What A Lotta Cabbage!!!

Emma grew this cabbage with her Grandma Nielson for a class contest. It was huge and beautiful, but she forgot to enter the contest. Oh, well. We know she's a winner!We didn't have a scale big enough so they created a counterweight system with cans of food. Quite ingenious! I think it weighed 2 cans of green beans, 3 cans of chili, 1 can of pumpkin, and 3 cans of corn! It was around 10 pounds but I can't remember the total. All I remember is that Mom and Emma spent at least 30 minutes trying to weigh it and having a great time every time it fell! Grandmas are great fun!

I'm Singing With The Symphony!

Last fall, Del and I went to the Symphony and watched the combined ISU choirs and the Symphony perform, and it was SO incredible that I decided I had to be a part of it! Well, since I can't play an instrument, that leaves the choir. A friend of mine talked me into joining, but in order to be a part of the Camarata Choir, you have to audition for the director. I have been so scared for the past 3 weeks and practicing "Oh, Beautiful For Spacious Skies," the song he assigned, every time I get in the car, the shower, or anywhere else no one would hear me. Last Tuesday night was the moment of truth. Would I make it or be cut? Would I live through the audition or die in the attempt? This is how I felt.

OK, you know those experiences that you worry and stress over and then you do them and think, "OK, that wasn't so bad"? Well this wasn't one of those times! It was really bad! I was sitting outside his office listening to the person ahead of me and I wanted to sink into my seat! She was Junior Miss Idaho a few years ago and probably won because of her amazing voice! When the next person went in, I realized it was the woman who has been directing the musical productions my girls have been in at Mystique Theater! She's amazingly talented and currently teaches the choir at Franklin Middle School! I knew I was so far out of my league, and I was thinking about walking out and just telling my kids (who were rooting for me at home) that I didn't make it. I knew I couldn't do it, though, because I had just taught Family Home Evening about how Satan uses fear to keep us from doing things that will help us grow. Dang! Bad timing!

Just then some friends came up to the office to give me moral support, so we went out in the hall where I wouldn't have to hear how wonderful everyone else was and talked. I made them practice the song with me because I kept going blank about how the melody went. How many years have I been singing "Oh Beautiful For Spacious Skies," but I was so scared that I kept forgetting how it went! Finally, everyone else was gone, so I had to go in. I was SO scared! At first it all went well. My voice was warmed up and I sounded pretty good and confident while we were doing scales, and he actually told me I have a good range and that I would sing Alto II in the choir. Then he had me try to sightread, which I absolutely cannot do. After fumbling through it, I told him that I would sit by strong singers and listen really well in practices. I told him that I had lots of enthusiasm going for me if not talent! Then I sang the song, that blasted song with all of its high notes! The first two lines were great, but after that it gets really high. Basically I squeaked out the final high notes, picked up my music with a red face, and said "Thanks! I'll see you next week!" without waiting for him to tell me if I could be in the choir! I don't know what he thought, but I was out of there! I don't think I will ever be able to sing "Oh Beautiful For Spacious Skies" again without feeling completely ill, but I'm singing "Ode to Joy" (in German) from Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in November! Yeah! I'm so proud of myself for doing it! I'm going to be performing with an amazing group of the most talented people in Pocatello! Wow! I did it!

Devin Is An Adult?

Happy Birthday to Devin! He turned 18 on the 23rd and I'm having a hard time believing he's that old. Sure he's helpful, responsible and mature, but an adult? Wow! It just hit me that we only have 1 year left before he leaves on his mission. That's so exciting but so soon!

We celebrated on Wednesday with his favorite Mushroom Bisque. That is what he requests every year for his birthday, mostly because he loves it but partly because his little sisters cry when he picks it! Brothers love that!

Tonight he's going out with some friends to see a movie, go to Farr's ice cream, and then come back to our house for games and an assortment of pie. It sounds fun!

We're so proud of Devin and the terrific man he's becoming! It's really been fun and rewarding watching him grow up. Especially considering the little stinker he used to be:)! When I think of all of the horrendous messes and "science experiments" I cleaned up over the years, it makes me cringe! It's a good thing he was so cute and smiley or I might have gotten rid of him years ago! Imagine looking into this adorable face surrounded by mounds of potato flakes (a ski slope), Tide (more snow), ketchup footprints on my carpet (he was being a detective and looking for clues) and on and on and on.........................................................................big messes then, but just good memories, now. Sigh.

My New Baby Has Arrived! It's Time For Blithemeat!

I have waited so long to have my own copy of the Oxford English Dictionary! It's finally here! I could have bought it on CD-ROM, but I really wanted a hard copy I could flip my fingers through. Plus, it's so fun to use a magnifying glass to read it!



This amazing dictionary was started in 1857 and took over 50 years to finish! When it was originally published it had 10 volumes and 15,490 pages! That's a lot of words! I love that it shows the history of words, where they originate, when they first appeared in print, and how their meanings have changed over the years. And, of course, I love to find new words, especially if they're ridiculous!

Did you know that if someone called you 'fatfaced' during the 17th century, they probably meant you were fertile, but if they called you a fathead, it just meant you were stupid, the same as today!

Did you know that blithemeat is food and entertainment provided when a baby is born? Basically an Old English baby shower!

Did you know that you are a fissiped? At least, if you have toes that are separated, you are!

Did you know that giraffes were also once called camelopards?

Well, now you do! I'm having fun!

The Phillips Are Here Again!

Last month when the Phillips cousins were here, the kids entered a birthday card contest for the bear at the zoo. Well.......Emma and Megan won! Yeah! The prize was a behind-the-scenes tour of the carnivores at the zoo. Laura's family happened to be visiting this weekend, too, so we had lots of fun with all of the little girl cousins (sorry, Katherine! You're not one of the little girls anymore!).
The girls loved spraying the bear and he loved being sprayed! He danced around at first and then just came closer so they could get him wetter. If bears could purr, I swear he would have! We got a great view of the bears and cougars as we walked up between their cages to see how they feed them. The cougar hissed at us constantly! She did not like us being in her territory!
The kids loved watching the zookeeper, Shawna, play with the coyotes. She has raised them since birth, so they think she's their mommy. They acted just like puppies with her, but they're far from tame!

It was 96 degrees and a two-hour tour, so by the time it was over, we were a little tired, but it was a great day.

Girls Camp 2009---West Piney

Maren and I had an awesome time at girls camp this year! This was Maren's 1st time, which was exciting! Luckily for her, we had another 1st year girl who was visiting her aunt in our ward, so Maren wasn't the only greenie! Tara is from Colombia (the country), and the two of them hit it off really well. We're sad that she flies back home in a couple of days and then Maren will be the only Beehive again. Sad. Maren is with Tara in the picture on the right.We have a small group of girls, but they really love each other! They're great!

Our stake had a western theme, so the girls got to learn to line-dance, ride a bucking bronco (made out of a barrel!), and perform country songs for the group! There were rodeo contests and our ward won 5 out of 9 events! Our girls also had a day of water-skiing with the ward and had a great time!

Maren's farmer tan matches mine! So Cute!

There is an incredibly steep slide at West Piney that the kids loved, but most of the adults avoided. Maren loved it. I avoided it. They didn't nickname her Darin' Maren for nothing!

A Princeton Ward tradition (but a first for Maren)! Every year our girls love to take pictures of themselves with nylons on their heads! They think it's hilarious, and they stay relatively quiet in their tents, so the leaders like it, too!
We had a great time, and Maren can't wait for her second year!

A Close-up Look

Several months ago I blogged about my mother and all of the unique things she likes and dislikes. We had been discussing our quirks one weekend, and I wrote it all down (for blackmail and blogging!). Becky accused me of being a coward since I didn't blog about myself, but really I just lost the paper, but I just found it, so here goes:


I LIKE:

Taking (and making other people take) all kinds of personality quizzes. I love them! It's always fun to answer questions and find out what color, shape, or letters you are and then read about yourself! I'm a red/yellow ESFJ if I remember right, but I don't remember the shape (hopefully not pear-shaped or chubby!:)


New squishy socks.

When men kiss my hand (not that it happens often)! Why has this tradition gone out of style? An older man was shaking hands with a group I was in a few weeks ago and when I held my hand out to shake, he kissed it. It was so sweet!

Looking up words in the dictionary. I LOVE to read about word origins, pronunciations, etc. My kids get tired of hearing "Why don't you look that up?" when they ask me a question. I own at least 8 dictionaries, but I've just ordered the one I've wanted for 15 years, the ultimate in dictionaries.....The Complete Oxford English Dictionary! I'm so excited for it to get here! I've asked for it for birthdays and Christmas for years, but Del doesn't share my fascination with words, so I usually get a sweater and some books. Those are great, too, but can they tell you when and why the British first started saying "clem" to mean "starve" when you run across it while reading North and South? I don't think so! I'm dying to look that up!


Playing trivia games where my otherwise useless knowledge comes in handy! When I can shout out the right answer and win the pie wedge in Trivial Pursuit, it makes me feel that my 7 years at ISU were well spent.

Smelling lilacs in the springtime. There is no yummier smelling flower!

Making detailed lists of things I have to do each day and then crossing them off as I finish them! So satisfying!

Sorting socks. I love to save up my laundry so I can watch a 5 hour movie (thanks, Jane!) guilt-free! I think this habit started with my mom. I still remember dabbing our eyes with clean socks while we watched The Champ.

Looking at my calendar and seeing a square that has NOTHING written on it! No meetings, no responsibilities, no orthodontist appointments. Nothing! That lets me know it's going to be a really good day!

Singing in the car! The accoustics are great, and I can sing everything as loud as I want! I know I probably look a little loony to the person parked next to me a the light, but I don't care! When you're playing Queen, you've just got to sing it loud!

Plastic totes! Normally, I hate to clean, but I love going through closets, drawers, and storage rooms, throwing things out and putting the rest in nice, compact Rubbermaid totes. So neat!


I DISLIKE:

Sitting still. I just can't do it! As soon as I know I'm supposed to be still (or worse, reverent!) that's the minute I start fidgeting! Since I can't get up, I start crossing and recrossing my legs, doodling, adjusting my bra strap, making mental lists, etc. The only way I can really focus on a speaker for more than 10 minutes is if I'm taking notes. I love the Saturday session of General Conference because I can fold laundry, wash dishes, or organize my bookshelf while I'm listening. I like to multi-task!

Violent movies. Del and I went to see the James Bond movie, Casino Royale, a few years ago and I about died! The opening scene was so intensely violent I had to close my eyes! I don't like to see people being mean to other people, and beating them to death in a bathroom counts as being seriously mean! I prefer to stick to happy movies!

People standing or talking too close. Del claims my bubble is quite large, but I do like my space!

Showering! I know that it is weird to dislike showering, but it seems like such a waste of time to have to shower, shave, blow-dry, style, and do make-up! It takes too long! Since I don't like to stink and have bad hair, though, I will continue to shower! I'm sure Del and all of my friends appreciate that greatly!

Being talked to while I'm on the phone or using the bathroom! Hello! Can't my kids wait 2 minutes!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

So that's my weirdness in a nutshell! Not so bad, huh!? I'm sure it get's a lot stranger than that!

***By the way, Devin thinks he needs credit for the fun picture he took of me on the Oregon Coast taking a picture of him. He said he was tired of having pictures taken of him, so he was getting me back. Good job, Dev!