13 Crazy Girls

Last night we had 13 girls (including Elise) over for a cooking birthday party. Crazy, silly girls but it was so much fun. They seemed to enjoy every minute of it. We made pizza, smoothies, cookie mixes in a jar, decorated small chocolate heart cakes, and opened presents. I had two great helpers, Annie Ross (my niece) and McKelle (my babysitter). Elise was a very a happy 6 year old. This party was so much work. Someone out there needs to open a great place for all kinds of girl birthday parties. People would pay because that was a lot of craziness for one kitchen.

My Babies Are Getting Big!

I am so tired. I just finished two big parties for my kids. They are getting big too fast. It is great to have them be so capable and not be in that little toddler stage. But it is really busy too. It is scary to me that we were just blessing them and now they are 4 and 6. In another few weeks, I will have an 8 year old and that will really be strange. I am so grateful for such cute, healthy, smart kids that are so full of personality. Some days they drive me crazy - persistence is Gavin's strength but it can be so draining. Elise thinks she is 12 and doesn't need help - EVER. But, those are pretty good qualities too. Happy 4th and 6th Birthday to Gavin and Elise!!

Pres. Hinckley

Isn't he so great? I love this picture so much. For some strange reason, Pres. Hinckley's passing was so shocking to me. He is plenty old and he has prepared us that his time wouldn't be much longer but for some reason it seems like it just couldn't happen. I have memories of past prophets but Pres. Hinckley has really been the Prophet who has most influenced my life. I love him. I love his sense of humor and smile. I love his optimism and positive outlook on life. I love his encouragement to be better in all ways. I love his temple work. We are so blessed to have the 2nd temple in site of our home to be underway. I love that he travelled the world. I love that he was so capable with the media and making our church better understood throughout the world. I love his example to all of us. He recently spoke to us at the conference center for our regional conference. I was so excited to be able to take my children to hear him speak in person. I don't know if they will remember it that well, but I am glad that we took advantage of that opportunity. We have been so blessed to have him as our Prophet for so long.

Sweet and Sour

Here is my new recipe for the week. Once again it comes from my cousin Katie's - Wirthlin Family Cookbook. I should have taken a picture of it. I thought it looked good and tasted great. However this is not one of the most healthy of recipes.

Sweet and Sour Chicken
3 chicken breasts cut into 1 inch strips (or use chicken tenders)
2 eggs, beaten
Cornstarch
Oil

Sauce
2/3 cup white vinegar
1 cup sugar
8 T ketchup
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 T soy sauce

Preheat oven to 350. Whisk sauce ingredients all together and set aside. Take chicken strips, dip in beaten egg, then cornstarch and fry in oil until golden brown. Place cooked chicken in 9x13 baking dish and pour sauce on top. Bake for 45 minutes. Serve with rice.

A Diaper Bag Project

I bought a new diaper bag pattern from Craft Apple http://www.craftapple.com/diaper_bag.html. It is very similar to the diaper bags I have been making except more pockets. I also really like the magnetic closure on the flap. I love doing these projects but I get a little carried away and now I need to do some catch up with the kids and the house...

Super time consuming project!

For an darling little daughter who is turning 6! She wants a cooking party (thanks to her cousin - she had one and it sounded like so much fun). Well, if 12 girls are going to be cooking in my kitchen, I thought they needed an apron. I couldn't just buy some boring canvas apron, I had to make one. And not just one, but one for each of the 12 girls - personalized. I have finally completed the project!! They turned out so cute. Now, I just need to get ready for the Party!!

Martin Luther King Day

So today was a pretty laid back day. The kids mostly played around the house all day and then we ventured out in the deep snow to go to the Dinosaur Museum. At dinner, I said something about the holiday being over and time to go back to school. The kids all looked at me. Elise said, "holiday? today was a holiday?" Oops. I forgot to mention that to the kids. I guess they just thought it was a free day off.

It turned into such a great discussion about who Martin Luther King Jr. is and what he did and how he died. Elise tied it into the story of Elpheba and Glinda from Wicked. (I know, I know...another post about Wicked). But it is a fairly good comparison. The are people who are different than us all around us and who make a stand for what they believe in. Dr. King had such courage and obviously died for what he was fighting for. My kids were so interested in this idea that people weren't allowed to do things because of the way they looked. I was so grateful that it had never occurred to them.

Yesterday in Sunday School we were studying the Vision of the Tree of Life. I thought it was interesting to consider who is in the great and spacious building and the attitude of mocking and pointing fingers. Often, we think of those people as the "wicked" people, but I think we can look back find that we have participated in this sort of activity. We want to be Popular or just fit in with the crowd rather than moving forward defending what is right.

Something to think about!