The Jar is BACK!

Some of you may remember this cute little jar that appeared here in July 2006. Well it is now making it's come back today. I just wanted to give all you early birds a heads up. Check back here today around 3 pm and you will be able to begin guessing. The only difference is it will be a new jar, with new candy, so NO EARLY guessers aloud! (Besides I haven't even found out, not til 1:30 pm.) I hope you all have a fun day and I will get back to you soon!

Today..

Can I just say that there is nothing to get you up and hopping out of bed at 2:30 am than the sound of your child, who is laying next to you, saying again for the hundredth time, my tummy hurts and then proceeds to start throwing up. Let's just say that is how I started out my day, and I am not sure it is going to get any better...

Party Week

So a couple of weeks ago we ended up having Pizza for dinner 3 times. Now that I think about it, we might have eaten it four, which is definitely a Party week. First, we had some really good authentic Italian Pizza at a new pizzeria that opened in Orem. I highly recommend it. It's not as good as the real thing (but pretty darn close). We also ate frozen pizzas at least once, and finished the week off with one of those lucky pizza nights where we each made our own pizzas. Talk about Yum!


This was Marcella after she thought I took all the cheese. Little did she know we had two bags. Can't get enough cheese.

Don't those just look delicious?

Jon was super fast at making his, he must have been hungry. So he was the lucky one who got to cook his first and eat first!

Here is Marcella waiting for her pizza to be done, I think she was sad Dad was lucky enough to eat first. It is hard when you always get to eat first and then we change the rules on you!

When will it be done?

The best part about the night. Rice Krispie Treats! Followed by a fun game of Zooloretto. Just give us a call anytime you want to stop by for some yummy pizza and dessert, we love visitors!

Sick, Yuck stay away!

So it seems it had to all happen at once, I am just glad to say it happened after Easter and not before, because we had such a fun Easter. I guess you could say it started on Easter, when her nursery teacher came and told me that Marcella had just been laying down on the floor and didn't want to play or do anything... WHAT? She wasn't like that during Sacrament meeting, or when she was having so much fun eating her candy and trying to find her eggs. Who knows. Then the rest of the day she seemed fine. Sunday night she got the "I can't breathe because my nose is stuffy cold", then in the morning it runs like the dickens. Now of all things she has Pink Eye! This picture isn't a very good one because it was taken yesterday before it got really bad, but I feel so bad for the poor girl. She has a cold, Pink Eye, and is getting 2 molars. I hope we survive! It is times like this we have to remember they aren't always sick, though it may feel like they are.

Breaking News

Marcella held a press release to break the following announcement:

A little MiXeD uP!

Ok so lately I have been laughing a lot at some of the things Marcella has been saying. Here is a story for example. Marcella has been getting scared of Lions and Tigers. Not sure why she is scared of them or what brought it on, but sometimes before she goes to bed she will call us in and tell us she is scared. So the other night I was talking to her and I told her whenever she feels scared she can pray to Heavenly Father and he will help her not to feel scared. So we said a little prayer together and then she went to sleep. Well another night later we were playing the infamous toss the "something" into a basket after you answer a question game, for Family night. We would ask Marcella all about Joseph Smith and she was having fun tossing her bean bag in the basket. Well I guess she just has Joseph Smith on her mind because a couple nights later she came into our room at 4:00 am and said "Mommy, Daddy I'm scared" so we brought her up into bed with us and as she was laying in between us, she turned to me and said, "Mama, I not scared any more cause I prayed to Joseph Smith and he help me not be scared."

Then today she started stamping her hand with a little stamp she has, so I started telling her about how our bodies are special and we shouldn't draw on them or stamp on them. I then told her that Heavenly Father gave us our bodies so we have to treat them nice. Later this afternoon we were washing her hands in the sink and she says, "We not draw on our bodies, cause Joseph Smith gave them to me." I told her no Heavenly Father gave us our bodies and she said "ya Joseph Smith did, I not draw on mine."

Updates

So I haven't updated in a while, so here goes. I am just going to make a slide show of all the fun things we have done this month. I was able to go to Jami's house in San Jose at the beginning of the month. It was so much fun. It was sunny the whole time I was there and we went to San Francisco and the beach. The girls and Trenton were so cute. Thanks Jami for letting me come out.

Here we have our "Valentine's Day Dinner". We had a lot of fun. On Wednesday we went out to dinner with Jeff and Caroline. It was pretty good food and great company. Thanks for all the laughs guys!






Here is our real Valentine's dinner with Marcella. She had so much fun helping me get the table ready and making dinner. We had beef stroganoff, bread, veggies and for dessert Fruit Smoothies. It was so yummy. I got this idea off of the food blog and Marcella loved it. She had so much fun "eating her glass" it was pretty funny.


Here is one of Marcella's own art work. First she drew all over our desk with a pen then she somehow figured out how to take a picture of it and then we found a few videos taken by hers truly of the desk and her feet. It was quite funny... I sometimes wonder what I was doing while she was having fun, it seems to only take seconds and you can have a disaster, only this time she documented it herself.

Marcella

Here is a girl you just can't help but LOVE. I wonder what she thinks about... umm if we only knew.

For the Moms

I know this isn't as exciting as fun pictures, but I really enjoyed this and I share it with all you Mothers out there. (I got it from a friends blog)


The Invisible Woman By Nicole Johnson
It started to happen gradually. One day I was walking my son Jake to school. I was holding his hand and we were about to cross the street when the crossing guard said to him, "Who is that with you, young fella?" "Nobody," he shrugged. "Nobody?" The crossing guard and I laughed. My son is only 5, but as we crossed the street I thought, "Oh my goodness, nobody?" I would walk into a room and no one would notice. I would say something to my family - like "Turn the TV down, please" - and nothing would happen. Nobody would get up, or even make a move for the remote. I would stand there for a minute, and then I would say again, a little louder, "Would someone turn the TV down?" Nothing. Just the other night my husband and I were out at a party. We'd been there for about three hours and I was ready to leave. I noticed he was talking to a friend from work. So I walked over, and when there was a break in the conversation, I whispered, "I'm ready to go when you are." He just kept right on talking. That's when I started to put all the pieces together. I don't think he can see me. I don't think anyone can see me. I'm invisible. It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?" Obviously not! No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney channel?" I'm a car to order, "Right around 5:30, please."I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated sum ma cum laud-but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going she's going she's gone! One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this." It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees." In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:* No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.* These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.* They made great sacrifices and expected no credit.* The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it." And the workman replied, "Because God sees."I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become."At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table." That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, "You're gonna love it there."As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

My Handsome Husband

This is a picture of the man of my dreams. As I am sitting here trying to get everything organized in this crazy place we call home, I just started to miss him. Jon is curently working a Grizzly Game, and since he has to work one again tomorrow and then I have to work on Saturday, I thought I would take a minute to say why I love this guy so much. #1. He is so funny. No matter what we are doing, he can always make me laugh and he helps me understand that we should enjoy life and not get too stressed out. #2. He is the worlds greatest cook. I have seriously learned a bazillion things from him about cooking. He currently makes me a ham and cheese omlett anytime I desire and they are to die for. (I wish you were home so I could have one right now, YUM!) #3. He is always willing to do any chore that I have been despising to do for a week. #4. He is my better half. Helping and sometimes dragging me to get things done, especially at night when I just want to climb in bed, he reminds me my teeth will fall out if I don't get back in the bathroom. #5. He is the worlds Greatest Dad. Marcella absolutely adores him. Whenever I come home you will find them Dancing, playing or cooking, they have so much fun together it is fun to be with them. #6. He is so dang cute! just look at that smile, you just have to agree. #7. He loves the outdoors. We have had a bunch of adventures together and I am excited to have more this summer. #8. He is a hard worker and is doing awesome at school, I am so excited that he loves what he is doing, and can't wait to see what life has in store for us. #9. Did I mention he can Yodel? #10. He loves to joke around. I love that he will make fun of me over silly things, like how many times have I dropped a bottle of salsa at the store or before we even got it home? We started buying two so we would at least have one when we got home. I just wanted to say I LOVE YOU JON!

President Hinckley

It is so sad that President Hinckley died today. I am so grateful to him and am still in a little bit of shock. I just always thought he would keep going. I am very thankful for all he has taught me. He was an Amazing man. One funny story about President Hinckley I would like to tell is, one day Jon and I were late to Sacrament meeting and we came in during the opening song.. We Thanks Thee oh God for a Prophet. Everyone was standing up so we snuck in the back. Then we sat down for the Prayer. During the prayer the person said we are so grateful to have our prophet with us here today, Jon and I both looked at each other shocked and then looked up at the stand and there he was It seriously was an Amazing day. One I will never forget. He was such a special man and I will miss him.

Summer

After reading Caroline and Kristin's posts on snow, and with the news of a heavy snowstorm looming on the horizon, I thought I'd post what I love most about summer. Enjoy!

When it Rains, it pours!

I know you've all heard the saying. Let me illustrate how true it's been for us this past week. Saturday morning I got up, did the usual with Marcella, and went to turn our computer on to check my email. For Kanien and I, our computer is the most central technological fixture in our lives. It's probably like the TV was to 1950's and 1960's families...it's almost always on, either for email, blogging, photos, movies, pictures, or games. When it didn't turn on, I started the normal troubleshooting routine I've grown accustomed to in the last 15 years. We've had the machine around 2 years, which seems to be the lifespan for someone who always wants more computing power and better performance. I know some of my family members have had computers for 10+ years and are still running Windows 3.1, but I don't work that way. (To me that'd be like refusing a church calling or rooting for BYU.) When the fix looked to be around $200 dollars, I consulted Kanien and we decided to upgrade instead of replace the bad hardware with its equivalent. So I drove to Salt Lake, bought the components, and started home.

Kanien and I had been debating paying our car off, or getting some things fixed that have needed fixing and continuing making payments for 6 more months. We finally decided to pay it off, reasoning we'd better do it now while we had the money, or we'd end up squandering it on other stuff. She transferred the money on Saturday after I had gone to Salt Lake. She was worried about what she calls "The Dougal Curse," coming into effect, a family condition that regulates any attempts to get ahead by bringing horrid luck down on you and your acquaintances. I had a feeling of foreboding as well, and when I was less than a mile from home, I struck something on the road (not quite sure what it was...just that it was made of hard metal), and punctured a hole in our oil pan.



As I pulled up to our apartment, the oil light came on (along with a bunch of tones and warnings I'd better stop driving...thanks VW). I got out to examine the damage. Oil was pouring onto the pavement. The car wasn't going anywhere. I called Kanien, then the insurance to file a claim. I know an oil pan is less than $200 to replace, but I didn't know what else the mystery object had struck, and I wanted to be covered in case there was other damage. They couldn't really do anything until Monday, anyway. Kanien's parents were nice enough to drive Nathan's surplus auto down to us, and we were saved from complete immobility.

I proceeded to assemble the new components, and ran into some problems, which is pretty much par for the course. When we built the original PC, I had installed a RAID array, which is two hard drives assembles so each file is split and copied 1/2 to each drive. This increases the speed at which your machine operates, but it also decreases the fault tolerance of the disk, as an error on one drive corrupts the entire array. I was able to get the drive back online long enough to rescue all of our pictures, but transferring it to another RAID controller didn't work, and they were corrupted in the process. It only took about 6 hours of my time to figure this out, but it felt like a week, and left me pretty distraught.

That's what I was working through on Monday when the tow truck came to take the car away. Marcella was down for her nap, and I went out to help the guy with the car. I made sure I had keys so I could get back in the house. After Jim had towed the car away, I realized I'd given him the keys to the car, and no longer had a house key. It was then that this nexus of misfortune seemed to culminate, and in a moment driven by both need and frustration, I opted to kick the door in, instead of calling a locksmith. It gave on the first kick, and didn't really do that much damage.

I'm no longer worried about our PC or our car, but have this large feeling of insecurity that has taken its place. Maybe we need better doors!

Marcella

Here is one funny little two year old. She seriously surprises me more and more everyday. Here she is at the cabin. Drinking about her 20th cup of hot Chocolate. I couldn't believe how much she loved it. She not only would drink the whole cup but she would continuiously ask for more after it was all gone. She has started into the terrible two's. Not sure how to handle it, but I am trying. It makes me laugh a lot which doesn't help matters, but when you stop for a minute and recap how your conversation with a two year old is going, it makes me laugh.
Me:
"Marcella please stop that."
"Marcella, Marcella, are you listening to me?"
"Please stop that now!"
Marcella:
"NO YOU STOP THAT!!!"

This goes on for a minute or so until I realize I am fighting with a two year old. Then I tell her we can't talk to each other until we are going to be nice. This has helped so far, just cross your fingers it continues to work. She has a fascination with being scared. Whenever she thinks something is scary or is scared, she talks about it for ages. Not only that but her favorite books include The little old lady who wasn't afraid of anything, and the Pale green Pants with Nobody inside them. I don't know about you, but if I would have read those as a child I would have been scared for life. She is so funny. Every night when we tuck her in she will say,"the tigers not going to come in my bedroom?" then I reassure her that Tigers live at the zoo not at our house, she then will say, "okay if you weave the door open?"

She not only has a terrible two side, but a sweet how can you not love me side. She really has started to be the sweetest little girl on the planet. My favorite things she has been saying lately are:
"no, I LOVE YOU!"
"Sure"
"Can I wash the dishes?" (Don't know how long this is going to last, but I will take it any day)
"Just a minute"
"Oh, let me tell you a story."
"mommy I wook cute?"
"Mommy what a pretty necklace, I wike it."

I can't think of any more right now. But I must admit whenever she says Sure, it just melts my heart. I should record her so I can let you just hear how she says it. It is adorable. Well, I guess I better go, but I hope you all have a wonderful evening!