I like this house

This is a view of the front Here is the back

The foyer looking into the family room along the back

The master bedroom with a fireplace
The family room
The sun room
The view from the front of the house.

There is a good virtual tour if you click here. It also shows the GIANT living room and some more bedrooms and the kitchen. Why am I attracted to houses like this? I think I figured it out as I was loading these pics. It looks like my grandparents house. My grandparents had a ranch style house in Palm Springs when I was growing up and this is decorated like it was. It also looks like the inside of my other Grandmothers house that she had in Leisure World in Laguna Hills.

Why do I want a house like my Grandparents?

What are you boys doing up on that cliff?

Umm, that looks a little bit high. Please be careful. Stay away from the edge, okay? I don't see how this can be an authorized Scout activity. Wait, Harrison, stay away from that edge!!!!!










Are you smiling as you go down? That is just wrong. This is really scary!!!!







William, you are a hot dog. Dad wishes he has a picture of your first jump. The one when you were screaming as you went down!!!!

A kooky blonde joke from my dad...

A blonde finds herself in serious trouble.Her business has gone bust and she's in dire financial straits. She's desperate, so she decides to ask God for help.

She begins to pray... 'God, please help me.. I've lost my business and if I don't get some money, I'm going to lose my house as well. Please let me win the lottery'

Lottery night comes, and somebody else wins.

She again prays... 'God, please let me win the lottery! I've lost my business, my house and I'm going to lose my car as well.'

Lottery night comes and she still has no luck..

Once again, she prays... 'My God, why have you forsaken me? I've lost my business, my house, and my car. My children are starving. I don't often ask You for help, and I've always been a good servant to You. PLEASE let me win the lottery just this one time so I can get my life back in order.'

Suddenly there is a blinding flash of light as the heavens open.

The blonde is overwhelmed by the Voice of God, Himself... 'Sweetheart, work with Me on this.... Buy a ticket.'

ummm, what church are you a Preacher for?

So half of my 9 readers will get this and the other half will be kind of confused by it, the same way Rachel's teacher( a Church of Christ Preacher) must have been.

Rachel had a history test. Rachel goes to a Church of Christ Private School.

This unit is history out of the Bible. The question asked

Who was transfigured?

They had been studying Enoch, among other things. Of course, Enoch should be the answer here.


But Rachel got a little confused for a second.



She wrote down AMMON as the answer.

Just a little Mormon slip!

I must want Heather to gain some weight....

Another post for Heather.

We must be BFF's!!!

This is actually inspired by April and her apple processing factory....

Apple Orchard Bars
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
2 eggs
1/2 cups oats
1 cup peeled, chopped apple
2 cups coconut
1 1/2 cup flour


Mix first 3 and then add next six. Then mix in oats and apples and 1 1/2 cup of coconut. Mix well and add flour. I know, it's weird!

Spread into a greased 9 by 13 and sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of coconut on top. Bake 25 minutes in a 375 degree oven.


I use Gala apples in this recipe and I decrease the cinnamon because I think cinnamon is Satan's spice.

I also like to under bake these in a big way. It is like apple crisp you can eat without a spoon. Yum Yum!

I just made a pan of these to take with us to eat while we are watching Nim's Island on a giant inflatable screen at the elementary school.

I have NO IDEA what Nim's Island is.

I have the taste of a pre-schooler

Last night I was So hungry at dinnertime. I had been at work, picked the kids up, dropped them at the house (without even pulling all the way into the driveway) and then gone visiting teaching. I realized I still had the book drop keys in my pocket so after VT I ran back to the library and dropped them off. And then I ran to the post office.

And by now my willpower is about to give out. I was starving!! My kids at home were,too, I'm sure. I started to pull into one of those delightful places that give you a full meal.

While you wait in your car. Totally inspired, right?

No NO NO I tell myself. It costs about $30 to feed that kind of dinner to my family.

Off to Walmart. What do I really want? And then it hits me. The happiest tastiest dinner I can think of.




Because:


I Am A Four Year Old!!!




Mrs. Paul's Fish sticks and Velveeta Shells and Cheese.


With lots of Tartar Sauce!

I am still smiling this morning.

Eagle Scout

William passed his Eagle board of Review on Saturday afternoon. They kind of surprised him because they said they would schedule it for sometime in September. Then Saturday morning they called and said they were going to be able to get enough people together that afternoon.

Alrighty then.


So he went and passed, but we hadn't gotten his picture done yet so we couldn't mail it all back in.

Quick, Aunt Gretchen to the rescue!!! William hightailed it to her town, (100 miles round trip) and was home Saturday night before Lucy and Rachel made it home from the tailgate party that the school held downtown to kick off football season.

We got the pics back this morning. (Thanks Sis. Moffitt!) and the application goes in the mail today.


Now we just have to have his Court of Honor (and I am not even in charge of that! High Five Scout Committee and delegation!!!!) and then we are done.

Hey, who is that sneaking around the corner about to start an Eagle Project?!?!?!?!?!





HARRISON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have you ever felt a ....

Migraine?

I like the funky English is not my native tongue feel to that sentence.


So, have you ever felt a migraine?

No? Well let me tell you about them.


It all starts with a leprechaun. A very mischievous leprechaun. He grabs the muscle on the back of your neck and hangs on it. Like its a bungee cord. And then he sends his friend the garden gnome around to the front of your face. He has a fiery hot poker that he proceeds to stab into your eye.

But don't worry, cause it is just one eye. The other one is fine.

And after he jabs that fiery hot poker in he gets a hammer and rhythmically beats on it. This is the signal to the Lilliputians. They tie you to your bed. This is actually a good thing because if you try to stand up the wood sprites turn on the Tilt-A-Whirl machine in your room and suddenly you remember when you were 10 years old and you ate a red sno cone and then rode said fair ride at Joe Naper Days.

And then vomited next to the exit.

So thank goodness for the Lilliputians. They save you from the vomit.

Oh no, look out. Here come the toddlers. You have no idea where they have come from but they are JUMPING on the bed. You feel like you are riding the Mayflower during a storm. Should you break the bonds that the Lilliputians have used to tie you down? Do you dare try for a run to the bathroom? Are you really going to throw up or is it just a ruse put on by your stomach since it feels left out because all you sere thinking about was the pain in your head.

While you are contemplating this there is a new development. A glowing orb of death. Which little scoundrel hung it up in the sky. Quick, pull the shade. Too late. It has turned into the glowing strobe light of death. Pulsing, flashing, sucking the life out of you. You have to cover the eye that the red hot poker is sticking out of but now you are freaking out because something has filled your favourite bed pillow with gravel.

Uh huh, I said gravel. Evil Hobgoblin! They think that is a great trick.

And then your nose starts to run like a faucet. And then it stops. No explanation, it is just a weird side effect to the migraine.


And then something happens to your bowels. I know, I know, you are terrified now.

Be brave my friend, at least it is all happening at home this time. Once upon a time my husband had to get up and leave our humble homestead and go to work.

So I had to spend an hour in the car driving kids to school while these strange manifestations were occurring in my body. I have a couple of semi private spots that I like to stop at when I need to throw up. And tonite I will share them. The first is the driveway of the old drive in. Very overgrown, yet right on the main road. The second is the place where employees park at the local building supply place. A bit riskier, but sometimes I can't make it to the other spot.


This morning I had a migraine. Could you guess that?

Fudge Cupcakes

My sister in law says that she likes when I write funny posts. Heather likes recipes.


Heather, today is your lucky day,





Fudge Cupcakes
4 squares unsweetened chocolate
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup raspberry pancake syrup
1 2/3 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/3 cup milk


melt the 4 squares chocolate, 1/4 cup sugar and raspberry syrup in a glass bowl in the microwave.

in a medium bowl combine the flour, salt, and baking soda.

in your mixer bowl cream the butter and the 1 1/2 cup sugar for 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time.

Add the flour mixture and the milk alternately ending with the milk.

Add the cooled chocolate mixture. Mix well and let set 5 minutes. Mix again after 5 minutes.

Fill muffin cups halfway and bake in 350 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes. These need to NOT be over baked. Trust me, I am trying to save you from cupcake sadness. I would probably just bake them 20 minutes. They can look a little wet in the center, still. They will kind of fall in the middle. This is a good thing. Then they hold more frosting.

Frosting
1 bag semi sweet chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk

cook in top of double boiler until smooth and shiny and spreadable. Takes about 5 minutes.

YUM YUM

UNgainfully employed

Are you waiting to see the pictures from the beach?


And from when the Japanese Exchange student stayed with us.

And when Lucy spent a week at band camp. Without Me Chaperoning. (shudder)

How about some better EFY pictures.

Or Scout Camp.



They are still on my camera.



Maybe in September I will motivate and get them onto here.


But I can tell you what I have been up to. There are no pictures to illustrate MY life, so I can just talk. Are you sitting down? Of course you are.


I am ungainfully employed!!!!!


Yes, I have been hired as a volunteer at the local library. I love love love it. I check books out and check books in and shelve books and read shelves and cover books and take Inter Library Loan requests and inventory and sometimes I help with Story Time, but there are little kids back in children's, so I try to steer clear of that room.


It is heaven. One day a sweet little girl said, "Do you have a book called Pride and Prejudice?"


What? Yes dear, we have 3 copies and I have lovingly fondled all of them, let me show you where to find them. Would you like paperback or hardcover?


And then recently I had a woman tell me several times how she could NOT figure out how I was finding books so quickly.

Fiction is in alphabetical order, as most of you probably would have guessed. It is not really rocket science, but she was really in awe that I could just walk right up to Jeannette Oke and Deborah Macomber.

I have mad library skills.


Soon I will have to share some stories about the public access computers.

Pray for early bedtimes at our house!

oh, since school started last week it means tomorrow is the big day.


Seminary starts. That means that my 3 high schoolers.

Oh my Gosh, do I have three kids in high school?

Anyway, they will be leaving the house at 6:10 am for the class that starts at 6:20am.

On Tues and Thurs Lucy will have band after school until 6:00pm. And then Fridays they have football games until..?????...

I would NOT want to be a teenager again! That is HARD work!

A reeeeeeaaaaaaaalllly long list

This is from a list that my young blogging friend from church camp had on her site. The directions are to put a star next to all the things that you have done.

Here goes...

1. Touched an iceberg
2. Slept under the stars*
3. Been a part of a hockey fight
4. Changed a baby's diaper*
5. Watched a meteor shower*
6. Given more than you can afford to charity(hmmm... If it all comes from the Lord is it ours to not give. And if blessings come from giving, then can we afford to NOT give? That being said, I have never gone without because of our giving...)
7. Swam with wild dolphins
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a tarantula
10. Said "I love you" and meant it*
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea*
14. Stayed up all night long and watched the sun rise
15. Seen the Northern Lights
16. Gone to a huge sports game *
17. Walked the stairs to the top of the Statue of Liberty*
18. Grown and eaten your own vegetables*
19. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope*
20. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment*
21. Had a pillow fight*
22. Bet on a winning horse
23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill
24. Built a snow fort**
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Taken an ice cold bath*
28. Had a meaningful conversation with a beggar*
29. Seen a total eclipse*
30. Ridden a roller coaster*
31. Hit a home run
32. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking
33. Adopted an accent for fun
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors*
35. Felt very happy about your life, even for just a moment*
36. Loved your job 90% of the time*
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied*
38. Watched wild whales
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Gone on a midnight walk on the beach*
41. Gone sky diving (hahahaha not a chance!)
42. Visited Ireland
43. Ever bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited India
45. Bench-pressed your own weight
46. Milked a cow*
47. Alphabetized your personal files* (and the books on my bookshelf)
48. Ever worn a superhero costume*
49. Sung karaoke* I HATE singing Karaoke! But the girls love it and I am happy for them to sing all day!
50. Lounged around in bed all day*
51. Gone scuba diving
52. Kissed in the rain ( umm, maybe. I avoid getting wet. I am sure I have kissed A while it was raining. Does that count?)
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater*
55. Done something you should regret, but don't*
56. Visited the Great Wall of China*
57. Started a business*
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Been in a movie
60. Gone without food for 3 days
61. Made cookies from scratch*
62. Won first prize in a costume contest
63. Got flowers for no reason*
64. Been in a combat zone
65. Spoken more than one language fluently
66. Gotten into a fight while attempting to defend someone
67. Bounced a check*
68. Read - and understood - your credit report*
69. Recently bought and played with a favorite childhood toy
70. Found out something significant that your ancestors did*
71. Called or written your Congress person*
72. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over
73. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
74. Helped an animal give birth* I still have nightmares!!!
75. Been fired or laid off from a job
76. Won money*
77. Broken a bone
78. Ridden a motorcycle*
79. Driven any land vehicle at a speed of greater than 100 mph
80. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
81. Slept through an entire flight: takeoff, flight, and landing
82. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
83. Eaten sushi*
84. Had your picture in the newspaper*
85. Read The Bible cover to cover
86. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about*
87. Gotten someone fired for their actions
88. Gone back to school*
89. Changed your name*
90. Caught a fly in the air with your bare hands
91. Eaten fried green tomatoes*
92. Read The Iliad*
93. Taught yourself an art from scratch*
94. Killed and prepared an animal for eating* (It was a family affair. Harrison gets a real gleam in his eye when we need to kill chickens!)
95. Apologized to someone years after inflicting the hurt
96. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language*
97. Been elected to public office
98. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream*
99. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
100. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
101. Had a booth at a street fair*
102. Dyed your hair*
103. Been a DJ*
104. Rocked a baby to sleep*
105. Dropped a cat from a high place to see if it really lands on all fours
106. Raked your carpet
107. Brought out the best in people*
108. Brought out the worst in people*
109. Worn a mood ring*
110. Ridden a horse*
111. Carved an animal from a piece of wood or bar of soap
112. Cooked a dish where four people asked for the recipe*
113. Buried a child
114. Gone to a Broadway (or equivalent to your country) Play*
115. Been inside the pyramids (I don't guess the one in Memphis counts)
116. Shot a basketball into a basket*
117. Danced at a disco*
118. Played in a band
119. Shot a bird
120. Gone to an arboretum*
121. Tutored someone*
122. Ridden a train*
123. Brought an old fad back into style
124. Eaten caviar*
125. Let a salesman talk you into something you didn’t need*
126. Ridden a giraffe or elephant*
127. Published a book
128. Pieced a quilt*
129.Lived in an historic place*
130. Acted in a play or performed on a stage*
131. Asked for a raise
132. Made a hole-in-one
133. Gone deep sea fishing
134. Gone roller skating*
135. Run a marathon
136. Learned to surf
137. Invented something
138. Flown first class*
139. Spent the night in a 5-star luxury suite*
140. Flown in a helicopter
141. Visited Africa
142. Sang a solo
143. Gone spelunking
144. Learned how to take a compliment*
145. Written a love-story
146. Seen Michelangelo’s David
147. Had your portrait painted
148. Written a fan letter*
149. Spent the night in something haunted
150. Owned a St. Bernard or Great Dane
151. Ran away
152. Learned to juggle
153. Been a boss
154. Sat on a jury
155. Lied about your weight*
156. Gone on a diet*
157. Found an arrowhead or a gold nugget
158. Written a poem*
159. Carried your lunch in a lunchbox*
160. Gotten food poisoning
161. Gone on a service, humanitarian or religious mission
162. Hiked the Grand Canyon
163. Sat on a park bench and fed the ducks*
164. Gone to the opera*
165. Gotten a letter from someone famous
166. Worn knickers*
167. Ridden in a limousine*
168. Attended the Olympics
169. Can hula or waltz* (
170. Read a half dozen Nancy Drew or Hardy Boys books*
171. Been stuck in an elevator
172. Had a revelatory dream*
173. Thought you might crash in an airplane* Every time I get on one!
174. Had a song dedicated to you on the radio or at a concert
175. Saved someone’s life
176. Eaten raw whale
177. Know how to tat, smock or do needlepoint*
178. Laughed till your side hurt*
179. Straddled the equator
180. Taken a photograph of something other than people that is worth framing*
181. Gone to a Shakespeare Festival
182. Sent a message in a bottle
183. Spent the night in a hostel
184. Been a cashier
185. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
186. Joined a union* (Husband, actually, but we are like one person! haha)
187. Donated blood or plasma*
188. Built a campfire*
189. Kept a blog*
190. Had hives
191. Worn custom made shoes or boots
192. Made a PowerPoint presentation*
193. Taken a Hunter’s Safety Course
194. Served at a soup kitchen*
195. Conquered the Rubik’s cube
196. Know CPR
197. Ridden in or owned a convertible*
198. Found a long lost friend*
199. Helped solve a crime

Ella has no fear

Here is my girl, climbing Tim's Harvestore. Some of the boys were doing it without using their feet. She touched the top. I don't know how high it is.

I would estimate about 3 bazillion feet.

I never exaggerate

EFY

Here are a few pics from EFY (Especially For Youth) William, Lucy and Rachel went. Lucy took the camera and yet I can only find pictures of Lucy. How does she do that?



There were boys and 2 dances. For Lucy and Rachel this was the first time they have been to a dance! Being 14 years old is GREAT!

THis first pic is Lucy, some guy and Dreah, Lucy's friend from another town who was also her roommate/. THey told me the names of everyone, but I have forgotten.

L and R where in the 14 and 15 year old group. Here is a smattering of 14 and 15 year old boys. And one grown up leader type boy. (in the yellow)

I'm sure I can find some other pics already on the computer since I am still in picture download denial.