event. I try to please.

This has been a hard year for us. Christmas especially has me worried about tears and crying at the drop of a hat. No, this isn't 5 year old drama, but adult crying. It's been hard, but we got through last night without a tear (well, from the adults anyway). Randy started a tradition about 8 (?) years ago of giving the kids Christmas pajamas and they got to have a sleepover at Grandpa's house. That was not in the cards to happen this year, but we did get to enjoy the PJ's he picked out for the kids. Beef and Megan were kind enough to host (and boy did they host. Sorry for the ridiquious mess!) us for dinner and movie night with the annual PJ present opening and pillowcases from Megan.

We had great food, and marginal conversation (not that the company wasn't lively, but it was the topic that left a bad taste), and good memories.


This had to be posted because we have Matt sitting at the kids table. Not really because he was supervising, but because he is a gimp, and no one wanted him spilling his french dip on the carpet.
I know you just saw Rachel in the picture above, but I loved her face when she was posing for just a bit too long.This reminds me a bit of Danny. You always have to appease him with a silly picture to get the good one out of him.All the grandkids. They sure are a cute bunch. We are so lucky to have such great family, and be able to get together so often. We love you guys.
BoysCutest girls EVER!

Dear Blog,

I had such high hopes, such lofty goals, for you today.

Alas, it was not to be.

I am sick, sick, sick. And whiny.

Loves,

Mandi

Rachel's Halloween party

Isn't she adorable. I gave her a choice of costumes at the store. She could have been Snow White, or Sleeping Beauty, whatever, but she decided she wanted to be a bride.

Fun Family Activity

So when Mike was growing up, they would have this activity where they would go to the store and each get $ 2 to spend toward a dinner for the whole family. Then everyone would combine their "winnings" to have a fun and random dinner. Some of their creations were a box of cereal, mac & cheese, and the like.

Mike decided that we would take our $3 each and go to Harmon's last night for dinner. It sure was fun!

So, here's our spoils. We ended up spending $3.30 each, but overall, it was a pretty healthy dinner!

Our plates were so full, we ended up not eating everything.
Thanks, Mike for a great tradition!

Edited to add: It has been brought to my attention that I need to label the items:
Mike: All beef hot dogs, crescent rolls (to make pigs in a blanket) (yes, that is ketchup and mustard next to it on my plate: the best condiments are a combination of the two...at least for pigs in a blanket)
Mandi: pears and string cheese
Mitchell: 2 small logs of pepperoni (standard fare for this 12 year old)
Austin: yogurt (he's a genious, what can I say)
Rachel: peaches and fruit leather (who still loves fruit leather? Me, that's who!)

This is The Place!

Becca and I planned a fun outing to This is the Place on August 19. It is such a cool place. First we took the train to Brigham Young's house (although, he never really lived there).


Sorry, but Austin had to have his own picture with the statue.

I'm still trying to picture Rachel in a dress walking across the plains. Especially with how hot it was on the day we were there. On the train. We loved the train. I think we rode it about 20 times. The park is situated on a hill, so I would recommend taking the train around once to get the layout of the stops, then get off at the top of the hill (with the Teepee's and Hogan's), and walk down.

Here's Brigham with the kids. He was great. He was very good at answering all the kids questions (and Austin had a lot!). We also loved that we could walk all around the house, and touch stuff, and really get a sense of how they really lived (with out A/C).

The gazebo in the back is where people get married. If you were to get married here, would you have to have a bonnet?

This is the Deseret News building. We spent a lot of time talking about how Mike would have worked here. He would have had 6 twelve hour days, a lot of it spend setting type (a VERY laborious task), and making paper out of old rags. He would have come home all ink-y, and not done a whole lot of writing. This was showing us how the type was set, and how the press worked. Austin, of course had many questions for him as well.

The Heber C. Kimball house (actually a mirror reproduction). This house was so cool! We weren't allowed to touch hardly anything because a lot of the items in the house were really his! Also, my kids loved the window into the cellar, and talking about the advantages of having a refrigerator. President Kimball had a kind of wacky floor plan because he was continually adding to his home to keep men working. He was very generous.This home was a home that held 9 family members. All these log cabins on First West were small homes that were built to house large families. How grateful I am that we each have our own room, and not one large room to share between the 5 of us.

Austin and Winston riding together. Mitchell was too cool to ride, so of course Colton was, too.

This petting zoo was so cool!! You got to go into the pen and pet the pygmy goats and cute sheep. There was even a baby sheep that was so soft. We also got to look at the pigs and rabbits (they WERE in pens). Their water came from a beautiful waterfall in the middle of the pen.
Becca and I loved the Relief Society Hall. Women would come to work on projects... and then they would leave them out! and just close the doors, without worrying about having the kids destroy them! This is a novel concept, and one I think we should revisit today.
The Pine Valley meeting house. We are still not sure why it's on the second story, but there was a stage, and they used this as an all purpose gathering place for plays, church meetings, and other group events.We rode the little train around the lake that supplied water for the mill right next to it. This is where you get the best view of the valley (as Austin is so aptly demonstrating).

We headed (walked/hiked) up to the Indian Village, and I discussed my new lashing skills with the Indian that built his teepee with his lashing skills (thank you 11 year old scout camp!)
We sat in these cool chairs where I proclaimed "These are pretty comfortable", and the girls replied, "Hey, these ARE comfortable!".We ALL made arrowhead necklaces in a Hogan that was very hot.
A visit to the millinery. The lovely milliner was gracious enough to let the girls try on her hats (which were BEAUTIFUL, by the way). This hat really fits Rachel's personality, I think). They just WERE NOT allowed to touch at all! She had a sewing machine in her shop, and I mentioned that it was an old sewing machine that she probably made her hats with, and she said she makes them all by hand. WOW!!
Ellie just HAD to visit the schoolhouse. So we did.
It was interesting to find out that the girls sat on one side of the room and the boys on the other. Austin, of course, had to know which row he would sit in if her was in 2nd grade... and was a bit disappointed to learn that she did not have a definative answer because it depends on which children were in the classroom.
Probably my favorite part was the chore house. I loved watching them do laundry, and beat the rugs clean. I think it really brought into perspective for the kids just how hard daily life was.
And here is where Becca and kids leave us...but we decide to stay and see a couple more things.We rode the train twice around to finally get off on the right stop to walk to Mary Fielding Smith's home. This was a beautiful home off the beaten path, but worth the walk. (Plus we loved the rest on the train. Have I mentioned that it was pretty hot that day?) Her home is off to the side to represent that she built (what a woman) her home in the Millcreek area away from the majority of the saints. Her home was fairly big, and light and airy. I loved it.Another view of our beautiful valley from a higher perspective.
We all decided that we wanted to see everything by this point...and we were pretty tired. However, there is a cemetary up above the main village, so we decided to walk up to it. We took a shortcut through a field, and ended up fairly close, and then we just had a little hike up on the sidewalk to get the rest of the way to it. Boy am I glad we made the effort. It was beautiful... and so serene. Even with Rachel throwing a fit (as evidenced in the above picture.).
A couple more out of the way houses (The Ashby Dugout, like the one the Ingalls family lived in in On the Banks of Plum Creek-Thank you Mitchell, The Ottinger-Little Hall, a firehouse), and were hoping to make it to the Huntsman Hotel, but they closed. Made it to Madsen Furniture and ZCMI, where we tried on these adorable hats:
We finished up the the Andrus Halfway House, a boarding house that had a beautiful kitchen.
It was such a great day; exhausting, but amazing. Even the kids said they loved it (including Mitchell), and wanted to come back with our neighbors. We opened and closed the place... and that's good enough for this year.